I would like to express my gratitude to the Mission Fund in Malta for the generous grant offered to Galilee Centre for the maintenance and repairs at the Centre and for the servicing of our two cars, four computers and a photocopier. Galilee Centre − a retreat house run by the Jesuits - is in Debre Zeit, a town 50 kilometres south of Addis Ababa. It has been offering retreats to the religious and priests of the Ethiopia Catholic Church since 1968. For the last seven years, the Centre has also been used by other Christian Churches as well. We offer eight days of personally guided retreats and weekend retreats to seminarians in theology, to junior religious, to novices as well as to young people coming from different parishes and university students. Many religious and priests, who are attracted by the hospitality and the beautiful volcanic lake and mountain view, spend a time of prayer and have an experience of God. On the initiative of one Jesuit on the staff, we are also helping to pay the school fees of many students, the distribution of food to some poor families and the offering of special care to a small group of orphans.

The room and board fees of the retreatants cover more than half the expenses incurred to run this Centre. We also have two European donors that are subsidizing retreats offered to religious and priests. However, we still cannot manage to cover all the expenses due to the maintenance of the Centre and the rising cost of living. It was for this reason that we appealed for help to Mission Fund and they responded generously.

I encourage you to continue to send used stamps and your donations to Mission Fund so as to be able to support many other Maltese religious and priests who are working in other countries. Kindly send your donations to one of the following accounts: HSBC [Acc. No. 061 197 448 050], BOV [Acc. No. 163 007 980 19], APS [Acc. No. 200 008 207 62] or BANIF [Acc. No. 008 879 631 01]. For more information on the Mission Fund visit the website www.missionfund.org.mt I will pray for the repose of your bereaved ones and pray for your needs in my daily Eucharist. Kindly support our work here at Galilee Centre with your prayers that God may make us good instruments to bring many people to God.

Fr Joseph Pullicino sj

DEBRE ZEIT

ETHIOPIA