Post-Prandial Slump?

Have you made a resolution to get off the couch and spend more time exercising in these post-holiday weeks, perhaps aiming to work off a few pumpkin-pie-induced pounds?

The girls at St Bakhita commit to exercising, too. For them, however, it’s never about shedding extra pounds.  Rather, what weighs on them is stress. Many have lived through war, witnessed (or experienced) violence, fled their villages multiple times for safety, known the pain of severe hunger, suffered the loss of family members, 

And beneath all that trauma, they bear the constant anxiety of never knowing when their relatives might show up to pull them out of school for early marriage. 

So, it’s no small thing that the 702 girls you support at St Bakhita school can stretch and race and play and laugh. They can forget their worries for a while. They can enjoy being children! 

No Magi here...

If you're looking for a contem-porary Madonna & Child, look no further. South Sudan has many. The women are beautiful, strong, resilient. They go about their daily work collecting firewood, hauling water, tilling farmland, making mud/thatch huts and cooking meals, usually with the youngest child strapped across their back -- the lucky ones get a dried gourd as umbrella against the tropical heat.

No Magi here.  No angels promising peace. Just the daily work of nurturing new life in a harsh environment. Just the joys and sorrows of being a mother. Just the most important job in the world.

This Christmas we remember and honor all mothers around the world. Mercy Beyond Borders admires your hard work, your spirit, your tenderness, your endurance. Together we form the hopeful chorus for PEACE ON EARTH.

Laundry? What laundry?

If you look very closely you will see a girl in the background pumping water and several others doing laundry....

But not these two! They're obviously focused on football (soccer) as the preferred way to spend a Saturday morning.  Judging by the joy on their faces no one is going to take that ball away... And no one should.

We take PLAY for granted. We know it's essential and normal for all children. Yet in the villages of South Sudan girls have neither time nor opportunity to play. In fact, St Bakhita Girls' School is the only place in South Sudan where I've ever seen girls playing.  Good for them! Literally.

Did I Really Look Like THAT?

In 2013 Valki Anderson (left) accompanied Sr Marilyn to Haiti as an interpreter.  While there she met many of the MBB Scholars and took some pictures.

Flash forward to today: Valki is back in Haiti, now as the full-time MBB Scholarships Coordinator. She recognized Francheline (right) and showed her the "ancient" picture of herself from two years ago.

"Mon Dieu!" Francheline squirmed and squealed. "Did I reeeally look like thaaaat???"

An Oasis Amid Chaos for Girls in South Sudan

You know from the news about the continuing chaos throughout South Sudan. You know about the violence, the displacements, the constant uncertainty as rival militaries battle to control land and resources.

What doesn't often get into the news is the importance of school in regions torn by upheaval. School is welcome place of normalcy for children. School is safe. School is fun. School is engaging, taking their young minds away from daily problems.

St Bakhita is that haven of safety and learning for more girls than any other single place in South Sudan.  THANK YOU for supporting our 702 girls in this oasis amid chaos.