MACAU (UCAN): Our Lady of Fatima Church in Macau, has opened the Os Três Pastorinhos [Three Little Shepherds] centre to institutionalise voluntary efforts to support students with special educational needs carried out for years by the Franciscan Missionaries of Mary congregation, according to parish priest Father Michael Cheung.
Father Cheung, of the Institute of Incarnate Word, told Macau’s Catholic newspaper Jornal-O-Clarim that he applied for a license from Macau authorities to run the facility with the support of more volunteers.
He said they are trying to tackle a “new form of poverty” in Macau that is hidden from the public eye.
He noted that many parents from Macau have low-paying jobs on mainland China who frequently need to travel to and from Macau to earn a living. Their children are left in Macau and their education often remains neglected.
“People tell me that there is no poverty in Macau. Everyone has something to eat, a place to live, something to wear. But we have many dysfunctional families. We have parents who must cross borders several times a day. They live in mainland China and have to come to Macau several times a day to take care of their children,” the priest said.
Father Cheung said he knows of one person who has four little children who leave school at different times.
We offer an after-school service for children with special educational needs. The aim is to help take care of children who need help. It is something that makes a great contribution to families. It is this type of service that helps to build the community,
Father Cheung
“This person must cross the border six times a day. I don’t think anyone can imagine how disruptive all this is. These people need a lot of help. In a sense they are very, very poor. They cannot live their lives in a normal way,” he said.
The centre currently offers after-school education to 12 young people with the support of two teachers and it will gradually take in more students, the priest explained.
“We offer an after-school service for children with special educational needs. The aim is to help take care of children who need help. It is something that makes a great contribution to families. It is this type of service that helps to build the community,” Father Cheung said.
Several years ago, a Franciscan nun undertook a voluntary service to tend to the increasing number of students in Macau who require special educational support.
“The nun retired over a year ago and the Church now wants to continue her work,” said Father Cheung, chaplain of St. Joseph’s College, next to Fatima Church.
A few years ago, Education Commission of the Diocese of Macau asked Church-run education institutes to take special care of students from disadvantaged families, but they have been unable to render services due to a lack of manpower and resources.
Father Cheung said they are running the centre informally with limitations.
“Currently we are supporting 12 students, but in future we want to take care of many more children and young people. We need to obtain a training license to operate it in the most structured way possible. Since we don’t have the license yet, we cannot take children,” he said.
