Wellsprings Daughters of Wisdom, United States Province
Vol. XII No. 2
Spring/Summer 2013
Resiliency of Haiti
By Sr. Ann Gray, DW
On January 12, 2010 a 7.0 earthquake devastated the country of Haiti: 222,750 people died and 1.5 million were displaced. That earthquake was followed by 10 months of the world’s largest cholera epidemic. In 2012, tropical storm Isaac, followed by hurricane Sandy, left extensive damage and more than a million people affected. To the eyes of the world, Haiti appears to be a disaster-prone country with high levels of vulnerability to natural hazards; to the Haitian people, however, there is an unshakeable belief that suffering can be transferred to hope. Bondye bon. In Creole, it means simply “God is good.” Religion shapes the fabric of everyday life from faith to hope for a more prosperous and peaceful future in which the Haitian people, working together with the international community, can transform hope to resilience. Rising from the monumental challenges of the recent past, there is a race to resilience.
While the media may still focus on the remains of the tent city of Port-au Prince, there are two shining examples of rebuilding that speak of the will to survive. “May this building keep promises for the greater good of the Haitian community.” These words were spoken at the dedication of the new school known as Sacre Coeur, a school at Turgeau, in the Port-au Prince area, under the direction of the Daughters of Wisdom of the Haitian Province. Like many congregations who were victims of the catastrophe, the Daughters of Wisdom– in spite of the lack of finances– made rebuilding a priority. Just two years after the earthquake, a new building has been recreated, part of a
master plan to be completed in 2015. The importance of this dedication cannot be expressed in words. Sacre Coeur is a renowned center of education, with a history of 108 years. It will hold 610 girls from middle to secondary school. Its many alumnae are also loyal fundraisers. With funding from the Clinton-Bush Haiti Fund, a company of engineers trained 200 Haitian engineers who completed the project in just twoand-a-half months. Employing a steel-beam technology, greater earthquake resistance can be realized. Such collaboration will support long-term reconstruction by promoting greater building capacity in Haiti’s construction industry.
The other example that brings hope back to the people is the reconstruction of Institut Montfort, a school relocated from Port-au Prince to Santo, again under the direction of the Daughters of Wisdom of Haiti. This school is special because its services are dedicated to 300 children who are deaf or deaf as well as blind. The photo shows how a classroom is being erected, courtesy of a donation by Maersk Container Industry, the Baussan Family, and intermodal structures—all of whom are happy to support this incredible school. Next, the ceiling is being completed over the cafeteria. Negotiations for the
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Wellsprings Daughters of Wisdom US Province
Vol. XIII, No. 1
Spring/Summer 2013
The Daughters of Wisdom are called in community to seek and contemplate Divine Wisdom present in a world that hungers for meaning, justice and compassion. We seek to bring the message of Jesus, Incarnate Wisdom, to people experiencing injustice, violence, poverty, and oppression, especially women and children.
Editorial Board:
Sister Laura Algiere, DW Sister Lucille Clynes, DW Sister Ann Gray, DW Sister Jo-Ann Iannotti, OP Rosalie Mullane Sister Marie Immaculatea Vane, DW
Proofreader:
Sr. Ann Gray, DW
FROM THE PROVINCIAL
Resiliency Emerges In Each Of Us In Varied Ways Resilient people possess many characteristics. These characteristics emerge when we are faced with challenges. They become even stronger when setbacks are faced. It is our way of facing and understanding the world and the part we play in it.
The stories in this issue embody many characteristics of resiliency. Rising from the devastation of an earthquake, Haiti demonstrates hope in rebuilding its future for the children. Resilience is personified in Sister Evelyn’s recall of her time spent in Manila and Cebu. Sister Ann Casagrande shares how gratefulness for the present and having faith for the future develops resilience. Sister Jo-Ann Iannotti shares how resilience has become a part of our landscape and that tough times don’t last but tough people do. Sister Marguerite White illustrates how we bounce back when accepting our reality and adapt. Sr. Marilyn Soeder teaches us how we bounce back because we hold strong values. And, Sr. Marie Chiodo shares the way in which the women of El Salvador teach us how to be resilient through creativity. All of the articles have an underlying characteristic which is optimism and faith. To be resilient, we must have faith during trying times that things will get better. All of these tales are worth telling.
Sister Mary Eileen McCarthy, DW
Wellsprings is published by the
Daughters of Wisdom, U. S. Province, for its members as well as friends, donors,
corporate ministries and supporters of the
Daughters of Wisdom. Opinions expressed by Authors published in
Wellsprings do
not necessarily reflect those of the
Daughters of Wisdom. Comments should
be addressed to the editor at
Provincial Office: 385 Ocean Avenue,
Resilience is the ability to recover quickly or “bounce back.”
Islip, NY 11751 or
wellsprings@daughtersofwisdom.org
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Spring/Summer 2013
Resilience Under Construction
By Sr. Ann Casagrande, DW
During the summer of 2011, Lipsky Brothers Construction Company was setting its sights on beginning the task of building and remodeling our assisted-living facility in Sound Beach. At the time, we had approximately 14 sisters living at Our Lady of Perpetual Help. We were advised that it would be good to move all the sisters out, since there would be a lot of noise and numerous workmen around.
As we searched for alternate housing for the sisters, there were many components to consider: • Would we find a location able to accommodate all the sisters?
• Would our staff be able to get to this new area and care for the sisters? • Would the sisters be far from their present medical providers?
We then asked the sisters what they would prefer, knowing how the construction would impact their lives. The sisters were very clear: they wanted to stay and they would manage!
