ROYAL AUSTRALIAN AIR FORCE BASE TINDAL, Australia -- More than 20 U.S. and Australian service members extended a helping hand to a group of nuns who run the Home of Compassion in the nearby city of Katherine, Saturday.
The Home of Compassion is a branch of the Missionaries of Charity organization founded in India by Mother Teresa in 1950. Since the organization was established nearly 60 years ago in Calcutta, it has spread to more than 130 countries and now employs more than 4,500 nuns.
Mother Teresa personally visited the Katherine mission in 1973 to spread the message: locals now had a place to come for physical, emotional and spiritual relief.
"We started as a home for the elderly Aboriginals (Australian natives) to have a place to come for food and shelter, or whatever they needed," said Sister Alicia, the mother superior of the mission. "But really we're here for anybody who doesn't have anyone to turn to."
Noticing that the sisters didn't have the means to accomplish some of the improvements they would have liked on the mission grounds, U.S. Navy Lt. John Burnette, Marine Aircraft Group 12 Detachment chaplain, rallied a group of service members to lend the sisters a hand.
"(The sisters of Missionaries of Charity) work among the poorest people in the world, and your presence here today is a big statement of what individuals can do to make a difference," said Burnette in the parking lot of the mission before the work began.
After a quick message from Burnette and Sister Alicia, the group got down to business.
"What we're going to do today is paint two rooms, build a playground, clear out and till up ground for a garden, and prune overgrown trees," said Gunnery Sgt. Doug O'Haver, Marine Aviation Logistics Squadron 12 power plant technician and acting MAG-12 Detachment first sergeant.
The two rooms receiving a new paint job had been unlivable for nearly 10 years following a flood in 1998. The water level of the nearby Katherine River rose higher than four feet on the walls of the mission, causing too much damage for the sisters to repair themselves.
After all the walls were thoroughly scrubbed and given a new coat of paint, the sisters were all smiles envisioning what they were going to use the renovated space for.
"We would like to use this space to provide an area for children," said Sister Alicia, a native of India. "We would like to provide an area for the children to play and have a safe, comfortable place to go. We will see what the local community needs and what will be the best way to use this new space."
Outside the repainted mission, work was being done throughout the grounds to increase its livability and to beautify the area.
"The garden will be very nice to have. We will be able to grow much of our own herbs and vegetables," Sister Alicia said.
Despite spending his day off working in the hot Australian sun, Lance Cpl. Michael D. Sweeney was happy to be a part of the project.
"It only takes one Marine to give us a bad image, so getting more than 20 out here today to show that we do good things when we're in other places gives people a good perspective on what the United States Marines are all about," said Sweeney, MAG-12 aviation operations specialist and native of Cincinnati.
When all the work was done, the sisters treated the group to a traditional Australian meal of roast chicken and ginger stew.
"Thank you so much for coming here," said Sister Alicia to the hungry group. "You are the best Marine boys I have ever met, and I hope you come back."