Sr Elena and Sr. Margarita in London

On the 21 and 22 May, Sr. Elena and Sr. Margarita of the Sisters of Mary visited London to meet with supporters, thank them for their support and provide an update on our work around the world. At a gathering in the World Villages’ office, we were delighted to meet with old and new supporters and had the opportunity to share some of the developments at the education programmes.

Sr. Margarita particularly highlighted the impact being made with every donation and how we are working to equip children with vocational skills to give them the best chance of employment when they finish school.

The Sisters welcomed questions from supporters and the opportunity to provide deeper insight into how their gifts are being used to provide care and education of the children. We were pleased to be joined by Sthefanny, an alumna of the Brasilia Girlstown school who shared her experience and demonstrated just how much change her place at the Sisters of Mary school has made to her life and the lives of her family members.

Over the past few years we have developed a relationship with representatives from the Guatemalan Embassy here in London. Sr. Elena and Sr Margarita were pleased to be received by Her Excellency Carla María Rodríguez Mancia at the Guatemalan Embassy for a meeting during their trip.

The meeting was an opportunity to speak about the work we are carrying out in Guatemala and how we are supporting her most vulnerable citizens – children – into a brighter future. A highlight of the morning was to discover that whilst at the UN, HE Carla Mancia has worked with one of the first graduates from our boys school, Carlos.

Carlos has used his education with the Sisters of Mary in Zona 6 Boystown to gain a degree and has represented Guatemala at UN Human Rights forums in Geneva as Head Delegate of the Specific Cabinet for Social Development and the Thematic Table of Indigenous Peoples. Carlos’ success drove home the impact of the Sisters’ work and how one child’s education can ripple out into the wider community.

We are so grateful to Minister Councillor Manuel Lorenzana Baldizón for his introduction to the Ambassador and for the continued interest of the Ambassador and her team in supporting the Sisters’ of Mary schools and investing in the children of Guatemala.