Dear Friend of Liberia Mission, How does Franciscan Works strive to break the cycle of poverty? Liberia is a nation of struggles. Over 80% of its population lives on less than $1.25 (USD) a day. Yet, no commodities are any cheaper in Liberia than they are in the United States. 65% of primary school age children are out of school and only 20% of students enrolled in Grade 1 stay enrolled until Grade 12. Liberia has struggled against poverty, Ebola, AIDS, and a 14 year civil war. You may ask yourself as you make your gift to Franciscan Works, "How does our little effort in Liberia make a difference, with such staggering obstacles? Why try?" Don’t lose heart! Copy these words down so you can read them every day: "Start by doing what's necessary; then do what's possible; and suddenly you're doing the impossible." - St. Francis of Assisi You are a missionary of St. Francis. When you signed up to sponsor a child or you make a donation to Franciscan Works, you were doing, "what was necessary." Each month, when you write your monthly check, you are doing “what is possible.” Thank you for serving alongside us. -Joe Sehnert, Board President Volunteers Did you ever think of going to Liberia? The Mission is an awesome place. Fr. Carville, a dear friend of the Mission just visited Liberia Mission for eight days. Next month, Mario, who was at the mission 6 years ago, will return for a month followed by several other visitors later in the summer. Our visitors join right in to the Mission's happenings be it painting, feeding pigs or helping students study. If God is calling you to serve and you have questions give us a call or email info@franciscanworks.org to learn more about this opportunity. "To live charitably means not looking out for our own interests, but carrying the burdens of the weakest and poorest among us." - Pope Francis How Is The Mission Funded? 1) Sponsors – Those who sponsor a child on the mission. 2) Donations – Small and large gifts made to support our efforts. 3) Grants – Foundations and institutions that we appeal to for specific needs. These are usually capital projects like fixing roofs, water project or renovation. 4) Mission Appeals – These are done in Diocese throughout the U.S. where they allow us to speak to a parish and take up a collection. Join Us! Mass For A Loved One Do you have a loved one who you wish to remember in a Mass at the Mission? Let us know by calling 773-809-4008. Fr. Sawyer, our parish priest, is happy to remember your loved ones at Holy Mass. Sponsor a Child Sponsor a child for as little as $32 per day. You will be able to correspond with your sponsor child as you make their education possible. Click here to learn more and sponsors a student! 9th Grade Graduation St. Anthony School has 40 students graduating 9th grade on July 2nd. The students have been studying for their West Africa Examination Council (WAEC) tests, which they will take soon. Liberia and several other West African Nations require that students pass the WAEC test in order to move onto high school. For the past 4 years, St. Anthony's has had a 100% WAEC pass record. That is an amazing accomplishment. Thank you for supporting our school and giving these 40 young students an opportunity to break the cycle of poverty. Service Hours St. Anthony's 9th Graders do 20 hours of community service as part of their final year at our school. The service is done in many ways. Some help elderly neighbors, some clean along the road ways and others visit the sick. There are also opportunities to do work around the Mission. The community is enriched by this service and the students learn to give of themselves as young adults. Getting the students to begin their service at the start of the year isn't always easy, but once they get started many go above and beyond what the school asks them to do. Brother Jeremiah Krah is our Director of Religious Education and he spearheads this effort. Teaching the students to become "people for others" is an essential and Br. Jeremiah leads by example. 9th Grade Gift It is a tradition at St. Anthony's for the 9th graders to leave a legacy gift to the school. This year's class has erected a flag pole. Numanle Jimmile, class president, led the effort. The students raised the money, purchased the pole, cement, rebar and wood to build the forms. Then they went to work and did a great job! The students of subsequent years will be looking at the flag pole during devotions each morning and remembering the class of 2017. Career Day The Mission will host a Career Day on May 20th. Distinguished guests and department heads and Alumni of Booker T. Washington High School (BWI) will be coming to the mission to talk to our students about career paths. The day will commence with an assembly with speakers talking about opportunities, goals and challenges students will face in high school. Then breakout sessions will take place where students can go from classroom to classroom to hear experts talk on career opportunities in fields like Plant and Animal Agriculture, Accounting, Construction, Electrical, Plumbing, Home Economics, Business, Drafting, Auto Mechanics, Masonry, Engineering, and Education. Why We Are Unique Liberia Mission is the only elementary school in Liberia that has a vocational afternoon program. The program offers hands-on training in plant and animal agriculture, science through our labs, computers, home economics, construction and building and sewing. It costs us $1,000 a month to run this program- please considering partnering with us to provide this program by making a donation today! Summer Work Program It is almost summer and we need your help to provide a work program for our students. Every year we offer income and training to our students through this program. This year, we are focusing on painting the school, inside and out. It will cost us $4,700 and it will help us maintain the school and provide student training and employment. Please consider supporting this project through a donation! Roofs, Roofs, Roofs! No…that’s not a dog's bark! It’s the sound of our students putting on new roofs at St. Bahkita Hall, St. Martin Hall and St. Michael’s church. The Ruckstuhl Family Foundation provided a grant to fund the projects. Our BWI students are working each weekend changing out the rusted metal roofing material with new sheets of alloy. The project will cost $26,000 when complete. We are grateful to our BWI students and the Ruckstahl Foundation for making this possible. Do You Have Any Questions? Our Board President, Joe Sehnert, lived and served as Mission director for four years. He loves to share about LMI and can offer updates on sponsor students or any other questions you may have. Feel free to reach out to Joe by phone at 636-628-7270 or by email: joesehnert@gmail.com Ways You Can Help!
Thank You for Your Support! |