Category Archives: Collaboration in Education

Collaboration in Education, Français, Networking for Mission, Women

COLLABORATION POUR LES FUTURES LEADERS

August 3, 2018 snddenGW Leave a comment

Par Sœur Mary Donohue, SNDdeN

L’Académie des sœurs de Baltimore est une histoire à succès en cours, pour les filles de l’école moyenne, de la 5e à la 8e année. En 2002, Sr Suzanne Hall, SNDdeN et Sr. Delia Dowling, des School Sisters of Notre Dame, SSND, directrice acutelle de l’école, ont présenté à quatre congrégations religieuses le besoin d’une école moyenne pour les filles de Baltimore sud-ouest, Maryland. Dès le début, les Sœurs du Bon Secours, les Sœurs de la Miséricorde, les School Sisters of Notre Dame et les Sœurs de Notre Dame de Namur ont donné de l’énergie et un fort engagement à l’Académie des Sœurs.

Le charisme particulier de chaque congrégation contribue à la richesse dans cette collaboration pour les enfants. Nous nous unissons en tant que religieuses pour faire ensemble ce que nous ne pourrions pas faire seules. En tant qu’éducatrices dans une grande ville aux États-Unis, nous reflétons et faisons connaître la bonté de Dieu à une nouvelle génération de jeunes femmes.

En 2004, l’école s’est ouverte pour offrir une excellente éducation à des filles talentueuses et motivées, afin que chaque personne atteigne son plein potentiel. Au sein de cette communauté nourricière, les élèves apprennent des techniques d’étude, se fixent des objectifs, et développent des compétences en leadership. Pour l’année académique en cours, l’Académie des Sœurs a inscrit 71 étudiantes: 51 afro-américaines, 15 hispaniques, 1 asiatique, 1 amérindienne et 3 étudiantes de races mixtes. Les étudiantes viennent de certains des quartiers les plus pauvres et les plus déprimés de la ville de Baltimore, de communautés en proie à un chômage élevé, à la toxicomanie, au crime et au manque d’opportunités. Des religieuses gouvernent et parrainent l’Académie des Soeurs, tandis que des personnes, des fondations, des sociétés et des partenaires généreux offrent un financement pour les familles afin d’assurer une école catholique gratuite au cœur de la ville.

Histoire de succès

Sr. Mary Donohue DSC_6757 — Deux fois l’an et lors de la remise des diplômes, l’école donne des prix à 4 filles qui donnent l’exemple de l’esprit de chaque congrégation religieuse. Sr Mary Donohue, SNDdeN, félicite l’étudiante récompensée pour son effort et son succès scolaire.

La vision pour les diplômées de l’ Académie des Sœurs est qu’elles deviennent des jeunes femmes bien éduquées, assurées, spirituelles et engagées et des leaders qui font une différence positive dans leur communauté, dans notre nation et notre monde. Notre fort programme de soutien aux diplômées suit chaque fille tout au long des années de lycée et d’école supérieure. Depuis la première promotion en 2008, 100% ont terminé l’école secondaire, 93% font des études supérieures ou servent dans l’armée. En mai 2017, les anciennes des deux premières classes ont obtenu leur diplôme d’école supérieure et commencent leur cheminement de carrière, une étape importante pour elles et pour l’Académie des Sœurs.

Dès l’ouverture de l’école, de nombreuses Sœurs de Notre-Dame de Namur (SNDdeN) ont servi comme enseignantes, secrétaires, bénévoles et comme membres et directrices. Actuellement, Sr. Mary Donohue, SNDdeN, siège au conseil des membres et Sr Rosemary Donohue, SNDdeN (elles ne sont pas de la même famille!) sert au conseil d’administration. Annuellement, chaque congrégation religieuse célèbre une journée spéciale. Les élèves se souviennent de Ste Julie Billiart le 8 avril, l’anniversaire de sa mort en 1816. Les SNDdeN partagent des histoires de Julie et de la congrégation avec les filles ce jour-là.

Avec Sainte Julie, je vois que l’Académie “apprend aux enfants ce qu’elles doivent savoir pour la vie.”

C’est une joie de servir cette école, à travers tous ses jalons: choisir un nom pour l’école, acheter le bâtiment, accueillir la première classe de cinquième, se réjouir avec les premières diplômées, et les classes successives, et voir des anciennes élèves terminer leurs études supérieures pour se lancer dans une carrière réussie.

Une élève de cinquième a bien exprimé le point de vue des étudiantes: «La première fois que je suis venue ici j’avais peur. Alors tout le monde m’a accueillie comme un membre de la famille. »

Les SNDdeN donnent notre ferme engagement à cette mission pour les jeunes femmes; nous apprécions de créer une famille durable de bienvenue et de succès, en collaboration avec des congrégations qui partagent cette Mission.

