The Wonderful People on the Ground

The pre-school – Lesang Bana (Let the little children come to Me”), is situated in a Catholic compound in the middle of Metsimothlabe township about 15 kms outside Gaberone, the capital of Botswana.
 
Father Tony Rebello leads the team in Metsimothlabe.  Father Tony is originally from India but has devoted many decades of his life to the people of Africa.  He is a devoted, kind, gentle and loving Priest in the best tradition of the Catholic Church’s long line of missionaries, saints and humble servants of the Lord.
 
Father Tony has overseen the construction of a Presbytery alongside the existing Church, the Hall, a beautiful Hospice and now the pre-school.  The centre is truly a place of love, caring , compassion and faith in action.  Is has been our privilege to work alongside Father Tony on several occasions.
 
Father Tony is ably assisted by Sister Paulina, a lovely kind and forthright nun from Indonesia.  Sister Paulina is all action, administering the school, assisting Father Tony with the Church’s programme and is heavily involved with, and loved by all, in the surrounding community.
 
Alongside the Church grounds, as mentioned above, Father Tony oversaw the construction of a wonderful Hospice that provides respite care, loads of love for the patients, and most importantly dignity in the suffering of the people brought to the Hospice, and of course hope, faith and love for the dying that have their final resting place in the Hospice.
 
We must not forget Sister Angela, whose actions originally spurred us on to try and help the poor little kiddies that she had swept up and was trying to feed, teach and love for a few days a week.  Sister Angela has a huge heart for the poor and suffering, and we rely on her to bring to our attention those children who need our help and who could attend the pre-school.
 
Finally, we must mention the Sisters who run the Hospice.  Also from India they have journeyed far to provide such loving care to the sick and dying that it really takes your breath away.  Assisted by locally trained nurses and nurses assistants there is an incredible feeling of love and compassion in the Hospice that even the most desperate of patients brought in for their final few days, weeks or months are lifted dramatically by the warm, gentle, loving embrace provided by all the carers.