Now, 18 months later, the sisters are still smiling! Meeting with the sisters, I was aware of their resiliency and wonderful spirit during these months. In the beginning, there was a lot of hammering and drilling but they endured the construction,
Resiliency of Haiti, continued from page 1
building of the children’s dormitories continue in conjunction with Caritas of France and the Lions’ Clubs in New York and
yearly fundraising dinners. There is a Haitian proverb in Creole: Dey mon, gen mon, which means “Beyond the
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knowing that it had to be done. One sister with excellent hearing simply used ear plugs! Sisters commented on the excellent communication from Craig, the Construction Supervisor, to Gayle and Harriet, and then to the sisters. They always knew when there would be a particular hardship and they were ready. There were days when the kitchen staff could not cook, and the staff took the sisters out to eat. Other days, the kitchen staff had to carry food out the back door and in the front because the floor connecting the kitchen to the dining room was being ripped up.
The sisters commented that the staff had much more to put up with than they did, but that they always did it with a smile. The staff was tremendously resilient and gave extra care to the sisters who became anxious.
I was trying to ask the sisters about their resiliency, but they continually praised the staff and the construction workers. One sister notes that the workers “are careful and respectful. They try not to get in the way. They are quiet during Mass time.” The construction company is also surprised at the smoothness of the operation. Halls have had to be closed, new entrances have been made, and rooms have been closed. It has not been easy, but the sisters, the staff, and the construction workers have worked together to make this a success story. And we praise God with gratitude!
mountains, more mountains.” The Daughters of Wisdom of the Haiti province know firsthand about those mountains, but they also believe in Providence; they believe as well that resilience occurs when persistent hard work meets opportunity, lifting the disadvantaged out of precarious social situations, and linking it all to long-term development strategies. With so much in bud, the people of Haiti will have hope, which endures all.
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Irrepressible Spirit is Resiliency
By Sr. Evelyn Ekhardt, DW
On December 31, 2012, I spent five hours in the airport in Hong Kong en route home after having been with our Sisters in the Philippines for the previous three weeks. As the year was drawing to a close, I remember desiring to cherish my experience abroad and to give expression to the special gift of my days in Manila and Cebu.
In the midst of my musings, I happened to glance up at a mezzanine extending across the enormous corridor of gates down which I had been walking. There, in brilliant yellow for all to see, was the name of a small boutique: “Amazing Grace.” I knew in an instant that those two familiar words in such an unfamiliar setting captured the poignancy of my time in the Philippines.
Perhaps the most vibrant – though by no means the only – sign of “Amazing Grace” that remains embedded in my heart is the resiliency evidenced in the people and in the land itself of Bagong Silangan in Quezon City. In recent years, this low-lying relocation area has endured several severe floods. In 2009 alone, more than 200 people lost their lives; yet, after each disaster, the people found the courage to begin again.
In addition, the Sisters were able to distribute donations of clothing they had received from friends of the Daughters of Wisdom in Canada, and I witnessed the delight of the women and children as they helped one another find the most suitable items. The caring among the women and, their willingness to share what was being offered, was obvious.
The irrepressible spirit that characterizes the people of Bagong Silangan is mirrored in the hardiness of the land itself. As the Sisters described how the homes and the landscape had been devastated by the flooding, I marveled at the rich green terrain on which I was standing: how incredible the regeneration of the earth itself! In recalling this single experience of the buoyancy of people and of our planet, my own hope is invigorated. The renewing energy of Wisdom is truly present among us.
Just a few days before Christmas, I had the privilege of visiting some of the families in Bagong, Silangan. With funds sent by the Congregation’s Leadership Team in Rome, our Sisters in Manila have been instrumental in assisting these families in their efforts to recover. Since the people in this area are always the last ones to be rescued in times of flooding, the international leadership team decided to use some of the funds to secure a small boat, giving residents the possibility of saving one another. The men were very eager to relate the story of how, during the last flooding, they were able to evacuate those most in danger and that no one was lost.
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Spring/Summer 2013
Building Communal Resilience
By Jo-Ann Iannotti, OP
You never know. You just never know. I should have learned this by now, but I was duped almost like the prophet Jeremiah; I was duped into thinking that I was going to read an article that simply had an ecological bent. It was this and more.
