Our Mission Projects

• Alfons Gallery
• Layton Boulevard West Neighbors
• Mission on the Border
• My Good Mourning Place
• Guadalupe Homes
• Rieti Spirituality and Healing Center
• Paiwas in Nicaragua
• North India, St. Francis Province, Bhopal, M.P.
• South India, Assisi Province, Kerala
• Scholarships

Alfons Gallery
Since Mother Alfons and Mother Alexia founded the School Sisters of St. Francis in 1874, education in the arts has significantly influenced our sisters and the people we serve. Alfons Gallery opened in 1992 with the first "International School Sisters of St. Francis Art Exhibit." The gallery continues today as an expression of our love and appreciation for the arts. Over 5,000 people a year visit  Alfons Gallery, which is located in the beautiful and historic St. Joseph Center in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. There is no charge for admission and the gallery is open to the public. Although many creative means have been used to control costs, the gallery is no longer able to cover expenses with income from the sale of art works and gift shop items. Several retired sisters now staff the gallery. To ensure a viable future for Alfons Gallery, we are seeking to broaden our base of financial support.

>> Upcoming Alfons Gallery Exhibits

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Layton Boulevard West Neighbors (LBWN)
In the early 1990s, it was apparent that the neighborhood surrounding our motherhouse on the south side of Milwaukee was facing many urban challenges. Crime, poverty, and problems associated with absentee landlords were all on the rise. Seeking to make a meaningful impact on the neighborhood, in 1992 we made a commitment to be a vital part of its stabilization. We founded "Layton Boulevard West Neighbors," a community development corporation with the mission of improving quality of life through the empowerment of neighborhood leaders. Improving housing, increasing home ownership, and promoting economic development are all essential to the revitalization efforts of LBWN. Over 16,000 people live in the multi-cultural neighborhood in which LBWN is located. Our investment in the neighborhood has leveraged additional support from community development block grants, private foundations, and individuals.

In the past several years LBWN has expanded its programs and staff to respond to the needs of the neighborhood. The organization has established a reputation for cultivating partnerships to accomplish its mission and for developing leaders from within the neighborhood. To learn more, visit the LBWN website at www.lbwn.org.

 

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Mission on the Border
Our "Mission on the Border" project will be a referral and resource center for people in need and will provide opportunities for ministry and volunteer service while promoting cultural sensitivity. It will also enable our sisters and associates to collaborate as an inter-cultural community. The project is being developed in phases. Last fall an investigative process was conducted by our sisters from Latin America and the United States. The investigation team will identify a mission site on the border between the United States and Mexico based on needs, resources, legal considerations, and relationships with the local church. In 2005, the sisters who will staff this ministry will be identified and, along with the steering committee, will move forward in developing a plan to establish the "Mission on the Border."

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My Good Mourning Place
My Good Mourning Place is a bereavement center for children who have experienced a significant loss in their lives. Founded in 2002, the center is directed by one of our School Sisters who leads a team of trained grief counselors. These counselors voluntarily assist children and their families to work through the grief that follows the death of a loved one. Children and adults need to grieve after experiencing the loss of a loved one, but often in our society, children are not supported after a death. Pressure to "move on" can cause isolation and confusion in children who have suffered the death of someone close to them. Due to the nature of this ministry, the children and parents are unable to physically or emotionally participate in raising funds. Some families are able to make a free will offering, but there is no expectation that they do so. We seek the support of private donors and Milwaukee area foundations for operational expenses. My Good Mourning Place

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Guadalupe Homes
Guadalupe Homes, located in the rural Indian community of Santa Apolonia in Guatemala, was founded in 1985 at the invitation of Bishop Eduardo Fuentes Duarte. Its initial purpose was to care for children who became homeless during the civil war in Guatemala. Many of the orphaned and abandoned children who come to the orphanage have had little or no formal education and often suffer from severe malnutrition. Today, 100 children are cared for at Guadalupe Homes, which is comprised of eight simple houses (hogares). The children live in family groups with tias (aunts) who care for them. Funding for the project comes from foundations, churches, individuals, and from the sale of items produced in the workshops at Guadalupe Homes.

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Rieti Spirituality and Healing Center in Guatemala
Rieti is a unique and innovative center located in San Marcos in the highlands of Guatemala. It is designed to heal the physical, psychological, and spiritual wounds of people who have been affected by violence. Some people who come to Rieti have suffered political violence such as torture or witnessing the killing of family members. Others have experienced domestic violence. Last year over 3,000 people came to Rieti from surrounding villages. One of our sisters, a nurse with specialized training in spiritual direction, directs Rieti and leads a highly-trained team of sisters and local health personnel. Together they offer a wide range of therapies including natural medicine, healing massage, focusing, Tai chi, acupuncture, counseling, and traditional western medicine.

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Paiwas in Nicaragua
In the parish of Cristo Rey, located in the municipality of Paiwas, Nicaragua, the School Sisters of St. Francis are working with 21 rural communities who lack the services of government-sponsored health care. Our Paiwas Health Project seeks to improve the quality of life for over 15,000 people by strengthening the work of health promoters and midwives, and by promoting community organizing. We strive to maximize resources and address needs such as providing herbal medicines; increasing space for a laboratory, clinic, and office; improving our medicinal orchard; widening the availability of health care and training additional health promoters and midwives. The local community has trust in our faithful and dedicated promoters and midwives, and they also trust Catholic organizations. We have many strengths to draw upon such as a solid foundation to implement the program, an established training team, and support from the local government.

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North India, St. Francis Province, Bhopal, M.P.
There are 76 School Sisters of St. Francis in North India including five novices. Sisters work in schools and clinics to provide education and healthcare in remote villages. Asha Bhavan in Bangalore opened its doors in 1997 as a home for elderly women and handicapped women and girls. In order to make it possible for girls from Goreghat and other places to continue their studies beyond grade school, a hostel for girls has been started by the sisters in Bichhia. In addition to furthering their education, the girls will be trained in skills relating to tailoring, household work, and gardening. Funds are being raised to support the hostel for girls and the skill development program at Bichhia, and to support the education of our sisters.

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South India, Assisi Province, Kerala
In South India, nearly 100 School Sisters and novices conduct schools, offer health care, supervise a farm, and oversee a vocational service center offering typing and computer classes and a tailoring school for adults. The sisters also conduct pastoral work in villages. In Pullissery, the sisters teach about 800 children in grades one through eight; the majority of whom are Muslim and Hindu. There are no books, and the children learn mostly by rote. The sisters purchased a school building that was about to be closed and have now begun renovations. These include creating classrooms, and adding windows, doors, desks and benches, toilets, washing facilities, and a simple kitchen.

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Scholarships
We receive annual requests for scholarship funds for promising students in the United States, Latin America, and India. Funds are needed to support children in primary grades as well as students in high school, technical education, and college. Funds are also needed to provide for the professional education of our sisters.

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