School Sisters of Notre Dame

In Mission
2019Fighting for theright to a safe
and secure life
– Honduras
page 5Serving refugees
with humility, loveand compassion– USA
page 8

Painful woundsof war – Austria
page 4Migration andhuman trafficking– Ghana page 9
Much more ...

Becoming painfully aware...
You Are Sent, Constitution 17

About Living the Gospel
a future. My ten-year ministry withthose affected by violent conflict
and war in Africa was challenge andgrace. By becoming painfully awareof the suffering and daring to allow
it to become my and our personal
suffering, we discover what each of
us can do about it (cf. Laudato Si’, 19).

Sister Roxanne Schares,
General SuperiorCommitted to Christ’s mission, we are
impelled into the heart of the world toaddress critical global concerns. On
this journey, we often find ourselvesat the peripheries, encountering
those who are vulnerable andmarginalized. In today’s world,
migrants and refugees, displaced
persons and victims of trafficking
have become signs of exclusion.
To understand and respond well,
it is vital to see the faces, hear thevoices, walk with and share the painof children and youth, women andmen, fleeing unbearable conditions.
Their journeys reveal their desperate
desire to save their lives and create

This issue of In Mission highlights
experiences of School Sisters of
Notre Dame, reaching out and being
with people forced to be on the move.
The stories reflect ways of respondingthat welcome, protect, promote, andintegrate our sisters and brothers into
our lives and societies, that respect
the dignity of all. Our sisters pray andaccompany, educate and advocate,discern and take action that cantransform us and our society.
Through these experiences, we learn
that “it is not just about them, but
about all of us” (Pope Francis, Message
for the 105th World Day of Migrants andRefugees 2019).

It is not just about
migrants and refugees; it is about
encountering Christ in the other,about being compassion and love,healing and hope. It is about living
the Gospel. 

Inside this issue
The migration reality and our
Shalom network .  .  .  .  .  .  .  3
Migration should be a choice,not a necessity  .  .  .  .  .  .  . 3

Being Nigerian in Hungary . . 7Serving refugees with humility,
love, and compassion .  .  .  .  8

The painful wounds of war . . 4

Responding
to Pope Francis’ call .  .  .  .  .  8

A commitment to immigrants
and immigration reform .  .  . 5

Migration and the linkto human trafficking  .  .  .  .  .  9

Fighting for the right to a safe
and secure life .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  5

#whatisHOME .  .  .  .  .  .  .  10

Unaccompanied, underage
refugees: a challenge for us . 6

I was a stranger, and you
accepted me .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .11

2 / In M i ssi o n

In Mission 2019
Publication of the
School Sisters of Notre Dame
Generalate, Rome, Italy
gerhardinger.org
Province of Latin America andthe Caribbean (ALC)
provinciaalc.org
Province of Africa (AF)ssnd.org/africa
Atlantic-Midwest Province(AM)atlanticmidwest.org
Central Pacific Province (CP)ssndcentralpacific.org
AF, AM, CP Collaborative site
ssnd.org
Bavarian Province (BY)
schulschwestern.de
Hungarian Province (MG)iskolanoverek.hu
Province of Austria-Italy(OR-IT) including theCzechoslovakian Province(CE)
ssnd-austria.org
skolskesestry.cz
Polish Province (PO)ssnd.plSlovenian Province (SI)notredamke.rkc.si
Editor: Patricia Stortz
Collaborators:
Sr. Joan Mukhwana
Namulanda,
Sr. Yvonne Nosal,
Caelie Haines,
Sr. M. Justine Eberdorfer,
Trudy Hamilton,
Zsófia Katona,
Kurt Haspel,
Sr. M. Adrianna Modelska,
Sr. Alenka Žibert
We are grateful to the sisters
and lay colleagues whotranslated from the original
languages to English, andfrom English to each of theprovince languages.
Thank you!
***
Cover photos: Flight into Egypt; Artist:
Gentile da Fabriano, 1423. Source:
Wikimedia Commons
Top photo. Photographer: Trasmo;
Source: Pixabay