Nicole Lurie, who has been President Obama’s assistant secretary for preparedness and response since 2009, is quoted as saying, “There’s a lot of social-science research showing how much better people do in disasters, how much longer they live, when they have good social networks and connections.” That is why, in the Chicago heat wave of 1995, Latinos had an The headline of the article in the January 7, 2013 issue of The easier time than other ethnic groups in the city simply because New Yorker magazine read: “Adaptation.” The subtitle is what they tended to live in crowded apartments and densely packed drew me to reading it: “How can cities be “climate-proofed?” neighborhoods, places where dying alone is nearly The image accompanying the article looked like a painting, but impossible,3” said Klinenberg. Neighbors knew each other. it was actually a photograph. It was a photograph of the Rock- They had an environment– including sidewalks, stores, restauaways, in New York, after Superstorm Sandy. Houses were sit- rants, and community centers– at their disposal that naturally ting slanted off their foundations. Layers of debris were invited community building experiences. strewn about and people dotted the horizon. The article was Since Superstorm Sandy, Michael McDonald, the head of written by Eric Klinenberg, professor of sociology at New global health initiatives in Washington, DC, has been York University. coordinating relief efforts by volunteer groups, government “Can we prevent this from happening again?” The author con- agencies, corporate consultants, health workers, and residents sulted Klaus Jacob, a geophysicist from Columbia University. in vulnerable areas. This includes the Rockaways. McDonald Because Jacobs grew up during World War II, he said, “What I calls the network the New York Resilience System. He is learned is that you can plan your fate at least to some degree if convinced that, ultimately, society will determine which people and places will withstand the emerging threats from you assess your risks and do something about it.1” The question now becomes, “What are the sources of resilience that we climate change. need and how can we access them?” “What’s happening on the ground level,” McDonald told Klinenberg, “is not under an incident command system. It’s the We have a lot to learn from other countries that have experifragile, agile networks that make a difference in situations like enced traumatic changes because of climate-related events. Klinenberg cited the Netherlands as one of those countries. He these. It’s the horizontal relationships, not the hierarchical institutions, that created security on the ground.” noted, “It worked on making its infrastructure more resilient. Its communication network was upgraded, and features the Jacob concluded, “We are entering an age of extremes. We fastest Internet speed in all of Europe.2” He also noted, “The can’t just rebuild after every disaster” He continued, “We need Dutch energy grid is inter-connected to grids in neighboring to pro-build with a future of climate change in mind.” We countries, which gives the system additional capacity when would add that we need to look closely at our neighbor to there are local problems. This network architecture is more know who will need help and who can help us. Building resilient in ordinary times too.” communal resilience will determine how we, as a nation, will In the end, we have to figure out what we will choose to do. make contributions to our planet. We need to become that But, we can’t go about it half way. Just listening to a few or fragile/agile community that will flex with the changes we reading about their decisions, will not be enough preparation. know are coming and those we cannot yet foresee. We cannot We have to feel the urgency of it so that as the Buddhist saying afford to be duped into believing anything less. goes, we will move with the swiftness as if “Hair on fire. Note: For further information about others who are working to make resilient communiSnake in lap!” Improving and upgrading physical infrastructies for the future, search out The Transition Handbook, by Rob Hopkins, Chelsea Green tures is vital to a vibrant community, but we also need to Publishing, White River Junction, Vermont, or visit his blog www.transitionculture.org. Hopkins is founder of The Transition Movement. The town of Litchfield, CT has improve our social infrastructure as well. The author points developed a citizen’s group working to implement the principles of the Transition out that the most influential factor in creating a resilient community is knowing your neighbor and, knowing how to Footnote #1,2,3 adapted from: How Can Cities Be “Climate-Proofed”?, be neighborly. Eric Klinenberg, The New Yorker
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“Dream With Us” – Sew’s 100th anniversary Celebration! By Sr. Marie Chiodo, DW
In 1990, Sister Anne Marie Gardiner, SSND, and I went to El Salvador in the midst of a bloody civil war. At that time, we met with the women in the remote mountainous village of Arcatao, near the Honduran border. With the sound of gunfire in the background, we asked “How can we help you?” Their reply, “Tell our story and help sell our crafts,” has kept us busy for many years. Busy, that is, until we realized this did not provide year-round income for the women and their families. In 2003, our question to a group of women with whom we met was: “How can we assist women in getting out of poverty?” The women’s response– that they wanted to work close to home so as to care for their children and start a business in their villages– gave birth to Salvadoran Enterprises for Women.
What emerged from that incredible dreaming session in 2003 is a process that has evolved to this day. Our mission is, “Economic and Social Justice for Women Through Small Business Development.” Our major objectives in helping women start businesses in their villages is threefold: to bring women together to start a business – we do not fund Sr. Marie Chiodo, contemplating her next ministry! single-person ventures; secondly, to provide the business training and materials needed; we usually only provide start up funds. Thirdly, we aim to empower women through workshops in self-esteem, office management, marketing, product safety, women’s legal rights, and gender equality. To accomplish these objectives, we collaborate with the CIS – Centro de Intercambio y Solidaridad– in San Salvador, from which our staff/promoters come. Many of our trainers in business and products come from the University of Central America, or from the government ministries of education and health, where the business requires that.
Mercedes, foundress of SEW’s first sewing cooperative, works on school uniforms.
they need, and the potential impact on their community. Once a business has been given the SEW Board’s approval, our promoters work with the women to accrue training in business methods, marketing, product development and safety, group processes, and especially, the empowering workshops that help women develop leadership and confidence.
Anne Marie Gardiner, SSND with Leslie Schuld, from the CIS, our incredible partner in Salvadoran Enterprises for Women
The promoters are onsite in the various businesses on a regular basis, and reports are submitted annually by each business to the SEW Board. We thought that after two years a business would be self-sustaining, but we realized the accompaniment of the SEW staff leads to more than good business practice: it fosters the development of leadership among the women, and that takes more time. Many of our women now serve on municipal councils and Church councils – not the usual practice in their culture. They are being recognized and they are taking on greater responsibility for themselves, their families, and the community.
Sister Anne Marie and I meet with all the women in the various businesses once a year. These meetings are an opportunity to review their plans and deal with their successes and failures. It is an awesome opportunity to see the women come into their own in terms of addressing the meeting, having their voices heard, and celebrating their achievements. At present, we have 15 businesses employing 98 women. Three of our women are now studying at the University while maintaining their role in the businesses. Two are pursuing degrees in business and one From the beginning of their desire to start a business, the is studying law. Many of our women have also been working women meet for about six months with our on-site staff: Iris, on obtaining elementary and high school degrees while workMaira, and Delmy. The women identify what type of business ing in the businesses. We have also heard them tell of the they wish to pursue, the markets for their products, the training change in their family situations as a result of working. Their Page 6
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husbands and children, slowly, have come to help with chores!
