The one thing I can tell you about Dandorans is they are a people looking for God, drawn to religion, desperate for salvation. Every few feet, scattered amongst garbage, there is a sign for a church. It may be a shack or even a tent, but people come and gather and pray, sing, dance, eat and pray some more… yearning to be heard and remembered.
The old Holy Cross Church which is located in “phase one” of the Dandora Slum is a small church which is packed to overflowing with people standing outside the church by the hundreds. There hasn’t been room in this much beloved church for years. Rain, sand storm or high noon shine, people stand outside and pray to God.
Now, almost across the street… everyone in the community is watching hope literally rise. Brick by brick this beautiful new church, generously aided by Saint Monica parishioners, is being built in the middle of the slums. It is being erected quite literally right in front of the Dandora trash heaps. In fact all the rear windows of the church offer a view of miles of garbage, scavenger birds, pigs and trash collecting people. The view is perfect. Here amongst filth and degradation the gleaming new church with the looming cross rises up like a beacon promising a better way and a better life. It is a symbol and it is alive with hope, faith and community. 
We wear hard hats as its an active construction site… and we climb to its tops looking down and realizing it has underground parking and will be able to house hundreds of people. We can see its beauty even in this stage. Father Andrew tells us every day people ask him when the church will be finished. Every day he has to tell them to be patient. And every day he sees the gleam in their eyes, like children waiting for the candy shop of delicious sweets to open already. They are hungry.
Kathryn Haydn