The migration reality and our Shalom network
By Sister Kathy Schmittgens,International Shalom
Coordinator, Rome, Italy
From the beginningof my work in 2015
as the International
ShalomCoordinatorbased at our Generalate
in
Rome,
the
phenomenon of humanmigration has been one of the pressing concerns for
our Church and our world. In response, our Shalom
Network has consistently tried to learn as much as
we can about the causes and find ways to act.

situations, our Shalom network strives to be acountercultural voice in the din of negativity, fear andhate so present in today’s world. ***
Shalom is the international network for justice, peace, andthe integrity of creation for the School Sisters of Notre
Dame. Each Sister is a member of the Shalom Network.

At our Shalom Seminar in 2015, we heard thepersonal witness of a family forced to migrate due
to political retaliation. We also studied Laudato Si’,Pope Francis’ Encyclical on care for our common
home. In our study of the environment, we saw how
the issues are interrelated. As places become morepolluted or uninhabitable due to climate change,pressures to migrate increase.
Our Sisters find themselves at both ends of the
migration reality. We live in countries where thesituation is so dire that people are migrating away,
and we live in countries that are the destinationor pathway for those who are migrating. In both

Sister Kathy with other SSNDs and Novices at apeace march, St. Peter’s Square, Rome.
Photo: SSND congregation

Migration should be a choice, not a necessity
By Sister Beatriz MartínezGarcía, SSND, Director of
SSND UN-NGO Office
In 2015, hundreds ofthousands of families
from
Syria,
Iran,
Afghanistan, Eritrea, andother countries crossed
the Mediterranean Sea toreach Europe. All of themin search of safety andwellbeing.
On September 19, 2016, the United Nations General
Assembly unanimously adopted the New York

Declaration for Refugees and Migrants pledging
to develop a global compact for safe, orderly andregular migration. On December 10, 2018, a majority
of UN Member States adopted the Global Compact
for Migration (GCM); formal endorsement by the
UN General Assembly followed on December 19. In
addition, the UN Network on Migration was createdto support collaboration among Member States in
implementing the Compact.
Along with these efforts, the International Organization
on Migration (IOM) is promoting diversity andinclusion of migrants in society through campaigns
such as “i am a migrant”, “Holding On”, and “Global
Continued on page 4 ...
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... Migration should be a choice
Migration Film Festival”. The IOM Migration Data Portal
provides statistics and reliable information about migrationworldwide. Migration data is important for local, national andinternational policymaking.
I encourage you to watch the video: “Migration should be achoice, not a necessity” prepared by the Food and Agriculture
Organization of the United Nations (FAO). It may help us
understand why there are more than 258 million migrants
throughout the world living outside of their country of birth.
It may also call us to action and to dare to respond boldly inunsuspected ways (You Are Sent, Constitution 17; GD 36-38). ***

Links:• https://refugeesmigrants.un.org/• Video: Migration should be a choice (FAO)

SSND and the UN
Since 1994, the School Sisters of
Notre Dame have participated in thework of the United Nations through ourassociation with the UN Departmentof Public Information (DPI) and, since1998, the UN Economic and Social
Council (ECOSOC) with which wehave special consultative status. Our
advocacy and educational efforts focus
on the rights of girls, women, and those
who are poor—especially their rightto education, economic justice, andsustainable development.

The painful wounds of war

Sister Martha Bertsch with a group of refugee boys. Photo: Sister Martha Bertsch, Austria

By Sister Marta Bertsch and Kurt Reel (ÖR-IT, Austria)

seek shelter elsewhere. They were practically left totheir own devices.

In 2015 thousands of refugees came to Austria.
Eggenburg, a small town north of Vienna, received
45 unaccompanied minor refugees and Syrian
families. The Mayor and the Pastor asked Christineand Michael Schneider-Heinz to coordinate theinitiative “Welcome People”. The couple had justreturned from the SSND Shalom seminar in Rome,
where they had participated as interpreters.

