The elderly residents were having lunch in the dining room when Sr. Mary Jacintha came in. She personally checked on them, asking how they were doing, whether they were satisfied with their food and whether they needed more.
These ordinary moments at the Little Sisters of the Poor’s Our Lady of Perpetual Help Home for the Elderly in the Awkunanaw area of Enugu, southeastern Nigeria, reflect the sisters’ larger mission: to help elderly people who are poor, sick or abandoned feel that they still have a place to call home.
The home, situated in a serene, well-kept compound, has provided care for elderly people since its establishment in 1975. The first sisters who began the home arrived in Enugu from France and were accompanied by a Nigerian sister. They initially began their work in a small house in Abakpa, a suburb and commercial area of Enugu. Later, they moved the home to Awkunanaw, where residents now have individual rooms and access to food, medical care, religious activities and 24-hour assistance.
The Little Sisters of the Poor care for “the poorest of the poor,” said Jacintha, who administers the home. “We accompany them till their last breath,” she said. “That is our mission: to take them to the gate of heaven.”
