Joy as The Sisters of Mary meet their children again in London

World Villages for Children, a charity whose mission is ending poverty through education, has just hosted Sr Elena and Sr Margarita in the UK. Sr Elena and Sister Margarita are part of the Sisters of Mary, who deliver life changing humanitarian education programmes in six countries worldwide.

During the visit, World Villages for Children was pleased to have in attendance three of the children who benefitted from the World Villages of Children programmes. They are now thriving adults. Sthefanny, Marisol, and Fretch come from Brazil, Guatemala, and the Philippines respectively, and through their education have been able to live and work in the UK.

One of these graduates, Marisol, from Guatemala, heard about the Sisters visit on Wednesday 28 May and contacted her school in Guatemala, who put her in touch with the Sisters in London. The very next day, Marisol came to a meeting and stood up to share with supporters the great change the Sisters’ humanitarian education programmes have made in her life.

Sthefanny, who grew up in Brazil, shared her story with people, talking about how when she came to the Sisters of Mary, it was the first time she had her own bed to sleep in. She also shared about how the technical skills she learned at school enabled her to win a scholarship to university and work as a nurse technician to support herself and her family. When asked what made the biggest change in her life, Sthefanny responded, “It was love actually. The Sisters have donated their lives and you donate to our lives too. Thank you!”

Each graduate is now in a position to support their families financially and help lift others out of poverty. Their education and support into work after school with the Sisters of Mary programmes made this possible. Their presence in these meetings with supporters drove home the value of the education programmes and how children’s lives are being changed daily because of the support from people across the UK.

The Sisters trip gave opportunity to meet with old and new supporters in London and Leeds, where they were able to share their work with press and current supporters. The Sisters were pleased to meet Minister Counsellor Charge d’ Affaires a.i. Manuel  Lorenzana Baldizón, representing the Embassy of Guatemala in London, who has visited the programmes in Guatemala and spoke with passion about how much they help children in Guatemala.

These visits are an important part of World Villages for Children’s work to raise funds and raise the profile of the Sisters of Mary education programmes.

Thanks to the generous support of many people living in the UK, nearly 20,000 children every year have the care and education that empowers them to find work and support themselves, breaking cycles of poverty.

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Find out more about work of The Sisters of Mary and World Villages for Children …

https://www.worldvillages.org.uk/