Our SSND Sisters searched for private apartments
for these 36 young people. Some of them were
illiterate, so it was important to find schools willing towork with them.

These teenagers were housed in a Caritas home.
However, at the age of 18, they had to leave and
4 / In M i ssi o n

Our sisters helped the boys and families with children
to learn the language, accompanied them to various
offices and to doctor appointments, and helped them
if they needed school or personal help.
Continued on page 6 ...

A commitment to immigrants and immigration reform
immigration reform and keeps our SSND networks
informed so that we can educate, advocate and act.
In the USA, we currently house refugees on our
properties in Wilton, Connecticut and Baltimore,
Maryland. In Canada, our Sisters in Waterdown,
Ontario helped sponsor a family’s immigration andare assisting them as they adapt to life in their new
country.

Sister Leonora interviewing Manal, a Syrian refugee andwidow who lives on the grounds of Villa Notre Dame(VND)
in Wilton with her five children. Manal works in the
kitchen at VND. Source: Video interview.

By Caelie Haines (AM, Maryland, USA)
Sisters and Associates in the Atlantic-Midwest
Province, both in Canada and the United States, arecommitted to and engaged in work with immigrants
and immigration reform. We have a committee thatmonitors developments with regard to immigrants andIn our immigration work, the issue we see mostconsistently connected to migration is poverty.
Poorer countries have been stripped of their natural
resources by rich and powerful nations, often withcollusion by their country’s leaders. The people whoare sick or marginalized bear the burden of minimal
resources. They must migrate if they are to attain asustainable living for themselves and their families.
Our Sisters petition the government to send
humanitarian aid and other necessary resources tocountries in need. We also participate in the fightfor compassionate immigration reform that keeps
families together and welcomes refugees and thecontributions they will make to society in return for asafe place to live, work, learn and grow. Fighting for the right to a safe and secure life
By Sister Rosa Maria Trochez (ALC, Honduras)
Eight times a year, we reflect as a congregation on
global issues in our Shalom International Solidarity
Reflection using the learning paradigm: experience,reflection, action. In the January 2019 issue, Sister
Rosa Maria related her experience of the migration
reality in Honduras.
***
I share with you the pain of experiencing the massive
exodus of thousands of Hondurans. They are fleeing
the unbearable conditions of life in our country. We
have seen children, women, young people, men, inshort, whole families, desperately wanting to savetheir lives.
Sister Rosa Maria speaks
with community members.
Photo: Mark Coplan, USA

The alarming reasons for the displacement of ourContinued on page 7 ...

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Unaccompanied, underage refugees: A challenge for us

Sister M. Diethild working with Oumar, a refugee who graduated from the Brede Vocational College and went on to
study business administration. Photo: Verena Biermann, Brakel, Germany

By Sister M. Diethild Wicker (BY, Germany)
Our directional statement “Love gives everything”
is a challenge and a commitment for each School
Sister of Notre Dame, including myself in my workwith underage refugees.
In 2013, after a dramatic escape, the firstrefugees from Guinea came to us at the KolpingBerufsbildungswerk (Kolping Vocational Training
Center) in Brakel, Germany, where I have beenteaching for 10 years.
In 2015, twenty-one young refugees arrived here;
I have accompanied them intensively since thebeginning. My job has many facets: I go with themto doctors, psychologists, offices, and authorities
and we have many talks. Above all, the boys need toregain their self-esteem and confidence in their own
abilities.
Every young person has their own horrendous
escape story. For example, Fikadu, from Eritrea, was... The painful wounds of war
The war has left painful wounds. Help, a sign ofaffection, an open ear, a word of appreciation can all
help to heal these wounds.
This project was supported from the beginning by

