How are the Maryknoll Sisters making a difference in their local community?
Recently, 10 of our Sisters began volunteering to teach English as a Second Language (ESL) at Neighbors Link in Mount Kisco, NY. The Neighbors Link mission is to strengthen the whole community through the healthy integration of immigrants, offering education and empowerment programs. The Sisters dedication to service and peaceful presence is having a profound impact at the center.
Sister Mary Duffy worked in Central America most of her life. At Neighbors Link, “it is delightful to meet people from Guatemala and other areas where I have been. I appreciate the richness of their culture and being there to help them learn another culture and situate themselves in a new place. This program is a tremendous opportunity for both of us to learn from each other.”
Sister Liz Erbland has a passion for teaching. She taught special education for many years but also found that she loved teaching ESL. She says Neighbors Link clients are “Sweet and kind and willing. We laugh a lot and have a great time together.”
Sister Peggy Hennessey spent 57 years in Peru and Bolivia. For her, “being at Neighbors Link, being around people who speak Spanish again, is something I love.” Recently she worked with a man with limited English and very little education. Every time he was able to really understand a new English word and what it meant, he would exclaim, “how beautiful!”