Does the Catholic college or university have anything distinctive to offer to today's world? Only if it maintains dynamic engagement with an evolving world, says Ilia Delio.
At St. Josephine Bakhita Babies Home in Busia, western Kenya, religious sisters and social workers take in abandoned and orphaned newborns in a region that has seen rising cases of incest and maternal mortality.
In Haiti's capital city, "they are literally in hell," says Sr. Jaqueline Picard. The effects of rampant gang violence in Port-au-Prince reach the rural communities where she and other Religious of Jesus and Mary serve.
Sisters of secular institutes in India spearhead ministries that offer a better future to children who have been living in the streets or found at bus stations, offering shelter, education and later placing them in job training.
Catholic leaders and sisters have rescued thousands of children and young girls in Sierra Leone from sexual abuse, offering guidance and counseling, justice and education.
Sisters of Charity of Nazareth operate Navjyoti Centre in Kathmandu, Nepal, where children and young adults with disabilities receive life skills and vocational training.
Amid lockdown in March 2020, religious sisters began to work with transgender people in need in the southern Indian state of Tamil Nadu. The sisters have helped them build self-reliance and gain social acceptance.
Operated by the Daughters of Charity of St. Vincent de Paul for more than 10 years, Give Me a Chance addresses a wide spectrum of needs in Ogden, a town with a 12% poverty rate where many struggle to afford essentials.
