HOLY CHILDHOOD ASSOCIATION2219 Kennedy Rd., TORONTO, ON M1T 3G5, CANADA

1-800-897-8865 www.missionsocieties.ca

Sept. - Dec. 2017Vol. 27.1JuniorGr. 4 - 6

CHILDREN HELPIN G CHILDRE

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®

WEEK 4: the gift of Hope

WEEK 2: the gift of God's comfort

Welcome to all of our Holy Childhood members and those who are joining us in 2017! In this issue of the Holy Childhood Association Newsletter, we will focus on the large country of SOUTH AFRICA. After the enjoyment of your summer break, it is time to refocus on our goals as young

missionaries. Those goals are, of course to LEARN about the needs of less fortunate children throughout the world, PRAY for them and SHARE what we can to help improve their lives. It is also a time to begin to look forward to the Season of Advent, which once again is coming fast! So, let's go!!

THE SEASON OF ADVENTAdvent is a time to prepare spiritually for Jesus' birthday on Christmas. It lasts for approximately four weeks, including the four Sundays before Christmas. We often think about giving gifts at this time of year. Advent is a time when we can re�ect on the many gifts God wants to give us. You can focus on a di�erent spiritual gift for each week of Advent, for example:

WEEK 1: the gift of knowing what you really need

WEEK 3: knowing that God's is in your heart

Can you think of any other special gifts that come from God? _____________________________________________________________________

COLOUR IN THE PICTURE OF THE ANGEL. Then try to �ll in the blank spaces. Choose from the following words: ANGELS ADVENT SAVIOUR FOUR MOTHER

1. God promised to send a _ (1)_ _ _ _(4) _ _.2. Who announced Jesus' birth? _ _ _(6) _ _ _.3. Mary agreed to be the _ _(7) _ _ _ _ of God.4. We wait for Christmas the _(5) _(2) _ _ weeks before Jesus' birthday during the season of _ _(8) _ _ _(3) _.

When you have �nished, transfer the numbered letter to the sentence below.

JESUS IS THE _(1) _(2) _(3) _(4) _(5) _(6) _(7) _(8).

ADVENT PRAYERDuring this season of Advent, we wait and pray in hope. We pray a psalm of hope that the Israelites prayed while they waited for their Saviour.

I wait for you, O Lord. Teach me to follow your path.

Guide me in your truth, because you are God, my Saviour. I will wait for you all day. (Ps 25:4-5)

Come, O come, Lord Jesus! Use us to bring hope to our world.

South Africa, which lies at the bottom tip of Africa, is often called the “RAINBOW NATION", because the country has so many di�erent groups of people and languag-es. More than 11 o�cial languages are spoken in South Africa.

South Africa is a beautiful country, with coastal and grassy plains and even tall mountains. There are many, many animals, including rhinos, wild dogs, zebras, lions, cheetahs, birds and �shes. The government has created reserves to protect these animals, but illegal hunting continues to endan-ger many of them.

South Africa was colonized by the British in 1806. In 1910, the British made new rules that separated the whites from the blacks. These rules were known as apartheid and they caused years of wars and �ghting. The country became a republic in 1994 when Nelson Mandela was elected president. Of all the countries in Africa, South Africa is the wealthiest. People mine gold and diamonds here. However, schools and health care are still lacking and many people have AIDS.

Nelson Mandela18 Jul. 1918 - 5 Dec. 2013

FACTS ABOUT SOUTH AFRICA 46,923,000 people live in South Africa.

The country has 470,693 square miles

of land.There are eleven o�cial languages

in South Africa, including Afrikaans, English, Ndebele, Pedi,

Sotho, Swazi, Tsonga, Tswana, Venda, Xhosa and Zulu. The main religions

include Christianity, native religious faiths, Hinduism and Islam.

People in South Africa can expect to live 53 years.

86 percent of adults can read.

CAPE TOWN

SOUTH AFRICAN GIRAFFE

The gira�e is the tallest land animal in the world. With its long legs, long neck and distinctive spotted pattern, they live primarily in savanna areas in the sub-Saharan region of Africa. Their height allows them to eat leaves and shoots located in high trees. A full-grown gira�e consumes over 45 kg (100 lb.) of leaves and twigs a day. When gira�es walk, they move both legs on one side of their body and then both legs on the other side; this is unique to gira�es. Gira�es sleep less than two hours a day. They live up to 25 years in the wild.

Q: Why are gira�es slow to apologize?

A: It takes them a while to swallow their pride.

A: High there! (look up and wave

big)

Q: What is the proper way to greet a gira�e?

SOUTH AFRICAN HIPPOPOTAMUSThe hippopotamus is the second heaviest land mammal in the world . Their dense bodies make it impossible for them to swim, even though they spend most of their time in the water. Their eyes, ears and nostrils are located at the top of their head, so they are able to see, hear, and breathe while mostly under water. Under the water, hippos tap their feet along the ground to propel them-selves. In the evening, hippopotamuses leave the water to feed. As herbivores, they feed on short grass for six hours a night consuming up to 68 kg (150 lb.). The hippopotamus is a dangerous crea-ture. They have powerful jaws and sharp teeth that can crush a crocodile or split a boat in two.

Q: What's a hippo’s favourite

kind of music?

Q. How can you get a

hippo to do whatever you want?

A: Hip-hop

A: Hipponotism.

Bobotie consists of spiced minced meat baked with an egg-based topping. Of the many recipes popular around South Africa, bobotie is perhaps clos-est to being the national dish, because it isn't commonly found in any other country. Yum!!

EAT UP!!

J-P Dalbera – Creative Commons Attribution

Luca Galuzzi – Ceative Commons Attribution

St Anthony’s clinic in Badplaas, Labombo Catholic Mission in Witbank, several parishes in the Diocese of Witbank, Nazareth House in Johannesburg, children in Dundee, Doornfontein and Gauteng-Johannes-burg: these are just some places where HCA helped.

Food assistance, medical care, clothing, hygiene products and support for children mentally/physically handicapped or a�ected by HIV/AIDS, Religious Education, education in hygiene, health and nutrition to prevent the HIV/AIDS: these projects are samples of many such works that the HCA has been supporting since 2012.

HCA PROJECTS IN SOUTH AFRICA:

One of the entrenched traditions of the Holy Childhood Association (HCA) is the observance of MISSION DAY on an annual basis. Schools and parishes are encouraged to celebrate this important day on the �rst Wednesday of May, or as close to this day as circumstances allow. Doing something special at this time is an opportunity for HCA com-munities to re�ect on their involvement in the missions, do something concrete in support of mission projects and to remind them of the responsibilities we as Catholic Christians bear toward less fortunate children in the world.

This year, Father Alex Osei, National Director of the Ponti�cal Missions Society for English Canada, attended Mission Day in Vancouver. His presence was an inspiration and encouragement for the hard work conducted in that area.What do you do on Mission Day? The National o�ce welcomes reports and photos of your Mission Day activities, or any other projects and activities that you perform throughout the year. Please send them to us.