Thailand_J2-3_3_1
1 media/Thailand_J2-3_3_1_i_reduced_thumb.jpg 2020-04-28T05:19:17-07:00 Sarah Noonan 6616b08296cc76f25739fd6dc35367e3165a69b8 36126 2 Sister Helen Marie Auth's presentation to the Institute of Spirituality plain 2020-05-21T14:39:28-07:00 Sisters of the Holy Cross, Archives and Records Image of a presentation given by Sister Helen Marie Auth about why the Sisters of the Holy Cross went to work in Sa Kaeo refugee camp. Sa Kaeo Camp; Notre Dame, Indiana July 1981 Sister Helen Marie Auth Sarah Noonan 6616b08296cc76f25739fd6dc35367e3165a69b8This page is referenced by:
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The Sisters in Cambodian Refugee Camps
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The sisters observed, as referenced in document J2-3_3_1, found in the congregational archives, that their assignment in Cambodia was not as strictly structured as many that occurred in the United States were. It was one that underwent constant change, and for that reason the sisters felt as if they were “clay” in the hands of a potter while working. The sisters had to become comfortable with the flexibility and teamwork required to work with foreign doctors, as they used their knowledge to lessen the workloads of those medical officials by assisting and providing medical supplies and by setting up a medical records system. Four of the sisters were sent to an intensive feeding unit where infants and small children were fed on a predetermined schedule since many of the families they served were starving and did not have the means to take care of them independently.
The diverse skills possessed by the sisters enabled them to be sent to rehabilitation facilities in other camps to assist more refugees and even to assist in meal preparation in the kitchens to help feed the inhabitants of the camps. Previous work in the ministry gave them the willingness to go where they were needed. They assisted in all they were asked to do without a second thought. When asked to set up a medical records system, Sister Helen responded that, “when one volunteers in this type of ministry, she doesn't ask before agreeing to do it” (J2-3_3_1). The sisters' willingness to help brought them, at times, face-to-face with the extreme illness and suffering of those who inhabited the camp. Sister Helen expressed her sorrow over such encounters when she commented that, “little did I realize that [this ministry] meant counting the dead” (J2-3_3_1). This work gave them a window into the life and struggles of the refugees whom they served. It also afforded them the opportunity to form close relationships with the refugees they assisted. Evidence of these relationships survives in the years of correspondence they received from those whom they helped.
