Dear SMC Supporter,
This year we look toward the future. Each year we ask the director of each partnering project for their wish lists consisting of priorities and daily needs. This year we asked them to include a dream list. It got me thinking about these children whose lives are at risk due to child abuse, neglect, abandonment, poverty, and HIV and AIDS that receive holistic care, support and education at the homes. It got me thinking about the young adult trainees with physical or mental disabilities who are trained to be as independent as their disability allows them to be by being educated and learning a skill. All of this thinking resulted in me wishing that it were possible to ask each of the 64 trainees, each of the 53 children ages 6 to 16, and each of the 75 children ages 0 to 6 of their hopes and dreams for the future. While we can’t ask each of them this question, we can know that “we,” you, SMC, the project directors, all play a significant role in providing a framework where each individual has the opportunity to thrive. We are all making their education possible so that they are one step closer to realizing a better future.
Thank you for your valuable part in ensuring the possibilities of a better life for each and every one of the young adults and children.
Joan Riggers
SMC Board President
Wishing you a happy and healthy holiday season.
Sister Mary’s Children’s Board of Directors:
Joan Riggers, Brenna Riggers-Brewster, Mary Lytle, Steve Tacke, Sue Tacke, and Joan Brown
Why I Support SMC
Sister Mary’s Children would not be where we are today without the generosity of our donors. Their stories inspire us to continue to do the important work of changing lives and growing hope, education, and empowerment.
Thank you for asking me to contribute to your newsletter. To give you a bit of background on me, I was a volunteer at St Barnabas Hospital for a year spanning 1993/1994 with Project Trust. We were 6 volunteers in the Transkei – 2 of us at St Barnabas, 2 volunteers teaching with Sister Mary Paule at Ikhwezi Lokusa, and 2 others in a small village in the countryside working as mechanics. Ikhwezi was where I spent many weekends and we got to know the Sisters there very well.
I visited South Africa for a second time in 2000, and stayed for a short time at Ikwezi Lokusa, hosted by Sister Mary. On this visit she showed me the Bethany home and we talked about her different projects. She asked me at that time to spread the word and to support their work. Sadly I didnt do very much when I returned home to the UK and got caught up again in the hustle and bustle. When I heard a few years ago that she had sadly passed away it boosted me to make a concerted effort to support the projects in her memory.
I have been living in Switzerland for the past 13 years and I now have 2 children, aged 7 and 11. My hobby is running and I ran the Luzern marathon in 2017 for SMC, and most recently the Jungfrau marathon in September 2021 which is a challenging route in the Swiss Alps, climbing 2000m in altitude. I had always wanted to run this particular race and I had to wait for a while as it was delayed due to the pandemic. It was well worth the wait I was happy to raise some funds for the children of the SMC prjects. It is always a pleasure to support SMC it will continue to be my personal favourite charity due to my connections and happy memories of South Africa and Sister Mary Paule.
-Kirstie