Collaboration in Education, Collaboration with the State, Educational Center

The Mission Widens in South Africa

April 5, 2018 snddenGW 1 Comment

By Sister Marie McLoughlin, SNDdeN

p.4 — Little children love to read stories in special books at St. Peter Claver School in Maokeng township.

Now in our 102nd year, the growth and development in St. Peter Claver School in South Africa are quite extraordinary. The Mission of our Sisters widens with dedicated administrators, staff and teachers committed to holistic education and the unfailing
conviction that God is good. The long-awaited dream of establishing a high school on the site of the former Notre Dame Convent in Kroonstad, which closed in 1972, became a reality. In January 2018, the new academic year started with 320 pupils enrolled in Grades 7–12, and with 32 teaching and support staff in this High School building. There are 150 pupils enrolled in the Intermediate Section, now housed also in the renovated building. This expansion of the school responds to the parents expectations for continuing the education of their children. In Maokeng township, outside Kroonstad,
there are 190 children in Grade R and Grades 1–3.

Serving with our Co-workers, Sisters of Notre Dame de Namur (SNDdeN) are involved in the daily activities of the various sections of the school: Sr. Marie McLoughlin is Chaplain and Counsellor to the Senior classes; Sr. Gertrude Izuchukwu teaches Religious Education in the Intermediate Section and Sr. Chantal Kisimbila is the Financial Manager in the Foundation Phase of the School. Sr. Brigid Rose Tiernan sits on the Board of Governors, as Representative of the SNDdeN owners.

NEW SCHOOL
In 2016, two members of the Congregational Leadership Team, Sisters Teresita Weind and Patricia O’Brien, came from Rome, Italy to participate in blessing the newly renovated school. With the addition of new classrooms, Grade 7 students moved in

In the Intermediate Section, Sr. Gertrude Izuchukwu, SNDdeN gives a strong foundation in Religious Education to the students.

early 2017 from the Primary School in Maokeng township to the High School campus, at the site of the old convent. As hoped, this move had positive consequences, and already is providing the learners with the strong foundation necessary to meet the demands of the Independent Matriculation Examination which they will write at the end of Grade 12. St. Peter Claver is the only school in Kroonstad, and one of four in the Free State Province whose students take the school-leaving examination. Instead of preparing our school-leavers for the state-run school leaving certificate, we chose the Free State Province examination because the values on which it is based are more in keeping with our Notre Dame educational tradition. The examination by the Independent Examination Board (IEB) demands creative and independent thinking on the part of those who take the exam, and it is much more demanding on the teachers. The pupils write the examination through the medium of English, and also write their home language, Sesotho, at the same ‘home language’ level.

During 2017, we explored a further development and consulted the parents and guardians of learners in Grades 4 through 6 about a plan to move the learners of these 3 Grades also to the site of the old convent.Their response was overwhelmingly positive. In January 2018, the opening of the academic year saw nearly 500 learners, ranging in age from 9–17 years accommodated in the Intermediate Phase and High School of St. Peter Claver School in Kroonstad. Seven classes in the Foundation Phase, Grades R -3 remain in the buildings in Maokeng, with facilities specially adapted to their needs.

GROWTH AND DEVELOPMENT
To the credit of all involved in the growth happening at St. Peter Claver is the value underlying all decisions and actions: St. Julie Billiart’s mission and the congregational call to serve people trapped by impoverishment. Annual school fees range between $300 for the younger children and rise to $650 for the 3 top grades. The school receives support from the State in the form of an irregularly paid subsidy for operational costs. All other school development needs, such as equipment, textbooks and school outings depend on fund-raising efforts. Despite this challenge, 40 to 80 learners from needy families receive full or partial bursaries (scholarships). Support for such student assistance comes from a bursary fund that was established by past students. The generosity of friends and families of the Sisters who make regular monthly donations insure that children in need may have the opportunity for an education in St. Peter Claver School.

St. Julie once said: “Teaching is the greatest work on earth.” The Sisters and Co-workers in our school believe strongly in the impact of this ministry! The coordination and expansion of St. Peter Claver School is a reality – a living, never-ending dream in education each day.

Sixteen members of the St. Peter Claver School community: administrators, teachers, members of the Board of Governors and our Sisters became the Heritage Pilgrims.

