Sister Julienne describes how Mary’s way of loving and serving helps her make a difference in the lives of some people.
Living in Dhaka, Bangladesh, it is so easy to feel overwhelmed by the magnitude of the problems here; the literally millions of people who are homeless or live in squalid conditions, people searching through rubbish heaps for something they can eat or sell, the deformed who are put on the streets to beg, the abandoned women and their infants, the child labourers and the adolescent prostitutes. The needs are immense and I so often feel powerless to do much. At such times I recall Article 10 of our constitutions, “Aware of our poverty, we continually look to Mary for inspiration, help and renewed strength... With her we move forward in faith... In fidelity to the spirit, we shall discover Mary’s way of loving and serving, so as to be a little of her presence in the world”. We are trying to bring Mary’s loving, compassionate presence to some of God’s little ones here.
A lovely young woman was one of a group of girls who used to go around collecting rubbish, especially old paper, for resale, so as to help their families survive. We knew that as they reached puberty they would be in great danger of being sexually molested as they went around the streets, or else be married off at 12 or 13 years of age by their poor parents who felt they couldn’t protect them. In order to help them get off the streets, our young sisters or candidates would bring them in each morning before they set off on their rounds of the streets, and teach them basic literacy and numeracy skills. They have become very much part of our lives over the past 5 or so years and have grown into very fine young women, who have achieved what was a dream for them, namely of getting jobs in the garment industry. Such employment involves long hours of work for a meagre salary. However it is much safer than being on the streets, and the regular salaries gained have enabled their families to move out from under bits of plastic near the railway lines to renting small but secure rooms. They have often been asked by people in the factories where they learnt to be so polite and well behaved. They are proud to say that there are Sisters (us) who have taught them all these good things. On their weekly holiday, Friday, they regularly come to see us and give us a hand around the house.
These young women are secure in the knowledge that they have in us, as we have in Mary, friends who will always stand by them.
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