Kilrush / Askamore Parish
Fr Frank Murphy's Recife Children's Project.

Edifício Irlanda,

R.Florentino O.Santos 310/202,

Afogados,Recife, PE.,Brazil 50830/470

June 2010

Dear Creche sponsors,

Amaro Basilio is about 84 years of age and has been with the Creche since its very first days. He is a trained accountant so naturally he has always been the Creche treasurer. He is married but childless. He is a devout Catholic and gives special time and attention to the Rosary. There is a movement here in Brazil called Mens´ Rosary with more than half a million members…they meet once a week to say the rosary, listen to NT readings (usually the epistle and gospel of the day) and sing a wide variety of hymns…it all takes about 90

or a hundred minutes. By the way, Rogerio ( whom I reared long ago) is the regional coordinator of the Rosary movement and works to spread it further afield.. The men´s families are invited to the rosary one day each month.

Salvador Joaquim das Flores was born in Bahia but his family migrated to São Paulo and looked after a small coffee farm for a rich landowner. He managed to study law at a local faculty in S. Paulo and worked for years in the post office in Marilia. He came north to Pernambuco around 1984 and began to work in the Creche mostly in organization and management. He was also interested in fashioning clothes and left the Creche to dedicate himself to his atelier. The expanding ready made market gradually put an end to his clothes styling ventures so he returned to the Creche as manager for some years and finally settled down as the secretary, looking after Creche affairs. Both as secretary and manager he was and still is, highly efficient. He is unmarried…loves playing the guitar and singing.

Jose Amaro da Silva, known as Mario, was reared by me beginning around 1971 or so. A Spanish Jesuit priest and myself set up a home for street children and Mario was found roaming the streets and given into our charge.. I came down with hepatitis and was forbidden until the disease was cured, to go outside the Jesuit residence, attached to Universidade Catolica where I lived until the disease had been cured….. with the result that the home for boys had to be disbanded. When I took on the parish of Remedios around 1973 Mario came to live there. He has a natural talent for music and I got him into a very intensive violin course taught by ahighly dedicated Spanish professor, with several hours lessons daily five days a week for four years. He is a good violinist and teaches music at the Creche and has produced several really good pupils. He lives in Edificio Irlanda where he has an apartment, is married and has one son about twelve years old.

Rogerio Ramos da Silva Cunha teaches IT (information technology) at the Creche also woodwork. When his mother got a cheaper house about twenty miles from Recife she rented her place in the city. The problem was that then Rogerio could not continue his schooling and since he had become very friendly with Mario he just moved into the church to live with us while he continued studies and got himself a place in the best technical school in Recife where he studied construction techniques. He has an apartment in Ed. Irlanda, is married and has two children. Most nights he is helping spread the Mens Rosary movement, visiting churches and encouraging men to take up the practice. He is a very fervent and devout Catholic.

Have a look at the Creche web site where you can see photos of the children and their activities along with occasional news flashes.

www.frankmurphy.com.br

You can contact me by email : murphy@hotlink.com.br

Frank Murphy (Fr)