One day we had to take a launch to an island where there is another sewing group. We had 15 women in the launch, and I thought this was probably the first time many of them had seen the Pacific. What we were unprepared for was that this boat Last October, Sr. Anne trip might unleash memories for one of the women. Reina Marie and I spent two began speaking of the war, and her remembrance of being in a weeks in El Salvador, visit- small boat on a lake in ing the various SEW-funded the mountains where she businesses. We met with the and many others were women from three poultry trying to escape the milifarms, three sewing and in- tary that had overrun digo cooperatives, the can- their area and were dle and shampoo business, killing everyone in the restaurant business, the sight. “We were too cheese business, and those many for the boat and I in the new bakery. This was could not swim. I was Dolores works in the poultry farm no easy task in the remote afraid I was going to funded by Daughters of Wisdom and mountainous regions! die,” she said. She spoke BEST PAPUSAS IN TOWN for another 10 minutes of Anna Ruth and her sister, Yanci Adelina, a recent high school graduate from the sewing coop the death of her parents in Los Ranchos, learned what it meant to be on scholarship, and her brother, which she had witnessed. When asked how and we have nothing close to it in the U.S. Adelina is pursuing she survived, she simply looked up and pointed to the sky: a degree in business. She rises at 3 am on the three days a “God was with us.” To see her, one would never know what week she goes to school, and she walks an hour and 20 she endured. She has been a presence of joy and energy to all minutes down the mountain where she gets the bus to Santa the women in the Tecla– where the school is located– so she is in time for her sewing coop. first class at 6:30. After her classes, she returns to Los RanI share with you the chos to be there at 12:30 to start her work as the cutter of the questions we shared school uniforms that the women sew. The women in the Los with the women in El Ranchos sewing business have a government contract for Salvador. “Dream school uniforms for two schools. This is a boon and a sign that with me. How can we the government approves the quality of their work. One of the assist women in getting most poignant moments for me was when one of the seamout of poverty?” Wherstresses looked up from her machine and asked, “How did you ever each of us is, ever find us?” I cannot imagine what it is like to be so aware within or outside the of your own isolation. She went on to speak of how working U.S., there are women with the other women several days a week had changed her who are looking to life; she did not feel so lonely or so helpless. Her children work their way out of were going to school now that, as a family, they could afford poverty. How do each bus fare and the mandatory uniforms. of us accompany them in that journey? How We did an evaluation with the women in the various locations do we take seriously concerning how well the business was progressing, what diffi- New Bakery in Zacatales. Luisa puts the Gospel mandate to culties they were experiencing, how working was affecting finishing touches on pineapple tarts walk with those who their home life, and what were they envisioning for the future. What an inspiration they were. The new bakery in Zacatales– are poor or vulnerable or disenfranchised? Dream with us and celebrate the godly work of the past 10 years of Salvadoran open only 17 days and producing the most delicious pastries Enterprises for Women. and breads– was already potentially expanding because the owners could not keep up with the demand in the area. The Visit us at www.sewinc.org. women invariably spoke of the effect their business had on their small, rural villages, and of hearing from other women who wanted to be able to work too. The women seem to see the ramifications of their work for the whole community; we could learn much from them! Spring/Summer 2013
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Listening Well
20 years of her ministry she was an elementary and high school teacher in New York That’s a lesson and Virginia. The rest of it Sister Gertrude was spent working in O’Brien, DW learned during her hospitals. 50 years Sr. Gertrude found her own resiliency and beliefs being ministering at a challenged, as well. Brooklyn hospital, the last “I did visit people who were atheists, and they had a lot of 20 of which was questions, which I tried to answer as best I could. I also visited spent offering people who didn’t want any part of me because I was religious pastoral care to the sick and bedridden. and wore a veil. They’d say, ‘No, no, no, get out;’ that type of thing, though it was rare.” Sr. Gertrude, a Daughter of Wisdom for 76 years, learned much about resiliency among patients during her time as a And there were patients who were angry because they were ill hospital administrator, as a chaplain and as a pastoral and felt God was letting them down. Drawing them out in caregiver. conversation often helped. Often, all patients really wanted was someone to talk to, she “There’s a lot of anger there they need to get out — maybe a said, and that kind of human connection sometimes helped situation at home or whatever. And if you sit and listen to them turn a corner on their illnesses. Some were able to free them, very often that comes out. I feel that even physically that themselves of emotional burdens that were affecting their is good. It’s like taking a medicine or something like that that health. Others were cheered by having someone to talk to. relieves you,” Sr. Gertrude said. “Being next to the patient, being with them, listening to them is a big thing. It’s a big thing, listening,” said Sr. Gertrude, 96. “We sisters as chaplains are a non-threatening presence. We’re not going to give them a jab (of a needle) as the nurses do,” “I found it very beneficial to be able to just say, ‘What are you she said. “Our only presence there is to be present to them and here for?’ And then as they told me what happened to them or to listen and maybe say a few words or whatever they need.” why they had to come to the hospital, a lot of things would Sr. Gertrude urges others to be good listeners, especially when come out — things that had absolutely no connection to their illness, but they wanted to talk to somebody, and I happened to dealing with the sick, calling it “the most-needed gift.” It could be just the medicine that helps someone bounce back. be the listening ear. I loved it.”
Sometimes people just need someone to listen to them.
O’Brien now is retired and lives at the Our Lady of Perpetual Help retirement convent in Sound Beach, New York. The first
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“It’s not so much what you say as the time you give them and the listening skills you have,” she said.