Near the end of the Centenary Year of the Foundation of the School in 2016, a final celebration extended our Mission significantly to Co-workers. The Pilgrimage to the heritage places of our foundresses in Belgium and France became a special journey. The purpose of this pilgrimage was two-fold: to conclude together the Centenary Year and to render thanksgiving to God for these 100 years. The participants prepared carefully with monthly group meetings, focussed on the significance of pilgrimage, the story of our foundresses, the values and history of the SNDdeN Congregation. Co-workers, Associates and Board members saw

Sr. Brigid Rose Tiernan, SNDdeN witnesses in Cuvilly the first commitment of two new Associates.

this pilgrimage as an opportunity to deepen their knowledge of the roots, spirit and ethos of Notre Dame and to strengthen their commitment for carrying the message of God’s goodness into the future. A particularly moving event during this pilgrimage took place in the convent chapel in Cuvilly, France when two administrators at St. Peter Claver School, Zunelle De Ru (Head of the School) and Veronica Phadi (Head of Foundation Phase for the School) made their first commitment as Associates of Notre Dame.

Sisters, Co-Workers and Partners, living the Mission at St. Peter Claver, belong to the Notre Dame family and exclaim constantly:

“God is good.” And the journey continues…

Blue Donate Now button — Donate now to St. Peter Claver School to help the Sisters educational ministry in South Africa.

Reprinted from Good Works, Volume 14, No. 1, March 2018.

Published in print two times a year and on-line monthly (snddengw.org).

To subscribe to a printed edition, send your name and a mailing address to Sr. Anne Stevenson, SNDdeN by mail: 30 Jeffreys Neck Road, Ipswich, MA 01938 or by email: anne.stevenson@sndden.org. (International subscribers are encouraged to subscribe to this online edition through the WordPress App.)

Collaboration in Education, educating for life, Mission Integration

Stewards of the SNDdeN Charism

March 29, 2018 snddenGW Leave a comment

By Sister Maria Delaney, SNDdeN, Co-Director in US Office of Sponsored Ministries

In a world of instant communication where circumstances can change in an instant and people can be redirected from one path to another in the blink of an eye, the words “mission integration” take on new meaning. The process of integrating the Mission becomes the root and anchor which ensures that an organization, whether religious, educational, social or corporate, remains true to its original vision and purpose.

Many of our SNDdeN educational and health care ministries worldwide trace their roots deep into the 19^th century. As the Sisters of Notre Dame have aged out of many ministries, many dedicated lay professionals have taken our place as stewards of the SNDdeN Charism. To assist them in their preservation of our legacy, we have created many opportunities to instill the Charism, values and Hallmarks of a Notre Dame Learning Community.

In this global community where terrorism and destruction in all forms capture all news cycles, the values that have sustained the Sisters from the time of Napoleon through multiple world and civil wars still resonate throughout our ministries worldwide. The question of what difference we make in our geographical area propels us to do everything in our power to keep our relationships strong.

The strength of our network of Notre Dame colleagues depends upon the connections made among the participants. To this end, every year in the United States and Europe, the Sisters offer day long workshops and retreats and multi-day conferences for administrators, boards and students which provide a solid grounding in our history and philosophy for everyone carrying forward the Notre Dame de Namur Charism.

Recent Meetings and Beyond
In late June 2017, the US Office of Sponsored Ministries gathered 50 Juniors and Seniors from Notre Dame high schools across the country for a Student Leadership Conference at Emmanuel College in Boston, MA. At this second gathering for young people, the enthusiasm and energy were infectious among them, and groups from different schools instantly intermingled and began to share their specific realities.

Education Mtg Sept 2017 005

In Belmont, Srs. Mary Laxague and Maria Delaney SNDdeN continue the conversation with Drew Henry and Jennifer Khoury.

From July 16 to 19, 2017, the Office of Sponsored Ministries held their third annual conference of US Administrators from Notre Dame schools at Notre Dame High School in Belmont, CA where speakers provided stimulating presentations on:

How we weave the “Hallmarks” into our school,
Inclusive Just Schools – Are We Serving All of Our Students?
How the Challenges of St. Julie’s Times Resonate with Ours Today
Educating for Life in the Current Global Situation
Energizing New and Re-energizing Veteran Staff in Living the Mission.

iPhone Image EBF42 These sessions centered on the importance of insuring that administrators, faculty and staff in our Notre Dame schools resonate with the dynamism of our Charism.

On October 2-3, 2017, Notre Dame schools in the United Kingdom held a conference entitled “The best is still to come,” in Wrightington, England. Bringing together head-teachers, colleagues and Sisters, the conference reaffirmed for these educators a holistic approach in educating the whole person and preparing students for what they need for life. This annual meeting opened doors to newness in a future for Notre Dame education in the 21^st century.

