visited Perth, where he stayed at St Patrick’s Basilica Parish in Fremantle with his fellow Oblate priests. PHOTO: SUPPLIED
Oblate priest Fr Fraccid Anthony OMI visited Perth recently, encouraging Catholics to assist the home for the mentally handicapped he runs in Sri Lanka.
Fr Fraccid founded Sahana Medura, which means ‘garden of tranquility’ in 1993 as a means of addressing some of the nation’s biggest problems at the time – suicide, substance abuse and alcoholism.
He told The Record that while those issues have since subsided, there are new problems facing Sri Lankans today.
“There is a psychological distress, which has been caused by poverty,” Fr Fraccid said.
“There has been a skyrocketing of the price of essential commodities while the salary scales remain low, as well as corruption of the governing parties.”
Sahana Medura is home to about 40 residential clients each year, who are gradually healed of their mental illnesses and helped to find employment.
“There is no greater poverty than to have no respect for one’s own life,” Fr Fraccid said.
“Through our training of counsellors, helping those who need psychological counselling and healing mental patients, we have brought happiness and joy for many individuals and families.”
Together with a team of dedicated lay people, qualified clinical psychologists and psychiatrists, Fr Fraccid runs the “halfway home” without any government support.
“At the moment Sahana Medura has about 40 residential clients who belong to both sexes,” he explained.
“The dire need now is to have a separate house for females. Already the foundation has been started with the funds of generous people; we hope to build as we receive funds, since the whole project might cost about $30 million.”
Visit www.sahanamedura.org for more information or to donate.