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Resiliency In Action By Sr. Marguerite White, DW
October 28th, when Hurricane Sandy appeared on our horizon and we were encouraged to evacuate before it really touched down, we reluctantly packed some necessities. Thankfully, the generator by the offices could handle the office equipment, the heat, the electricity, and especially the elevator, within our house. We rejoiced that we could remain at home!
Our Chanticleer Sisters stayed with us and were a joy to have in our community.
On December 11th, the Sisters learned that Sandy had not only flooded the garage and crawlspace, but the resulting mold and electrical issues made it unhealthy and unsafe to remain there. They once again joined us at Islip.
The upheaval for Sisters Joan, Virginia, Mary Eileen, and Camille– especially during the Christmas holiday season– was indeed a concern, but everyone acknowledged that we were grateful there were no injuries or deaths, especially as we heard what others had experienced. Our cook, Dan, a former restaurant owner, was so pleased to have a large group. He made it all seem easy and comfortable; at least our material needs were joyfully met. We even had the cook from Chanticleer Dr., Brooke, with us for weekend cooking.
Mike, our neighbor and a fireman, who has always come to our rescue in emergencies, had come to the house that night to reinforce some tiles on our back porch.
While Mike was assisting us, his home was flooding. The family lost electricity and heat and was grateful for our invitation to “sleep over.” Mike was joined by his wife and teenage daughter, and remained for two days until the family was able to borrow a small generator; they had damage inside and out of their home.
On Monday morning, our Daughters of Wisdom neighbors from Chanticleer Drive asked to join us, since they lost power and, thus, heat and electricity. They remained with us until November 8th.
Everyone’s spirits were good as 14 of us listened to the moaning and crashing going on outside but we were safe and warm inside, thanks to the hard-working generator.
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We were two communities under one roof for a second time until February 1. Our little discomforts from Sandy ultimately allowed us to help others in need, for which we were very grateful.
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The Home of the Brave
By Sisters Ann, Bern, Marie, Pat and Roe
There are approximately 1500 houses on the island of Broad Channel, which sits in the middle of Jamaica Bay, between Howard Beach to the north and Rockaway peninsula on the south. Before the storm, the word on the streets about its potential destructive force was divided. About half said, “I’m old now” or “I’ve got kids to think about,” or “They’re telling us to evacuate,” and these found temporary shelter, mostly with relatives and friends. The other half said, “We’ve been in this house 45 years and we’ve never taken in water. We’re staying.” So they stayed.
There was only one word we could hear that night: “Help!” Across the street were two one-story houses, and there the water was rising through the floorboards. The residents had nowhere to go. Two burly firemen volunteers– known as the “volleys” in these parts– managed to get two young parents, plus a terrified boy, his sister, and their dog from the family’s house to ours, battling the now-raging current, to do so. Then they rescued four elderly women, of whom one was in her 80s. They arrived in the nick of time because the surge came soon thereafter. The water was higher than all the fences in the neighborhood, higher than the cars– including ours– and higher than all the oil burners in Broad Channel, including ours. Nine o’clock was the crucial hour because we knew the tide would soon be turning. We anxiously watched the water rise to within one inch of our doorsill; then, magically, the tide began to recede, inch by inch at first and then quite rapidly. It was as if a giant vacuum had begun to suck the water back into the bay. By 11:30, we could see the sidewalks again.
Our convent, as it turns out, was a microcosm of the community. One sister, who has a fulltime job and many commitments in another parish, went to stay with our sisters at Lincoln Place in Brownsville; another, providentially, went to New Hyde Park, where another of our sisters became so ill that she would have died without help. Two of us stayed home, removing every movable item from outside the house and battening down the hatches.
Sandy arrived on Monday, first with high winds and driving rain. We had invited seven neighbors, including one of our sisters and her family, to settle in with us for the night because our convent was built to code and sits higher than the other houses on the block. Besides, we have a second floor, if all else failed. By seven in the evening, the water had begun to invade our streets. By eight, it had risen three feet, and a steady current was racing by the house.
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No one slept much. In the morning, among other things, we found a yacht, four rowboats, and tons of debris of every shape and form outside. There was still no word on the streets; people wandered about, hardly able to comprehend what they were seeing. Then the talk began: amazingly, what we heard was, “Thank God, we’re OK” and “We have each other; we can replace our belongings, but we can’t replace our family and friends.” Some were saying, “We’ll make it through this,” or “We’re just going to have to start all over again.” There were even hints of humor all around us. One man said, “I’ve been wanting to clean out this cellar for the past five years; now Sandy has done it for me.” On the wrecked 30-foot yacht, a sign appeared: “For sale by owner.” A forlorn, drowned piano with its keys swelled and stuck together bore a hand-printed sign that read, “Concert tonight at 7:00 p.m.” But it was cold that week. Most people had no food, no clothing beyond the clothes on their backs, no electricity, and no heat. Not to mention, no wheels, and no phone service; land lines were down and the cell phone signals were weak, unreliable, or simply non-existent.
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Then the local leaders got into gear. They called two meetings at the American Legion Hall in the freezing cold. They persuaded Chuck Schumer, and our state senators and representatives, to hear the people whose word was simply, “We need help.” Our local leaders were clear, decisive, and responsible. They got us on the map and they got us going.
other day Greek dinner was served. The Red Cross has also arrived. We began to hear accents from Minnesota, Texas, South Carolina, and every other state in the union.