On October 16, 2017, in Namur, Belgium, the Association des Ecoles Notre Dame (Association of Notre Dame Schools) organized and directed a formation meeting for new directors, teachers and staff in the Notre Dame Schools in Belgium. Following input sessions and discussions on the charism and educational goals of St. Julie Billiart, these educators toured the Heritage Centre. For the purpose of networking with the schools in Belgium and around the ND world, the participants were delighted to receive a long list of our Notre Dame schools on five continents.

The planning is in process for an International Meeting: Networking FOR MISSION III, scheduled for July 25-28, 2018 to be held in the USA at Emmanuel College, 400 The Fenway, Boston, MA 02115. This Conference is open to “those who minister, with, for, on behalf of or under the name of the Sisters of Notre Dame de Namur or St. Julie Billiart.” **

The opportunity to connect with other professionals strengthens the ties among the schools and health centers founded by the Sisters and still carrying the Notre Dame name deep into the twenty-first century.

** For further information, please go to http://notredameonline.org/news-and-events/networking-iii or contact Sr. Maria Delaney, SNDdeN (maria.delaney@sndden.org) or Sr. Rita Sturwold (rita.sturwold@sndden.org).

Reprinted from Good Works, Volume 13, No. 2, November 2017.

Published in print two times a year and on-line monthly (snddengw.org).

Collaboration in Education, Networking, Notre Dame Educational System

Educational Vision Crosses Cultures

June 6, 2017 snddenGW Leave a comment

By Sisters Masako Miyake and Carol Shoup, SNDdeN

St. Julie envisioned the educational mission of the Sisters of Notre Dame de Namur to extend worldwide. That vision has unfolded in various ways into the 21st century. One expression of Julie’s early vision is the networking of “Sister Schools” internationally.

Exchange Students
Notre Dame Seishin* Girls’ Junior and Senior High School (NDS) in the city of Kurashiki, in the Okayama Prefecture, Japan, and Notre Dame High School in San Jose (NDSJ), California, U.S.A. are “Sister Schools” and even across a wide and deep ocean, relationships keep building. (Seishin = Immaculate Heart)

IMG_9675-web600px — One student and Amy Huang, (back row-left) Director of the Exchange Program at Notre Dame, San Jose, welcome 12 Japanese students and their teacher, Ms. Kazumi Yamamoto (far right) outside of the school.

Every year young women from both schools have the opportunity to share their unique academic programs, cultures, and learning environments as exchange students. This year, Ms. Amy Huang, Director (NDSJ), organized the many details of the Student Exchange Program. On March 18, Amy and host families welcomed 12 Japanese students, their teacher, Ms. Kazumi Yamamoto, and their Principal, Sister Masako Miyake SNDdeN for two weeks of academic and social sharing.

The first week began with a welcome breakfast and campus tour, including a history of the City of San Jose given by Social Studies teacher Mr. Jim Floyd. Shadowing their host IMG_9680-web600px students to classes during the school week, our visitors experienced spotlights in classes in Global Studies Honors, Advanced Spanish Culture and Conversation, and in Biology Honors Class, where they examined and identified hominid skull casts. Then, hosted by Notre Dame Alumnae, they visited and toured Stanford University and Intel Corporation, for glimpses of higher education and innovation in America.

Highlights of Two Weeks

6-WPP-1-450pxweb — In the gym at NDSJ, Ms. Kazumi Yamamoto and the students from Kurashiki, Japan, share the love of St. Julie Billiart and her mission.

Our new friends enjoyed highlights of the Woman’s Place Project, by the Ninth Grade class, who honor in original table settings, 163 women of history, as well as the Young Woman Advocacy Summit, presentations by the Seniors’ of their yearly service projects on issues of justice and peace. At the end of the first week, our exchange students delighted in a downtown culture walk, a visit and tour of City Hall and the office of International Affairs.

After a weekend with host families and friends, the Japanese students were happy to see their Principal, Sister Masako Miyake, who came for the last week of the program, and curious and eager to explore a sister ND school and capture as much as possible on her camera. The students shared with Sr. Masako their visit to San Jose’s historic Japan town and Yu-Ai Kai, a Japanese-American senior center.

IMG_9859-web450px — The students share with Sr. Masako their visit to San Jose’s historic Japan town and Yu-Ai-Kai, a Japanese American senior center.

The girls delighted the senior citizens with Japanese songs and stories and enjoyed lunch before returning to school. During the next two days, the group toured San Francisco, with so many sights, from the cable cars and Fisherman’s Wharf to Alcatraz and the Golden Gate.

