The people of Bacolod in the Philippines hold a special place in the heart of Good Samaritan Sister Hiro Kageyama after her many years of ministry there. A recent trip back to that community was a chance not only to attend a special celebration, but also to catch up with her fellow Sisters currently serving there, as well as old friends and students.
By Debra Vermeer
Hiro, who is 95, made the solo trip from her home country of Japan, where she is now living in retirement while still staying active and ‘being neighbour’ to all she meets.
She first went to Bacolod in 1994, four years after the foundation of the mission there by Japanese Sisters Haruko Morikawa SGS and Keiko Goto SGS. Hiro was there for 17 years altogether, including through the COVID-19 pandemic, returning to Japan in 2021, aged 91.
In founding the Bacolod mission, Sisters Haruko, Keiko, and later, Hiro, Eiko Mukae and Yoshi Suzukawa, were responding to the call of the Japanese Church to be agents of peace and reconciliation in Asia.
Their wish was to engage in a process of reconciliation with the Filipino people for the atrocities committed by Japan during World War II. Living very simply among the people, the two Sisters established a Good Samaritan community in Bacolod on Negros Island, one of the poorest areas in the Philippines.
More than three decades later, those tentative beginnings have grown into a strong and vibrant ministry, with the Sisters of the Good Samaritan operating a Kinder School and an Outreach Center serving people living in squatter settlements along the coastal shoreline of the densely populated city.
The Outreach Center provides skills development, values and spiritual formation, economic and social enhancement, educational assistance and nutrition. The Center also runs an environmental awareness program, empowering the local people to take action in their own community, and until recently, provided food for the children at the local orphanage.
Hiro said the Sisters also dedicate themselves to the spiritual care of people, including seminarians, college students, and any people in need, especially in connection with marriage and family.
“Indeed, the Sisters’ ministries are well settled, and widely expanded, to my great joy,” she said.
A warm welcome awaited Sister Hiro Kageyama SGS. Image: Sisters of the Good Samaritan.
Hiro returned to Bacolod last month to celebrate the recent ordination of Father Erly Tayco, who had been supported through his seminary studies by one of Hiro’s friends in Tokyo.
“I was a go-between for my friend’s monetary support and Erly, and I was also an interpreter of Erly’s thank you letters to my friend,” she said. “I had been teaching Japanese to the seminarians.”
Hiro was not able to be in Bacolod on the day of Father Erly’s ordination on 31 March, but did make it for his first Mass in his newly appointed parish on 6 April.
“It was indeed a very great, important and congratulatory occasion,” she said.
Hiro said the festivities started when she arrived at the airport and was surprised to be met by Father Erly, who then took her to a dinner arranged by Sisters Leonie Duenas SGS, Germia Tocama SGS and Donna Ferrer SGS.
The next day, accompanied by Leonie and Donna, Hiro travelled by bus to Saravia, a little over an hour away, for the special evening Mass.
“Father Erly’s first Mass was most memorable and joyous event for the whole town,” Hiro said.
“The Mass was very long, but what did impress me most was its family atmosphere. Later, I heard that they prepared for 600-1000 people. The entertainment program which followed was rich and enjoyable. Altogether, the evening was an abundant blessing, not only on the new priest but also on the whole of Saravia and beyond.
“I was also able to meet his parents and all his relatives, who were very grateful to me and my friend for helping to support his studies. “It was an unforgettable night, and I left feeling very inspired and uplifted.”
For the rest of her one-week stay in Bacolod, Hiro spent time with the Sisters in their ministries, including a visit to the Good Samaritan Kinder School. The children were on holidays, but she was able to spend time with the staff. She also visited the Good Samaritan Outreach Center.
“Since I left there in 2021, the Center has been expanded by procuring two houses either side of the Center building,” Hiro said.
“When I first walked into the recently procured house, I met Sister Grace Marcelo SGS who was busily working with a local carpenter on a project to renovate the roof.
“While Sister Anne Dixon SGS ushered me around, I kept my eyes and heart open widely to grasp their new undertakings.”
Image: Sisters of the Good Samaritan.
Hiro said that another unexpected ‘welcome back’ came from the ex-students of the Japan Overseas Missionary Assistant Society (JOMAS).
JOMAS was a scholarship program which ran from 2002-2020 for students from primary school age to university, during which the students had the opportunity to take Japanese lessons from Hiro on the weekends.
“Most of them are now professional ladies and some are mothers,” she said. “They came to welcome me back when each of them could take time out of their work and duties, and some of their parents came as well,” she said.
One student wrote a note to Hiro, which she said summed up the warm feeling between her and the students:
Dear Sister Hiro,
“My heart is also full that we have been able to converse with you, even just for a short time. You’ve been a big part of my journey in this life, and I will always remember in my heart all the lessons that you have shared with us, both as our sensei (teacher) and as God’s follower. You are always in my prayer, Sister Hiro. Please take care always and I really hope I’ll see you again!”
Thanking all those who helped make it possible for her to return to Bacolod, Hiro said one of the biggest highlights was a shared meal with the two communities of Sisters in the Philippines on her last evening.
“There, I indeed felt deep joy peace, and inexpressible satisfaction and tranquility of heart,” she said.
“My whole long life has been a Pilgrimage of Hope, not ended yet, and I felt as if God lovingly and mercifully granted me to see some of its fruits through this time revisiting Bacolod.”
Donations to the Good Sams Foundation for projects making a difference to families living in the Philippines can be made via the Foundation’s website. In Australia, donations over $2 are tax deductible.
Sister Hiro Kageyama SGS with friends in Bacolod. Image: Sisters of the Good Samaritan.
