Women Saving Lives

The Sisters of Notre Dame are working  in Guama, a barrio of Belem, Brazil.  The people are mainly the working poor, unemployed, single mothers and migrants.  Their homes are subject to constant flooding. People are undernourished.  The children suffer from malnutrition. 

The Sisters thought about how to help the children. Couldn’t natural ingredients be made into vitamin supplements?  They told their idea to the mothers.  

The women began to prepare leaves from the manioc plant. They roasted and crushed various grains, watermelon, pumpkin and sesame seeds. They packaged the product and sold it for a few cents.  

The results were dramatic. It is no exaggeration to say that this formula is saving lives.

But what about the people on the island at the mouth of the Amazon where the Sisters also visit families and teach women about nutrition?  They don’t even have the natural ingredients to make the vitamin supplement.

The city women came up with the answer. They formed a task force to package the supplement.  Then they organized ways to get the packages to the port for shipping to the island.

Now the city women want to visit the island.  They want to meet the women who suffer like they do. They want to see the mothers who benefit from the supplements. They want to see the children who are getting stronger. 

The Sisters have been touched by the compassion of these women. They know that Julie Billiart would be pleased to see the compassion and solidarity shown by these mothers. 

Your gift to the Sisters of Notre Dame keeps the spirit of St. Julie’s love for the poor alive today.  Our Sisters are serving the poor in the United States and in Africa and Latin America.  We confidently ask your help in this needed work.  

For more information on Ways of Giving, click here.