Deepened Relationships
Reflection time and discussion were interspersed over the course of the two weeks, for increased understanding and deepening of relationships. The exchange program concluded in a Farewell Party, with certificates for completion awarded to our Japanese students. There were dances and expressions of appreciation, among laughter, smiles, and tears. ND Seishin school gifted to their Sister School some beautifully decorated wooden plates. In return, NDSJ presented our Notre Dame Seishin school with a clock, engraved with a customized quote, “Time does not take away from friendship…”
(Tennessee Williams).

IMG_9938-web450px — At the airport, NDSJ students, teachers and some parents say “good-bye” to Japanese students, Ms. Kazumi Yamamoto and Sr. Masako Miyake, SNDdeN.

Thankful for their presence in our school community, teachers and students from NDSJ said farewell to these special young women, their teacher and principal from ND Seishin. Now, both schools begin to plan for ND San Jose students to visit ND Seishin, Kurashiki during the summer of 2018 in order to expand their vision of a Notre Dame Sister School and the culture and beauty of the “Land of the Rising Sun.”

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Please show your support for educational efforts of the SNDdeN for cross cultural education. Donate Now.

Collaboration in Education, Notre Dame Educational System

Faithful to Heritage in Saint Hubert

June 1, 2017 snddenGW Leave a comment

by Sister Monique-Marie Petit, SNDdeN and Mr. Patrick François*

In April 1812, in a letter to the superior
of the community in Saint Hubert, St. Julie writes:
“Everyone wants to come to Saint-Hubert.”

School-Building-027-600web
In August 1809, Saint Julie Billiart founded the school of the Sisters of Notre Dame de Namur (SNDdeN) in Saint Hubert, Belgium, at the request of the mayor of the city. At that time, three Sisters became the community and opened the school with two classes. Even though much has changed from the early years, the Institut Notre-Dame celebrates today over 200 years of life as an educational institution! In 1985, the Institut Notre Dame joined with the Institut of the Marist Brothers in a merger school called: the Fundamental and Secondary Free School of Saint Hubert (Ecole fondamentale et secondaire libre de Saint-Hubert). The number of students continues to increase, with 700 students now in the secondary school and 240 in the pre-school and elementary schools.

SNDdeN Presence in Disadvantaged Area
A city of 3500 inhabitants, in the middle of the Ardennes Forest in the province of Luxembourg, Saint Hubert is considered an economically deprived area in relationship to the two nearest cities. Many families live and survive, inspite of unemployment, thanks to the Public Center of Social Action. The student body, both in the secondary as well as in the pre-school and elementary grades, becomes more financially and socially disadvantaged from year to year. In the secondary school, more than one student in three is not able to pay the entrance fee in September. The young people, 32 girls and boys who are welcomed into the boarding residence are for the most part children from one-parent families, with emotional and financial problems. Practically one-third of those students depend on youth-aid services. In 2016, the secondary school opened a special class to educate children of new immigrants welcomed into the region.

services-personnes-02-300pxweb — Sisters Jeanne-Emmanuel Pairon and Marie-Clotilde Gilles, SNDdeN play games with the student boarders.

Two retired Sisters, Sœurs Jeanne-Emmanuel Pairon and Marie-Clotilde Gilles, SNDdeN live in the building and bring ready assistance and a happy presence to the life of the school. Another SNDdeN, Sister Monique-Marie Petit, SNDdeN, is a member of the Board of Trustees. Today, at the heart of this school, is an oratory, a place of calm, prayer and reflection. Faculty, staff and students, faithful to St. Julie’s spirit, visit frequently this oratory. The directors in the different sections of the school are particularly sensitive to the educational values transmitted by Saint Julie: one director, Mr. Patrick François, belongs to the group of directors organized by the South Belgium/France Province whose goal is the implementation of Julie’s charism in our heritage schools, in our time.

MM6-300pxweb — Sr. Monique-Marie Petit, SNDdeN, visits the pre-school and helps with lunch.

In the pre-school and in the elementary school, a special effort is made to have the children eat the noon meal at school and also to have staffing for supervision/counselling for student-boarders. Offering this possibility demands a big investment of time and energy for supervision of the students by the teachers and brings peace, security and enjoyment for the children.

Educational Values
A major objective of the school is to educate the whole person and to help every young student to find his/her way and place in life. The administrators, faculty and staff welcome each child to the school, whatever may be his/her way, and allow each one to have new opportunities, and sometimes a third or fourth chance to succeed. These students, like all others, are “lifted up” to Christian values which motivate and guide the adults serving in the school. The full staff has the will to help the 2mai2017-009-300pxweb weakest and most deprived, which is a strong value inherent in this school. As a goal of our Notre Dame foundresses, this value inspires teachers and administrators to form these young people to the best of their abilities. Among other Notre Dame values, the school is a place of respect and welcome, an inclusive community where differences are lived out each day by students from different cities, town, social classes, and enrolled in different academic programs or options. Sharing and good relationships are born in exchanges among students and teachers from day to day.