6 / In M i ssi o nbeing forced to become a soldier at 14. He fled to
Sudan, then through the desert to Libya, waited formonths for money from his parents to pay smugglers,
and then spent 14 days in a rubber boat crossing theMediterranean to Italy. “I always had to stay awake,otherwise I would have been thrown into the sea,”said Fikadu, his hands shaking at the memory.
Finally land and the cry: “Hungry, hungry!” Italy,
Austria, Germany, Hamburg, Dortmund, Höxter,
Brakel. Completely exhausted, frightened, crying,traumatized, Fikadu arrived here and collapsed.
Today he is doing well and has contact with hisparents and siblings. He works in gardening andlandscaping for a large company and is appreciatedthere.
“Love gives everything.” Every effort is worthwhileand corresponds in our apostolate to meeting people
with respect and empathy regardless of their religion
and background. 

the Province of Austria-Italy. Especially helpful wereSisters Elise Silvestri, Jean Greenwald, Helen Plum,and Martha Bertsch who is currently working in thisfield. These SSND Sisters have been, and remain astrong testimony of lived neighborly charity to these
displaced people. Being Nigerian in Hungary
By Sister Kinga Baráti (MG, Hungary)
Favour, 11, is in the fifth grade. She arrived at our
school in Makó, Hungary a few months ago. Her
arrival sparked lively interest among the students,
because she was the first among us whose parents
are from Africa. Despite being born in Hungary, her
status is stateless. Her parents arrived 14 years ago
from Nigeria. I visited her family to interview her, herfather, Henry and her Hungarian stepmother, Vivien.
Favour: People say I am like an average Hungarian
teenager. Those who do not know me usually talk to
me in English; they are very surprised when they findout that I speak Hungarian excellently.
I would like to become a doctor, specifically, a plastic
surgeon.
In my new school, I like that we treat each other as if
we were the same. We are the same in fact; people
do not judge you by the color of your skin. In anotherschool, when I got a bad grade once, they connected
it with the color of my skin.
Vivien: I often experience prejudice. Children are
not taught that calling someone a Negro (néger) is ahurtful expression for them. When my little boy was
three years old, he wanted to be white and he kept
scratching his skin not to be brown. I taught him to be
proud of what he is.
Henry: People in other countries do not know what ishappening here. On the streets, I am provoked; they
spit on me and say: “What are you doing here? Gohome to Africa!”
I have had positive experiences, too, of course. An
old man came to me at a shop and kindly greeted... Fighting for the rightto a safe and secure life
peoples include war, violence, extreme economic
inequality, corruption, impunity, and lack ofopportunities for employment, health, education, andhousing. Either they fear for their future or they justdo not see a future.

Favour (left) with a classmate at their school in
Makó, Hungary.
Photo: Sister M. Kinga Baráti, Makó, Hungary

me: “You are one of those Negros, like that famousboxer.”
People and politicians should be told: whoever comes
here and is willing to fit into this culture, should not be
hurt, beaten or criticized. They should get to know
them first, and then judge. I am a Human Rights Promoter and I work to support
the community of San Isidro in El Progreso, Yoro,
Honduras. This community has been prosecuted for
occupying lands on which they have been living fora long time. We fight for their rights so that they andothers searching for a safe and secure life do nothave to leave Honduras. 
https://ger har dinger. org / 7

Serving refugees with humility, love, and compassion
By Trudy Hamilton (CP, Missouri, USA)
Sisters from across the Central Pacific Province
have been responding to the urgent needs ofimmigrants and refugees for many years, but there
has been an increased sense of urgency over thelast year, especially along the southern border of theUnited States. Working in collaboration with othercongregations, Sisters are supporting immigrants
and asylum seekers in El Paso, Texas, by serving
meals, preparing ‘to go’ meals, and driving volunteers
and immigrants. Sister Cathy Doherty shared, “Thisexperience was emotional and a heart opener.”
Near Juarez and Anapra, Mexico, sisters meetwith border patrol agents and work with refugees
at a processing center. Sisters also assist adult
immigrants who work in U.S. factories, care forunaccompanied minors, and support refugee womenat a cancer center near San Antonio, Texas. “This has
been a real gift for all of us,” said Sister Kate DuVal.
“Many moments of deep reflection on freedom,safety, peace, hope, community and so much more.
The unbelievable patience these guests have hour
after hour, day after day, is such a reminder of how
much we take for granted.”

