Matt Moran, formerly of the Missionaries of the Sacred Heart and Misean Cara, plants a tree on a mission project in Africa.
Matt Moran, former fundraising manager at the MSC Missions Office in Cork, recently spoke to The Irish World about the ongoing importance of missionary work in today’s world.
Speaking about the fact that Irish missionaries are still making a real difference in the lives of some of the world’s poorest people, Matt states: “We need to debunk the notion that the missionary era is over. Done. History.” He goes to say, “The work is being continued by local and indigenous missionaries that the Irish trained and recruited. Across Africa, Asia, and South America, the people of the communities are following the work that the Irish started.”
Matt spent a decade working the with Missionaries of the Sacred Heart in Cork, before taking up the post of director and chairman of Misean Cara. Now retired, Matt has since written a book highlighting the huge impact that Irish missionaries have had across the world. His book, The Legacy of Irish Missionaries Lives On, was released in 2016, with a foreword by former Irish President Mary Robinson.
In his book, Matt studies the changing role of Irish missionaries abroad, and analyses the effects of their lasting influence. “The overriding consideration of missionary work is the alleviation of poverty by creating sustainable livelihoods,” he says. “Education is key. If someone is educated, they are more equipped to pull themselves out of the cycle of poverty.”
“Give a man a fish, you feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish and you feed him for life.”
Self-sufficiency is a major element of the ethos that drives missionary work, where both religious and lay missionaries work to empower local people and help them to help themselves. “Their whole rationale is empowerment,” Matt emphasises. “You can’t keep providing services. ‘Give a man a fish, you feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish and you feed him for life.’ That is the basic principle missionaries operate on.”
“It’s now about sustainability, it’s not just about feeding the hungry. That’s today’s work. Tomorrow’s work and next year’s work is making those people sustainable to be able to feed themselves.”
Matt Moran’s book is available to order from Onstream Book Publications.
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