2mai2017-019-300pxweb — Students in the elementary and high school find friends at recreation after lunch.

In order to give the children in the early years more quiet spaces in their life and apprenticeships, a renovation of the buildings was undertaken in the summer of 2016. Now the pre-school and elementary classes are located in one large building, on a green and ventilated site. During recreation time for the elementary school, constructive activities take place in order to involve students and limit any conflicts. Also, the space reserved for games is more self-contained, with the yard divided into different zones: discussion, games, sports and ball games…etc. Consequently, the secondary school uses now the property from the elementary school which enables a greater cohesiveness for their sports teams.

Welcome and inclusion of students from a disadvantaged milieu becomes possible, thanks to creativity and the involvement of many people. To permit each student to pursue his/her studies and to have some materials involves great financial efforts at the school. The members of the Board of Trustees, administrators, teachers and the students organize lucrative activities to accomplish these ends/aims: fancy-fair, plays, sale of lasagna, etc. This is a challenge each year. The young people are aware of these charitable and disinterested actions in participating at gatherings for increasing funding sources. They learn to contribute to projects for fighting against leprosy or tuberculosis in the Third World, for animation in day nurseries or homes for the aged, and become involved in other service projects.

As a former student of the Institut Notre-Dame and the merged Institut Saint-Joseph, Sr. Monique-Marie realizes that this school has remained faithful to the educational values of Saint Julie and Marcellin Champagnat (Marist Brothers’ Founder). In spite of difficulties experienced, St. Julie’s spirit is active and alive daily in Saint Hubert: “Ah ! Qu’Il est bon le Bon Dieu.”
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**Sister Monique-Marie Petit, SNDdeN is a Member of the Board of Trustees at Saint Hubert. Mr. Patrick François is Director of the first degree level at the school and also a member in the Association of French-speaking Congregational Schools in Belgium/France (ASSOEC)—See Good Works, June 2012, pp.12-14

Please show your support for the heritage schools carrying forward St. Julie’s legacy of education in disadvantaged areas.

Donate Now

Collaboration in Education, Networking, Trafficking

Network: A Cry for Life

February 27, 2017 snddenGW 1 Comment

Sr. Josineide Maria da Silva, SNDdeN

josi-grad-200-px-wp — Sr. Josineide Maria da Silva, SNDdeN works with women from other Religious Congregations to prevent trafficking of women and children.

I am a woman religious in the Congregation of the Sisters of Notre Dame de Namur and a social worker. As a woman, Christian, religious and social worker, I value my duty to save lives from any injustice and to struggle for others to protect their human rights.

To combat this crime against the human person, I began to work in 2012 with women of various Religious Congregations who form Network: A Cry for Life, for the purpose of preventing the trafficking of women for sexual exploitation. This Network emerged so that women religious may take an active stance against the reality of human trafficking. In the face of the clamor of the victims of sexual exploitation and the diverse modalities of the trafficking of persons, women religious accept the challenge of a specific ministry, focused on this growing crisis in modern-day society.

The major objectives of the Network are:

to raise awareness and provide information by prioritizing groups in situations of vulnerability, community leaders, pastoral agents and others;
to organize groups of reflection and study;
to spread the ministry by empowering individuals who will empower others;
to participate in social movements advocating for public policies for confronting the trafficking of persons.

According to the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics (IBGE 2010), the state of Pará has 7,581,051 inhabitants from 144 counties; these are gigantic proportions compared to most of the other states in the Amazon region. A negative aspect for this population in Brazil arises from the elevated incidence of women trafficked for sexual exploitation. Women from the peripheries of Belém are recruited for Surinam, French Guyana and other countries to practice obligatory sex and other evil objectives, such as human slavery.

Pastoral Ministry for Women
The trafficking of persons, especially of women, is a consequence of social inequality and an expressed, depraved social issue, from colonial times in Brazil until today. The main victims of human trafficking for sexual exploitation are girls and women who live in situations of poverty and social vulnerability. In the face of this reality, I am sensitive to women and girls who are victims of trafficking for sex and other ends.

img_12131-workshop-presentation-300-px-web — Sr. Josineide presents her paper which shows how social inequality and ineffective public polices contribute trafficking of women and children.