Sister Rose Anthony Krebs, Sister Richarde Marie
Wolf serve breakfast to refugees in El Paso, Texas.
Photo: Sister Kate DuVal

Whether it is hands-on work or prayer and presence,
Sisters from the Central Pacific Province are serving
immigrant refugees wherever and however they areneeded. 

Sister Kate DuVal arranging rides
for refugees and volunteers

Responding to Pope Francis’ call
By Sister Kathy Schmittgens (Generalate, Italy)
In Rome, Pope Francis made a direct appeal to religious
congregations asking us to use our unoccupied spaces
to house migrants and refugees. We turned to the Jesuit
Refugee Service (JRS) Centro Astalli program to help us
respond.

La casetta. Photo: Patricia Stortz, Generalate, Rome.

8 / In M i ssi o n

On our Generalate property we have a small house, "lacasetta”, that originally was home to a preschool. Somecleanup and upgrades made it a perfect, safe living
space. Our first guests were from Congo. They stayedfor 14 months and are now on their own. Currently weare hosting a family from Pakistan. We feel blessed that
we have been able to respond to Pope Francis’ call tohelp people who are in such great need. Migration and the link to human trafficking
By Sister Helen Galadima (AF, Ghana)In the July 2019 Shalom Solidarity Reflection, Sister
Helen Galadima, an English teacher at Notre Dame
Girls Senior High School in Sunyani, Ghana, wrote
about the issue of human trafficking in the African
context. She shared an encounter of her own thatbrought home for her how those migrating to findwork can easily become victims of human trafficking.
***I had heard of trafficking cases from others; however,I had not encountered anyone actually involvedin trafficking until 2016. On a flight from Ghana to
Rome, Italy, I entered into a conversation with Esi
who sat near me. When I asked Esi where she wasgoing, Esi replied that she was traveling to Kuwait.
She explained that in Ghana she was told by therecruitment agent who made the arrangements that
Kuwait would be her destination. The agent explainedthat she would be going to work as a housekeeper.
When asked if she knew what housekeeping meant,Esi replied in the negative.
A man who sat nearby overheard the conversationand exclaimed, “Hey”! He related the experience of
his niece who became a victim of trafficking througha similar journey to Kuwait. By God’s grace, theniece was rescued by family members and returned
home to Ghana.
After hearing about the niece’s experience, it
dawned on Esi that Kuwait was the wrong place forher and the job that she was told was waiting did not
really exist. ***
Links:?
Trafficking isprevalentin all partsof the world.

• gerhardinger.org• United Nations• Talitha Kum

Where might
it existnear you?

Sister Helen at a Justice, Peace and Integrity ofCreation seminar in Ghana. Photo: Province of Africa

Migrant workers and job seekers,
who constitute the majority of international migrants,
are vulnerable to human trafficking
throughout their migration process.
Global Estimates of Modern Slavery: forced labour and forced marriage.
International Labour Office (ILO), Geneva, 2017, page 30.

https://ger har dinger. org / 9

Sister M. Slavka Cekuta, first from left, participates at a “round table” gathering.
Photo: From the archives of Slovenska Karitas. Used with permission. Source link.

#whatisHOME?
By Sister M. Slavka Cekuta (SI, Slovenia)
The Caritas MIND project has been holding“round table” meetings in Slovenian cities to raiseawareness and highlight the relationship of migrationand development from different points of view. MIND
(Migration,
INterconnectedness,
Development)
promotes positive views of the relationship between
migration and sustainable development, and theactive participation of society in solving development
issues.
I was invited to participate in MIND because of myexperience as a missionary working and living among
the Albanian people in Albania for 11 years and now
in Slovenia helping them overcome language barriers
My experience in Albania marked me deeply.
I learned the language and admired the culture andnatural resources; at the same time, I learned about
their social, economic and political problems.
After 1991, people were leaving Albania becauseof poverty. Few industries provided permanent
employment despite foreign investment. Youngpeople wanted to stay at home, but could not, because
they needed work to help their family financially. Now,
educated people are leaving because they want tomove forward professionally. They also want a better
future for their children, and to have social and healthsecurity.
10 / I n M i ssi o n