Meanwhile, help began to come from many quarters. The day after the storm, a Sikh man, complete with turban, set up an outdoor gas grill and began to serve rice and curry, free of charge. One Sunday, the Buddhists appeared. They set up the most peaceful and orderly center we’ve ever seen, and gave every family on the island $600 in debit cards for their immediate needs. The Franciscan brothers came with their novices, and the Mormons came with their yellow-shirted young missionaries. Both groups worked tirelessly to help empty houses of debris and began demolition work. A team of Jewish women from metro-north country arrived, rolled up their sleeves, and worked like Trojans. Local restaurants took turns providing food for residents in need. There were hot meals available every day at the American Legion; one day they served Italian food, another day there was Chinese cuisine, an-
Three months after Sandy, there are still people without heat or subsisting with small space heaters. Rapid Repair teams are still working hard to restore electricity and heat. Most people are playing the waiting game – waiting for the insurance to come through, waiting for contractors to repair the walls and floors, waiting for normalcy. Some, still displaced– including four in our house– are still waiting to “go home.”
By the second week, representatives from FEMA were talking to us, and clear information was given about how to deal with insurance and where to get help for specific needs. We had a police post set up against the looters, hot food being served at the American Legion Hall and the fire house, and all sorts of donations flowing in: clothing, tools, cleaning materials, pampers, shoes, lanterns, first aid equipment, medicines, and mountains of bottled water. Hope appeared in many eyes, and the word was now, “We’re going to make it. It will be a long haul, but we’re going to survive.”
Spring/Summer 2013
No one has the right words to thank the Department of Sanitation, fondly known as ‘New York’s Strongest.” From the beginning until now, they have worked tirelessly; no one could have accomplished more than they have. The first wave came in the form of furniture, rugs, fridges, stoves, washing machines, and dryers, among other material items. There were mountains of stuff on the streets. Various volunteers came with front loaders, small cranes, and literally thousands of flatbed trucks working 24 hours a day. The second wave was torn out wall boards and insulation; the third was floorboards and in some cases supporting beams and joists. The fourth wave was the whole cycle all over again as people who had left began to drift in sporadically and begin the work of demolition and clean up.
But the word we do not hear in Broad Channel is “Why me?,” “Why us?,” or “What did I do to deserve this?” We are surrounded by very ordinary people who are still saying, “How can I help you?” or “Hang in there.” And, astoundingly, we most often hear, “Thank God, we’re O.K.”
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Resiliency of the human spirit Resiliency of the human spirit is evident every day in the ministry of Sister Sara Proctor.
“My expectation always was to be able to help those who most needed it,” Sr. Sara said. “I’ve been drawn to the Hispanic community since 1996. I worked with an El Salvadorian Sr. Sara oversees the Catholic Charities Mobile Medical refugee population on Long Island for a couple years. They’ve Services, a mobile health clinic that serves migrant agricultural always been a population that I’ve enjoyed working with. I’ve workers in Hillsboro County Florida in the Tampa area. always appreciated and felt that I was making a difference.” The program is 13 years old and came about after the local bishop expressed interest in helping migrant workers in the community with health care needs. Workers had three basic barriers to accessing much-needed health care — time, travel and cost. Most medical facilities were in set locations and open during regular business hours Monday through Friday. Migrant workers often work in remote locations from dawn until dusk, sometimes seven days a week, making access to health care virtually impossible.
So the program was developed to provide mobile services that were available during all different days and times. And the services were provided at no cost. The mobile medical services program is volunteer-based, and Sr. Sara, a trained physician’s assistant who is bilingual, is the only full-time person. “We started out borrowing a bus and went to two different locations. Currently, we’re giving service at six different locations. I have two stationary units, as well as the bus,” Proctor said.
“So I am responsible for maintenance of the bus and the two stationary sites. I am responsible for ordering all the supplies and stocks, record keeping, patient follow ups. I drive the bus. If my volunteer physician doesn’t show up, I see the patients. If my volunteer nurse doesn’t show up I do the vital signs.”
Agricultural workers tend to be young — Sr. Sara rarely sees anyone older than 45. Young people tend to be healthy, so she handles of lot of concerns about sore throats, rashes, back aches, stomach troubles and other things that people aren’t sure are serious or not.
Every once in a while, something more serious does come her way, though. A young man showed up recently with a stomach ache. An ultrasound detected a large mass. Within a matter of days he was admitted to the hospital and is undergoing treatment for acute leukemia.
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Patients are treated for free and are not asked to pay, but Sr. Sara puts out a coffee can each day for them to make a donation in a secure envelope if they wish. She has found anything from $20 bills to two quarters.
“We really felt it was a way that people can feel they have participated in their own care, that this was not all charity, that they paid for it in whatever way they can,” she said. “And for us, every little bit counts. If I get $50, I may be able to get 10 gallons of diesel fuel to put in the bus.” Sr. Sara has seen any number of examples of resiliency in her patients — starting with their way of life. “Our particular group of migrant workers on coastal Florida go all the way up into Ohio and Michigan, up close to the Canadian border, then turn around and come back. The migrants on the East coast of Florida go all the way up to the coast of Maine, then turn around and come back. That’s resiliency,” she said.
“I think that’s another reason that I relate to them, because my father worked in construction, and we moved around a lot, too, because he had to follow the work. And so I understand their way of life, because in a sense I lived it.” And resiliency is present in the mobile medical program itself, which continually operates in the red.
“It is a program of Catholic Charities, and they’ve always hunted and scraped and scrounged to find the funds to keep the program running because they realize the value of it. And the bishop realizes the value of it,” she said. “I keep in mind that the Lord may want me somewhere else and that I need to be open to that, but until that other call comes, I hang on here and keep on hoping and doing the best I can. One of my dreams is to find and establish some kind of financial support that will ensure the longevity of the program and keep it running long after I’m gone or forgotten.”