Active Involvement through Education
Professionals in social work face a great variety of challenges in today’s society, with sexually transmitted diseases, pregnancy in adolescents, trafficking of persons for sexual exploitation among others. Social workers seek alternatives to understand these challenges for the persons involved. As a requirement for completion of a Bachelor’s Degree in Social Work, I presented a paper at the University on December 5, 2016 on the reality of the trafficking of women for sexual exploitation in the city of Belém, as a current and great challenge for social workers. Researching and writing this paper led me to discover that social inequality and the ineffectiveness of public policies are factors that contribute to many incidences of sexual exploitation. Social Service workers must start by seeking public policies that meet the needs of the women who are victims of sexual exploitation by traffickers of persons.

josi-bz-1-200-px-web I see this crime as happening in a “silent” and “invisible” manner, as exemplified by the reality of women on the periphery of Belém. I want to work by exposing this crime by ministering to these women as a Sister of Notre Dame de Namur and to assist these victims in collaboration with other women religious for systemic change in Brazil.

A thought that inspires me often as I minister to those in need is the valued ideal of the late Nelson Mandela of South Africa:

“I struggled against white domination, and I struggled against black domination. I nourished the ideal of a democratic and free society, in which all live together in harmony and with equal opportunities. It is an ideal that I hope to live to see become reality. But, if necessary, it is an ideal for which I am prepared to die.”

African Photovoltaic Project, Collaboration in Education, Sustainable Living

Ohio Province Promotes Congregational Projects

February 27, 2017 snddenGW Leave a comment

Karen Hadden and Angie Weisgerber,
Associate Director and Assistant Director of Development

smndphtovoltaic-1385_hdr-300px-web The Ohio Province has initiated an educational project at Mount Notre Dame in Cincinnati, Ohio, on the property at East Columbia Avenue. In an unused garage, solar panels and batteries have been installed for a Photovoltaic Learning Lab Project as part of an engineering experiment for two Notre Dame schools — Mount Notre Dame High School, an all girls school located next to the convent grounds in Cincinnati, OH, and Chaminade Julienne High School, a co-ed school located in Dayton, OH. In collaboration with Mr. Louis Casey, an engineer who coordinates the African Photovoltaic Project (APP) with the Sisters of Notre Dame de Namur internationally, the Development Office of the Ohio Province began a forward-looking initiative to connect with international efforts for collaboration, education and fund-raising. Students learn multiple aspects about conserving energy and the benefits of solar power through an experimental solar model. Solar panels on the convent garage convert the energy from the sun and store this solar power in batteries.

smndphtovoltaic-1399-450px-web — Keith Hanley, Learning Lab Volunteer Project Engineer, meets with Sr. Lorraine Connell, SNDdeN to learn about the success and expansion of the African Photovoltaic Project in the sites where Sisters of Notre Dame de Namur serve in ministry.

This system is similar to the photovoltaic system which the Sisters are using to bring electricity and a water purification system to schools, hospitals and convents in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Nigeria.

Photovoltaic Prototypes
In 2005, the Sisters set up a photovoltaic prototype at the Cuvilly Arts and Earth Center in Ipswich, MA to test the viability of this project for the ministries and communities of the Sisters of Notre Dame de Namur (SNDdeN) in Africa. This prototype in the pre-school and arts center proved to be a successful venture for installations in the Congo and Nigeria. With the help of generous donors, the SNDdeN Congregation moved forward with installations first for a community in Fugar and for the schools in Awkunanaw, Nigeria (later for communities in Abuja, Enugu, Illorin and Oro). Then, through 10 years, the Photovoltaic sites expanded in the Congo, first in Ngidinga, and then in Lemfu, Kitenda, Pelende, Kinsaku, Mpese, and Nselo. These installations have been providing electricity, water purification and technology access to ministries and communities, from 2006 to the present.

Education through Experimentation

students-in-photovoltaic-learning-lab-300px-web — Mount Notre Dame High School engineering students working on an experiment in the Learning Lab.

In some ways, the Ohio Province project is another prototype for education and experimentation for students and faculty in a few schools in Ohio and Illinois. The Photovoltaic Learning Laboratory in Cincinnati is a teaching center where students learn about energy as well as about the work of the Sisters in communities and ministries in Africa. During January and February 2017, engineering students conducted experiments for understanding power grids, in order to determine the length of time for the batteries to drain and be restored in tracking the lighting on the power grid. Students from Mount Notre Dame and Chaminade Julienne High Schools are collaborating on this experiment. Students monitor the output, input, recharging of batteries, and track time, weather conditions and temperature. Students collect, record and summarize the data. They will present a formal report at the Science Exposition at the University of Cincinnati in March 2017. They understand the importance of this experiment and the ongoing and lasting effects of a photovoltaic system for supplying electricity and for purifying water. They realize the impact that this system is already effecting in many sites where the Sisters of Notre Dame live and serve in the Congo and in Nigeria. This learning experience is a way for the faculty and staff in Notre Dame schools in the Ohio Province to understand how the Sisters are contributing to the lives and progress of the people in Africa. It is an opportunity for them to contribute to the work of the Sisters for sustainability of life for the people in underdeveloped countries and to extend these efforts in the future. Students are experiencing a real connection with the Mission of the Sisters, as they realize the impact of this project begun by the Sisters in 2005 and continuing with success until today!

