I am pleased that we are able to send you this Annual Report of SOMA’s activities for 2020. We have continued to help Spiritan missionaries despite the cancellation of a major fundraising event here in Houston. No one has escaped the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, most especially the victims of the virus and their dear families.  The basic security of family and community life that has been disrupted.  
In a sense, we have all “been taken to a place we never wanted to go.” On a positive note, that “place” could be the renewed discovery of what it is about your life and relationships that matters most – perhaps, even a deeper glimpse of the Father’s abundant concern for you! Yes, the Good News is that we have never been left alone. God’s care for us has been in evidence through the sacrifice and compassion of human beings who have rolled up their sleeves and have “done what has to be done!” And, our dear one’s who have passed from this life have, we believe, entered into the eternal embrace of God.

Here at SOMA, we adjusted to work conditions that respected social distancing and to considerable reliance on the ubiquitous Zoom Call!! Thank goodness that we were able to maintain contact across the continent(s)!  Zoom presented a ‘no excuse’ opportunity for calling together Spiritans and other colleagues in order to engage in healthy dialogue and to figure out how things can work better as we emerge from the situations occasioned by the pandemic. I can report that we have put this time to good use in our long-range planning.

In this annual report, please note stories of how your support has changed lives! We were able to respond to pleas from Spiritans on the ground, for emergency food assistance in Fonte Boa, Amazonia and medical supplies in Yabello, Borena Region, Ethiopia. We have been able to continue support for the construction of a kitchen/catering facility to provide nutritious meals for students and a source of income to support tuition and facility upkeep at the Spiritan administered Fr. Libermann Primary School in a desperately poor area of Dar es Salaam, Tanzania.  

Please review this report and share with us any thoughts or suggestions of how you think that we can improve our performance and more adequately serve the needs our Spiritan missionaries and the people to whom they minister.

Fr. Michael Grey, C.S.Sp.
Development Officer, SOMA