Spring/Summer 2013
Daughters of Wisdom List of Donors Marie Louise Trichet Circle
The following people have named the Daughters of Wisdom as a beneficiary in a planned gift, such as an estate. Winifred M. Angeline, Tempe, AZ Grace V. Aquino, Howard Beach, NY Mary P. Bailey, Ann Arbor, MI Rev. Robert W. Blauvelt, Douglaston, NY Msgr. John J. Bracken, Belle Harbor, NY Leanore E. Brown, Middle Village, NY Patricia Connell, Oak Harbor, WA Joan D’Onofrio, Freeport, NY Maryse Haig, Uniondale, NY Joan Heiniman, Old Bethpage, NY Marilyn Holzschuh, Roanoke, VA Mary D. Kessler, Virginia Beach, VA Stan Lopresto, Pt. Charlotte, FL Michelle A. Maidt, Charlotte, NC Mary P. McKenna, Ph.D. Port Jefferson, NY Barbara Moore, Placitas, NM Gertrude R. Muir, Charlottesville, VA Gisela Schwab, Ph.D., Ft. Myers, FL Barbara and Ted Schmitt, Old Greenwich, CT Theresa M. Sirois, Medford, MA Jean Strangways, Virginia Beach, VA Anthony Tambasco, Falls Church, VA Kathleen V. Thibodeau, Long Beach, NY Joan Villano, Sayville, NY Regina & Richard Wieman Voegele, Arden, NC Richard Wiack, Indialantic, FL Florence Zimmer, Amityville, NY
Spring/Summer 2013
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In Memory/In honor of .... One wonderful way to honor a loved one is to make a donation in their name(s) to the Daughters of Wisdom in support of the Sisters and their ministries. These donations can be made in the memory of a deceased loved one or to honor someone for a special occasion they are celebrating such as an anniversary. Listed below are the names of those who made a donation in someone’s name from September 2012 through March 30, 2013 Arthur Albert In remembrance of his teachers from the 40’s and 50’s (General Fund) Josephine & Allen Alexander In memory of Joan Tambasco (Haiti Fund) Mary Allman In honor of Sister Marie Chiodo, D.W. (General Fund) Joan Alvarez In memory of Sheila Dwyer Rooney, January 1952 (Retirement Fund) Irene & Norman Beattie In memory of Peggy Weismair (General Fund) Helen Bishop In memory of Joan Tambasco (Haiti Fund) June Bourneuf In memory of Joan Tambasco (Haiti Fund) Jan & Alan Breed In memory of Joan Tambasco (Haiti Fund) Joseph Brooks In memory of Joan Tambasco (Haiti Fund) Kate & Cal Brown In memory of Joan Tambasco (Haiti Fund) Marion Ciaccio In memory of Joan Tambasco (Haiti Fund) Deny Clark In memory of Maureen Libby Mohrman (Sound Beach Renovation) Patricia & Harry Coburn In memory of Joan Tambasco (Haiti Fund) Kathleen Croghan In memory of Joan Tambasco (Haiti Fund) Rose Marie Curley In memory of Sister Dorothy Reilly, D.W. (Sound Beach Renovation) Marsha & Wayne Deane In memory of Peggy Weismair (General Fund) Roger Debels In memory of Joan Tambasco (Haiti Fund) Teri DeLaFleur In memory of Joan Tambasco (Haiti Fund) Lucy & Jerry Denney In memory of Joan Tambasco (Haiti Fund) Janie Diehl In memory of Joan Tambasco (Haiti Fund) Jill Dougherty In memory of Joan Tambasco (Haiti Fund) Joseph Earley In memory of Joan Tambasco (Haiti Fund) Elizabeth Ersenkal In memory of Joan Tambasco (Haiti Fund)
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Leroy Essig, M.D. In memory of his wife, Ann Crowe Essig (Sound Beach Renovation) Jean Esswein In memory of Joan Tambasco (Haiti Fund) Mary Foley-Chellis In memory of her cousin, Elinor Travel (Retirement Fund) Kathleen Foy In memory of her sister, Peggy Weismair (General Fund) Margaret Funesti In memory of Peggy Weismair (General Fund) German & America Gacharna In memory of Sister Marilyn Lieber, D.W. (General Fund) Guy & Dolores Galardo In memory of Sister Marilyn Lieber, D.W. (Ministry Fund) Jeanne Gallo In memory of her aunts, Sisters Rita and Aline Bachand, D.W. (a/l/a Sisters Jean and Noemi) (Sound Beach Renovation) Kathleen Garrity In memory of Sister Marilyn Lieber, D.W. (Sound Beach Hospital Beds) Linda & Joseph Gems In memory of James Shaughnessy (Sound Beach Renovation) Ann Glennon In memory of Joan Tambasco (Haiti Fund) Jean Goggins In memory of Ruth and Patrick Goggins (Sound Beach Renovation) Margaret Susan Greer In memory of Maureen Libby Mohrman (Sound Beach Renovation) Joan & Brian Harrington In memory of Joan Tambasco (Haiti Fund) Evelyn & John Haught In memory of Joan Tambasco (Haiti Fund) Ann Hennelly In memory of Sister Marilyn Lieber, D.W. (Ministry Fund) Holy Trinity Church Men’s Group In memory of Joan Tambasco (Haiti Fund) Catherine Horvedt In memory of Joan Tambasco (Haiti Fund) Angela Houghton In memory of Sister Doria Chamberland ‘s 5th anniversary and In memory of John A. Houghton 5th Anniversary (General Fund)