Lenten Water Project
Students in Notre Dame schools throughout the Ohio Province participate also in the Lenten Water project. Schools support this global outreach program of the Sisters of Notre Dame de Namur by raising funds for water purification packets from Proctor and Gamble’s non-profit foundation, Children’s Safe Drinking Water, to be distributed for water purification in communities and ministries in Africa and Latin America. These packets purify the water and supply drinking water to towns and villages that would otherwise be deprived of clean water. The children in our schools show how much they want to help children in other parts of the Globe.

Sister Ann Fanella, SNDdeN tells about a 4^th grade student in Chicago:

Sr. Ann: Last year a young girl approached me in church with a container of money she had collected during Lent.

Child: Is this going to help someone?

Sr. Ann: Yes! You will help so many people.

Child: (jumping up and down) I am so happy I can help other children.

Since the Ohio Province started this program in 2011, 45 schools have contributed over $140,000 to pay for these water packets, distributed to different Notre Dame sites in the Southern Hemisphere. During Lent 2017, schools in Chicago, IL; Cincinnati, Columbus and Dayton, OH; Phoenix, AZ and throughout the United States will contribute to the Clean Water Project, promoted by the Congregational Mission Office in Ipswich, MA.

See the Lenten Project on the homepage of the international Website: www.sndden.org and read the next article by Sr. Evalyne Aseyo, SNDdeN in Kenya.

Collaboration in Education, Sisters of Notre Dame de Namur, St. Julie Billiart

Promises to Keep: Educational Legacy

May 23, 2016 snddenGW 3 Comments

“That they all may be one…” –John 17:21

Founder’s Day this year at St. Julie High School in Woolton, Liverpool, England evolved into a unique celebration, led by the school chaplain, Mr. Mike Anderson. Sr. Margaret Walsh, SNDdeN, Chairperson of the Board of Governors, welcomed the students, administrators and faculty to an important assembly in the Metropolitan Cathedral of Christ the King in Liverpool. Kate McCourt, a Deputy Head Teacher, introduced the 1804 Society, a mission and leadership organization named for the founding date of the Sisters of Notre Dame de Namur. Words, song and dance focused on continuing the educational legacy of St. Julie Billiart on this 200^th anniversary of her death (April 8, 2016), and beyond.

Passing the Baton
The assembly seized the image of “passing the baton” in a relay race to pass on Julie’s spirit to one another and to others in our time. This symbol of running the race, as St. Paul reminds us, symbolized for the students a way of working as a team to reach a goal together in continuing the Mission of St. Julie. The entire school community made a commitment to proclaim God’s goodness to this generation and the next.

In a symbolic ceremony of “picking up and passing the baton,” the whole student body, over 1000 students, and their administrators, faculty and staff made public promises in a moving ceremony at the school. Two students invited all to stand and to respond in promises to carry on the work of St. Julie. Libby announced the ceremony in reminding the assembly of the significance of this year.

Then, Savannah, the head student, led the ceremony of promises:

Will you open your heart as wide as the world?
Response: I will!

Will you be an angel of peace?
Response: I will!

Will you stand tall as sunflowers as an example to others?
Response: I will!

Will you be a courageous soul and stand up against wrongdoing?
Response: I will!

Will you serve the good God well with much liberty of spirit?
Response: I will!

Will you follow the example of the Sisters of Notre Dame?
Response: I will!

Will you pick up the baton and continue the legacy of St. Julie?
Response: I will!

The Deputy Principal, Mr. Tony Costello reminded the students that these are big promises. He then asked the students to pray together for the grace of keeping these promises and to ask, as St. Julie did, for Mary’s intercession. The commitment ceremony concluded as the entire assembly prayed together a Hail Mary, followed by St. Julie, pray for us, protect us and bless us! The Head Teacher, Mr. Tim Alderman congratulated all involved in this inspiring programme and moving celebration.

__________
Additional Photographs and video footage are available online from St. Julie’s High School in Woolton, Liverpool, England.

http://www.stjulies.org.uk/news/1323/371/Founders-Day-Celebration/d,new_detail.html

GW June 2016 – Promises to Keep

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Making known God's goodness