As numbers of refugees and asylum seekers continue to increase, Living Water community has made it a part of their mission to welcome them. The lay Catholic group is present in Caribbean Islands such as Barbados, St. Lucia, Dominica and Trinidad and Tobago.
RHONDA MAINGOT
Co-Founder Living Water Community
“That's the core of our community, to love and to show the world how to love. As a result, we have many, many ministries in Trinidad to the poor, to the destitute to the homeless, to the abandoned children, to young boys off the streets to HIV/AIDS. All those in great social need, we have a lot of ministries to them.”
These ministries include food banks and schools, which serve more than 300 children. Each of the parishes in Trinidad and Tobago also have a mission community, to help those in need all over the island.
RHONDA MAINGOT
Co-Founder Living Water Community
“Trinidad and Tobago unfortunately don't have a refugee law or migrants law. It's very difficult for them to get any sort of help in Trinidad. Having more and more people come, more and more families, more and more children, we started with very small schools to try to help them, especially from Venezuela and Cuba to learn the language.”
The community was started in the 1970s by Rhonda and co-founder Rosemary Scott, after Rhonda had a spiritual experience.
RHONDA MAINGOT
Co-Founder Living Water Community
“A friend took me to this meeting, I had a very bad migraine headache, and I said to the Lord, I wasn't even sure if He was there. I said to the Lord, 'Lord, maybe if you're real, maybe you can heal me.' And that was the end of my migraine headaches. Since that day, I've never had another headache. The Lord healed me immediately. The next morning, I got up and I knew that the rest of my life I would be seeking this God who had sought me out and captured my heart.”
Thus, she continues to seek God through the lives of all those around her, especially the poor and refugees who are coming to her country, searching for help.
