A group of 17 lay missionaries led by Fr Marcellino Micallef, OFM, who will shortly be leaving for Guatemala yesterday called on Archbishop Joseph Mercieca at the Curia in Floriana.

The group, which includes two nurses, two carpenters, two electricians, a teacher and two students who have just finished their sixth form studies, will be leaving Malta on August 6 for the diocese of Jalpatagua to the south of Guatemala close to the border with El Salvador.

Mgr Mercieca commended the altruistic spirit of the lay missionaries, saying that their commitment was another testimony of the generous spirit of the Maltese.

Fr Micallef said that such groups of lay missionaries have been organised for the past ten years by the Mission Fund of Mosta. During the past years, missionaries have carried out work in Tunis, Algeria and Kenya. Last year a group of lay missionaries went to Guatemala where they built a hall for 700 persons and two small old people's homes.

"We called the homes Victoria and Valletta in honour of the capital cities of the Maltese Islands," Fr Micallef said.

This year the group plan to build a convent during the four weeks they will spend in Guatemala. Asked how they would manage to carry out this feat, Fr Micallef said that they would start work at 5 a.m. and knock off at 7 p.m. with only a short mid-day break.

The youngest of the group is 18-year-old Dillon Bugeja and the eldest, Joe Axiaq, is 66. Each member of the group forks out Lm500 to cover flight, visas and other expenses.

"This year we still have to overcome some hurdles with the issue of our visas," Fr Micallef said.

It will take the group about two days to get to Guatemala. The group includes: Pauline Abela, Lisa Ambrogio, Carmelo Aquilina, Sarah Borg, Anthony Cassar, Carmen Carabott, Sylvia Ebejer, Therese Gatt, Philip Micallef, Joe Mifsud, Carmen Montfort, Frans Scicluna, Vincent Zahra, Albert Camilleri and Stephania Mallia.