Almost ten years ago Sr. Joan journeyed to Charleston, SC which had a reputation for being the perfect tourist spot complete with a vibrant history, culture, and surrounding beauty. However the diocese, which covers the entire state, was one of the areas assisted by the Extension Society because of the extreme needs of the poor living there.
Sr. Joan found Our Lady of Mercy a fit for her background in education, counseling and her growing knowledge of Spanish. The Outreach has a two pronged focus of direct service and work for social change, including health services, parenting programs and education for children and adults.
An ESL (English as Second Language) program was started by Sr. Joan to serve mostly those from Mexico who have settled in the area. Since many of the people are undocumented, they experience injustice in many areas of their life. They work long, hard hours to provide for their families, often being treated unfairly at work and returning home to substandard housing.
"Their faith and determination, says Sr. Joan, "is what gives me the strength to try to live out our congregation's goal of proclaiming the reign of God through a ministry for justice."
Peru
Maureen Robinson
Hermanas De Maryknoll
Lima, Peru
...from a Christmas 2008 letter..
The clinic continues to occupy most of my time as we try to keep it afloat and continue to give quality medical and nutritional care to those who have no other options. As the situation deteriorates, all over, our number of clients continues to increase and we trust that God will continue to find generous people who will help us accomplish His work of ministering to the poor.
Our Well Baby program now numbers 310 a month and the Pre Natal has 23 currently receiving care. The medical facility itself is serving from 35 to 40 patients a day and we have had to extend our hours to deal with the numbers as we have only one doctor.
We have also increased our numbers in the breakfast and lunch programs as we have many more elderly and Aids patients.
I give thanks to God for our wonderful staff that is willing to do, over and above, so many extra things to meet the needs we face daily. It is truly a Pastoral Work for them and not merely a job. Four of them became Eucharistic ministers this year so that they can cover the hospitalized and homebound. They continue to teach me so much.
Last week we received second hand dental and x-ray equipment from the Rotary Club. We are now trying to get them funded and installed so that our services can be expanded.
We were forced to close our Library as the funding dried up and although we saw a great need we also realized that the proliferation of Internet shops in the area is discouraging the young people from reading books. We have three computers hooked up to Internet in the Library but they were supervised by the staff to make sure that they were used for school purposes and the kids wanted to run off their assignments and then play games. Not wanting that control, the numbers of students decreased and so we read the signs of the times and decided it was time to move on and put our efforts elsewhere.
We also were the recipients of the Peruvian Human Rights award this year. It was the first time here in Peru that a foreign religious congregation was awarded such a distinction for their work for Justice and Peace. It coincided with the 60th anniversary of the Declaration of Human Rights and we felt very honored. We have worked very hard in this field to assure just treatment for those who have been deprived of their rights. We also wanted the Peruvians to know that it would have been impossible without their support and encouragement. It is a challenge but more so a privilege to work side by side with them in trying to make our world a place of equality and justice.
As we approach 2009, we wonder what surprises lie in store. We realize that the situation all over the world is in a very critical phase. We have just finished celebrating Christmas, where we heard over and over Peace on Earth to All of Good Will, and yet wars, hunger, starvation, injustice, destruction of our planet and financial crisis continue to plague us. When will we learn to make peace and not war and to work toward equality? The breach between the have’s and the have not’s is so wide. May we all encounter the Good Will that the Scripture talks about.