My cooperation in the MIND project’s “What ishome?” campaign has been a precious learning forme: every human being craves a home, acceptance,
safety and dignity; every human being deserves tofeel at HOME – to be DOMA (Slovenian).
I desire that our minds are illuminated and ourhearts rekindled so that we overcome fears andunrest. Therefore, I support the efforts of all whocare for those who cannot live where they have theirroots. ***
Links:••

Caritas Europa: caritas.eu/whatishome
Caritas Slovenia / Slovenska karitas“In recent years, we have witnessed anincrease of international migration and refugees.
Some are voluntary, but mostly forced. The
main causes of forced migration are conflicts
and wars, climate change, an increasing hunger
and extreme poverty. Looking at the goals ofsustainable development, we come to the basic
question which requires a response to one thebasic human needs – to have a HOME – DOM.”- Cveto Uršič,
General Secretary of Caritas Slovenia

I was a stranger and you accepted me(Mt 25:35)
By Sister M. Irenea Książak (PO, Poland)
Jesus’ words: “I was a stranger and you acceptedme” (Mt 25.35) are a challenge for all, including usconsecrated persons. Although we may have little
influence on the decisions of politicians, we have a
deep conviction that we should give our help first andforemost in the countries affected by armed conflicts
and unrest. This is confirmed by appeals, led by local
bishops, to help people remain in their own homes
and countries, to help first on the spot.
The “Caritas Polska” organization took up this effort; it
has helped over 8,500 Syrian families in Aleppo withthe “Family to Family” program, supporting those mostaffected by the war. Many religious congregations,
including some of our SSND communities, havetaken part in this program, paying a certain amounteach month to support a family in Aleppo. Using this

support, Syrian families are able to buy water, food,medicine and fuel for heating flats.
We realize that apart from helping in places affectedby war, it is also necessary to help those who havefled to our country. In Poland, our sisters place
themselves at the disposal of those in need, helping
where we can. Sisters from one community assisted
people in applying for Polish citizenship, in searchingfor employment, by providing appropriate housing forfemale students, and by supporting them with prayer.
Another community is giving their chapel to a minor
denomination in Poland for their monthly prayers.
As we accompany those in need, we try to understandcontemporary migration. This is a critical and current
challenge for the world and the Church, including
consecrated persons. So we ask ourselves: What or
who makes it necessary that hundreds of thousandsof people are forced to migrate? Website image for the Family to Family (Rodzina Rodzinie) program of Caritas Polska.
Source: Caritas Polska website. Used with permission.

https://ger har dinger. org / 11

In Mission
School Sisters of Notre Dame
are in mission in 30 countries:• Argentina • Austria • Belarus • Brazil• Canada • Czech Republic • England• Germany • Ghana • Guam • Guatemala• Honduras • Hungary • Italy • Japan • Kenya• Nepal • Nigeria • Paraguay • Peru
• Poland • Puerto Rico • Romania • Serbia• Sierra Leone • Slovenia • South Sudan • Sweden• The Gambia • United States of America

Making the concernsof the poor our own,
we become painfully awareof the many who suffer privations
stemming from the sinfulnessof our world.
In accord with church teachingand directives, we work actively,
especially in our local situations,to eliminate the root causes
of injustice in orderto realize a worldof peace, justice, and love.
You Are Sent, Constitution 17

Image of our founder.
Vienna, Austria
Artist: Joseph Kastner?
In these stories we havetouched upon just a few of thecommitments of our sisters.
The mission
we are committed tois the mission of Christ,
to bring all to oneness.

The call of God continues
to press upon the hearts ofsisters and associates, laycolleagues and partners,
collaborating in God's mission.
Do you hear God's callin your heart?

How will you
respond?

Generalate of the
School Sisters of Notre Dame
via della Stazione Aurelia, 95
00165 Rome, Italy
Transforming the world through education

12 / I n M i ssi o n