In our schools around the world our children are able to thrive. Finally growing strong and building confidence they participate in local, regional, national and sometimes international competitions to develop their skills. They are keen to test their abilities and compete against other children in their age groups.
In the Philippines our Talisay Girlstown girls took part in the annual Regional Skills Competitions and achieved gold medals in Fashion Design Technology, Electronics, and Patisserie and Confectionary. In Biga Girlstown, our girls participated in the Regional History Quiz Bee online competition with the Grade 10 group triumphing in first place and in Adlas Boystown, our boys placed second in the Panlalawigang Mind Challenge online History Quiz Bee competition.
At Zona 13 Girlstown, Guatemala our girls were awarded second place in a virtual competition organized by Guatemala Bank Association and in Amarateca Boystown, Honduras achieved first and third place in the Soccer tournament.
September at the schools saw a focus on developing vocational skills and preparing for work. In Zona 6 Guatemala Boystown, some of our boys participated in a Training Course conducted by Axalta Company. This kind of training is so valuable for preparing our children for work after school.
At Brasilia Girlstown, the girls took part in an educational tour for a nursing course. This gave them the opportunity to see what studying nursing can be like and whether they would like to pursue it as a career.
Our girls in Zona 13 Guatemala Girlstown took part in workshops from the Guatemalan Red Cross and Business Genesis on the topic of women’s empowerment. We encourage and empower our girls to overcome gender bias and give them the emotional skills and practical abilities they need to succeed in life after school.
Reaching the end of their time at school with us, in Guatemala we were so pleased to see 305 final year students in Zona 6 Boystown and Zona 13 Girlstown graduate in September!
This marks the beginning of their new life. Some of them will continue with further study but thanks to their education with us they will be able to find work, achieve their dreams and move onto an independent and brighter future.
The Sisters work very hard to develop relationships with local companies and employers and so many of the children graduating now have jobs waiting for them, giving them the best start they can have for life after school.
Elsewhere at the programmes overseas the Sisters of Mary resumed community outreach work in Tanzania to meet the poorest girls in need of education. September saw the Sisters in the remote communities of Ngorongoro, in Arusha. These communities have become increasingly impoverished and vulnerable due to drought and climate change and the girls in the families are the most vulnerable and in need of schooling. With your support, we will be able to welcome new girls from this area to our Kisarawe Girls School in January 2023.
In Tanzania, we were also thrilled to welcome the next group of trainees to the Kiluvya Training Centre for women. Now that the first group of trainees have successfully graduated into work or set up their own businesses, we are able to welcome another 100 trainees who will have a six month course to learn electronics, bread and pastry making and tailoring, ready for employment opportunities early next year.
In the summer, the Sisters were granted the title deed to the land that will soon become our new boys’ school in Tanzania, near Dodoma. Plans to begin building the school are on their way and we look forward to this exciting new programme to support the most impoverished and vulnerable boys in Tanzania.
December 2024 News
December was a joy filled month at all our schools around the world. Read more of our December news.
International Day of Education
2025’s International Day of Education is about teaching children to become independent thinkers, giving them the tools and knowledge to navigate an evolving technological landscape.
New students 2025
This month, we are welcoming hundreds of new children into our Sisters of Mary schools around the world.