Some go to Jamaica for the cricket, some for the scenery and the culture. But recently five members of the local Catholic church saw a part of Jamaica that most Bermudians never see...missionary homes in Kingston catering to the poor, sick and homeless.

For the five it gave them lots to be grateful for as, for a week, they helped care for abandoned babies, physically and mentally disabled children, crippled, mute and mentally disabled adults and terminally ill AIDS and cancer patients.

"It was a very humbling experience," said Mary Faries who travelled to Kingston in February with four other Bermudians, Delia Mendonca and her husband Manual, Carlos Frias and Jose Cabral.

Mrs. Faries, Mrs. Mendonca and Mr. Frias spoke about their experience and their wish to return this year or next to continue to help those in need, who range from infants to the elderly with every medical challenge imaginable. Many children have severe deformities.

"I started to cry, it was very touching," said Mrs. Mendonca. "It was an experience of a lifetime, I'll never forget it."

The opportunity to visit the Missionaries of the Poor, a religious community of men in the Roman Catholic Church, came after Mrs. Faries met Father Richard Ho Lung, who heads the missionary, a couple of years ago in St. Lucia during a church conference.

"I had been in contact with Father Ho Lung since that period and he kept inviting me to come down and see his centres and his work," explained Mrs. Faries. Volunteers of inter-denominational faiths who are musically inclined travel to different countries like Canada and the United States, using their talents to put on concerts which raises funds for the Missionaries of the Poor for things like medicine, diapers and food. Father Ho Lung writes many of the songs that are performed.

"I was intrigued by his line of work and it led to the point where last November they did a concert in New York and they agreed to visit Bermuda and put on a concert for no charge to the church for the people of Bermuda," said Mrs. Faries.

"We had a two-night concert at Mount St. Agnes and we did present him with a cheque for over $11,000 which would have gone very far down in Jamaica."

This year Mrs. Faries and other members of the Catholic church took Father Ho Lung up on his offer and packed their bags for Jamaica. Father Ho Lung, born in Jamaica of Chinese parents 62 years ago, founded the Missionaries of the Poor as the Brothers of the Poor 20 years ago, after deciding to dedicate his life to helping Jamaica's poor.

`Father Ho Lung is a brilliant man, he has all kinds of degrees and has taught at colleges and universities in the States," said Mrs. Faries. "He actually was the Professor of the University of the West Indies until he one day saw this child laying on the sidewalk with his earlobes chewed off by a rat. He felt he had to do something to help the poor and he took this child in and the next day the child, six or seven years old, died.

"From that period it changed his life and he gave up his teaching to become a missionary and in 1981 he founded the Brothers of the Poor and started taking in the poorest of the poor people in the ghettos."

The brothers in the missionary average 24 years old and they have followed Father Ho Lung's example...dedicating their life's work to those in desperate need. They come from countries like India, Belize, the Philippines and Uganda. Father Ho Lung recently opened up a centre in India for destitute men and boys next to Mother Teresa's centre. "He also has a centre in Haiti, as well as one in the Philippines and is in the process of opening one in Uganda," explained Mrs. Faries.In Jamaica there are some 176 brothers in the missionary caring for over 400 sick and poor people in four centres in close proximity in Old Kingston. Carlos Frias spent time working in the AIDS section, caring for the terminally ill and used his masonry skills to help with construction work, helping to secure a roof in one of the buildings.

"We moan and groan about this and that but we are so blessed here," said Mr. Frias of his fellow Bermudians.

"Down there even the clothes on their backs are not even theirs. They have nothing, but they do have a lot of joy.

"They have Jesus big time, you can see the smiles on their faces. They welcome you when you come to the home, even those handicapped and who can hardly walk. It's unbelievable to see.

"The first day we got there one of the residents has passed away overnight. The men's section is divided into two, those who can walk and help themselves are in one area and those in wheelchairs are in another area. Without God there is no way you can do that job, he just gives you so much strength."

Delia Mendonca struggled to hold back the tears when she visited the centre for the sick children. "When Father Richard Ho Lung was in Bermuda and he invited us, I just said I have to go. When Mary called our friend Jose Cabral and said a group of us could go, I just said to put me on the list. My husband went too." She added: "I had seen a video of Father Ho Lung on the Catholic network EWTN and I had some idea of what I was going to face, but yet at the same time when I got there it was reality, it really struck me. It's a lot to grasp and if you're not strong you'll be in trouble.

"I have a love for children, children touch me in a special way, and when I saw all those babies and young children in such a sad state I just broke down and started crying. I tried to make myself strong but I just couldn't hold myself.

"I prayed and God made me strong to face it, because when I went there I said `I'm here for a reason and to do God's work'. God really did make me strong and I was able to do everything, from bathing to changing diapers to feeding. We did it all.

"I do want to go back and I want to go longer. If we can arrange it this year, yes, if not then in the near future. I'm hoping we can go to other places and visit the missionaries because it's just a wonderful experience."

Many of the young and old residents at the missionary have been discarded by their families and have no other place to go.

"There is a girl called `Sweetie', there is nothing wrong with her but her mother just dumped her there, just left her at the gate," Mrs. Faries remembered of one of the children. "It just kills me when I think about it. They are trying to get her adopted because she really doesn't belong there. She is a beautiful, healthy child."

Said Mr. Frias: "Most of them don't have last names because they don't know their backgrounds or who their family is, so they just go by first names.

"People might say `why would they go to Jamaica when there are needy people here', but we do work with people here already. There is no comparison and most people here have families who visit them, but these people don't have anybody."

Stated Mrs. Faries: "One of the brothers told me one night he was standing outside the gate waiting for the truck and a car drove up and just pushed an old woman out of the car. Just dumped her there. It's really sad."

Despite the high crime rate in parts of Kingston, the brothers in the missionary are respected by the criminals who don't bother them on the street. They (criminals) realise they could be looking after a relative of theirs," said Mrs. Faries. Because of a lack of hot water, the children are bathed every day in cold water. "It hurt my heart, and in the children's section it is all outdoors," Mrs. Mendonca revealed.

"The bathtubs are outdoors with a little cover on the top."

Mrs. Faries is collecting supplies to send to the Missionary, with one local company donating eight cases of bath soap. Other basic necessities are also needed. "There was a young guy who was blind who was reading a hymn book and he asked me if I could get him another braille book," she recalled. "I want to get him a Bible in braille."

Anyone interested in becoming a sponsor to one (or more) of the homeless residents can contact Mary Faries for information or sponsorship forms at 295-3596. The address of the Missionaries of the Poor is: P.O. Box 8525, Kingston CSO, Jamaica, W.I. Missionaries of the poor is a tax-exempt organisation in Jamaica, USA, Canada and the UK. It costs the missionary $US550 per year to care for one homeless person. "This includes shelter, medical needs, meals and utilities," said Fr. Ho Lung in the sponsorship brochure. "Since these persons are permanently homeless and will be with us for as long as they live, we need sponsors to help them.

"You may also specify the category of the person(s) you wish to sponsor. `Your sponsorship contribution does not include any wages or administrative cost as all of the work is done freely by the dedicated and cheerful young missionaries who commit their entire lives in free service of the least of our brothers and sisters."

Father Ho Lung and Friends CDs, videos, cassettes and books can be purchased at the St. Teresa's Gift Shop on Elliott Street, opposite the Mount Saint Agnes School. Sponsorship forms are also available there. "On our way back from Jamaica my husband and I stopped in the States for a few days and we visited different churches," said Mrs. Mendonca. "I gave a testimony of my experience and I was able to raise $3,000 in Boston from the three different churches that we visited. Everybody was so generous."

That same generosity was found among other members of the Catholic Church here. Some $1,100 was raised during Bible study in one night.