Diane Hughes In memory of Sister Marilyn Lieber, DW (General Fund) Charles & Millie Imbergamo In memory of Joan Tambasco (Haiti Fund) Joseph Jensen In memory of Joan Tambasco (Haiti Fund) Justine Johnson In memory of Sister Marilyn Lieber, D.W. (Sound Beach Hospital Beds) Theodore & Barbara Jonas In memory of Joan Tambasco (Haiti Fund) Margaret Jones In memory of Joan Tambasco (Haiti Fund) Barbara Keenan In memory of Maureen Libby Mohrman (Sound Beach Renovation) Mary Kenel In memory of Joan Tambasco (Haiti Fund) Eileen & Dennis Kinney In memory of Sister Marilyn Lieber, D.W. (General Fund) Dr. & Mrs. Edward LaPorta In memory of Jay DiMauro (General Fund) Mary Anne Lecos In memory of Joan Tambasco (Haiti Fund) Carol Lernihan In memory of Robert Laria and Dennis Viola (Sound Beach renovation) Henry & Joan Lewis In memory of Joan Tambasco (Haiti Fund) Laurel & Robert Libby In memory of Maureen Libby Mohrman (Sound Beach Renovation) Jeanne MacKenzie & Robert Listou In memory of Joan Tambasco (Haiti Fund) Pam & Dennis Lucey In memory of Joan Tambasco (Haiti Fund) Margaret Marino In memory of Jay DiMauro (General Fund) Kathryn and Joe Marotta In memory of Joan Murray (Sound Beach Renovation) Phebe Masson In memory of Joan Tambasco (Haiti Fund) John D. & Kathleen Mayer In honor of Sister Marie Sopr, D.W. (Retirement Fund) Carol & Jeanne McAdams In memory of Maureen Libby Mohrman (Sound Beach Renovation)
Spring/Summer 2013
Mr. & Mrs. James McCabe In memory of Sister Marilyn Lieber, D.W. (Ministry Fund) Marianne McCabe In memory of Sister Marilyn Lieber, D.W. (General Fund) Laura & Kenneth McCloud In memory of Joan Tambasco (Haiti Fund) Theresa McKay In honor of Dr. Murray Bern (General Fund) Sister Margaret McPeak, DW In honor of the 50th wedding anniversary of Doris &Thomas McGrath (General fund) Kay & Keith Meade In memory of Joan Tambasco (Haiti Fund) Nancy Miller In memory of Theresa Heath (Sound Beach Hospital Beds) Sara Ann Miller In memory of Sister Marilyn Lieber, D.W. (General Fund) Miteq, Inc. In memory of Joan A. Wertz (General Fund) William Mohrman In honor of Maureen LibbyMohrman (Sound Beach Renovation) Ann Moncrief In memory of Sister Marilyn Lieber, DW (General Fund) Rosalie Mullane In memory of Theresa Heath (Sound Beach Hospital Beds) Joan & Edward Mullaney In memory of Joan Tambasco (Haiti Fund) Dolores Murphy In memory of Tom Murphy (Sound Beach Renovation) Nick & Marie-Luise Nazar In memory of Sister Marilyn Lieber, D.W. (Ministry Fund) Roseanne Nespoli In memory of Joan Tambasco (Haiti Fund) Robert F. Neuman In memory of Joan Tambasco (Haiti Fund) Susan & Ralph Nurnberger In memory of Joan Tambasco (Haiti Fund) Maureen O’Brien In honor of Sister Gertrude O’Brien, D.W. (General Fund) Elaine O’Malley In memory of Joan Tambasco (Haiti Fund) Our Lady of Wisdom Academy Alumnae In memory of Sister Dorothy Reilly, DW (Sound Beach Renovation) OLWA Class of 1962 In honor of the OLWA Class of 1962 50th reunion (Sound Beach Renovation)
Catherine Garhart Quinn In memory of Maureen LibbyMohrman (Sound Beach Renovation) Catherine Ramm In memory of Joan Tambasco (Haiti Fund) Rita Reeves In memory of Sister Marilyn Lieber, D.W. (Annual Fundraiser donation) Maryanne Revell In memory of Sister Marilyn Lieber, D.W. (Retirement Fund) Ellen Reihl In memory of Joan Tambasco (Haiti Fund) Rose Mary Rowland & Curt Ohlsson In memory of Joan Tambasco, (Haiti Fund) Mary Rudolph In honor of Sister Catherine Bearse, DW (General Fund) Theresa Sanders In memory of Joan Tambasco (Haiti Fund) Mr. & Mrs. John Sandusky
In honor of Doris Woods (Sound Beach Renovation)
Barbara Sanford
In memory of Joan Tambasco (Haiti Fund)
In honor of Sister Marguerite White’s birthday (Sound Beach Renovation)
Ray & Jean Strangways
In honor of their son, Gregory Patrick Strangways (Sound Beach Renovation)
Jesse & Peggy Sykes
In memory of Joan Tambasco (Haiti Fund)
Joan Villano
In memory of Sister Marilyn Lieber, D.W. (Sound Beach Hospital Beds)
Marilyn Taylor
In memory of Joan Tambasco (Haiti Fund) Diane & Maurice Therriauet In memory of Joan Tambasco (Haiti Fund)
Roseline & Andre Touma
In memory of Sister Marie Emmanuell du Rosaire, DW (Haiti Fund)
Diane M. Yeager
In memory of Joan Tambasco (Haiti Fund)
Michele Venza
In honor of her mother, Mary Peluso Riviezzo (General Fund)
Joseph & Barbara Schaefer
Virginia & Jay Vinton
George Scherrer
Joan Villano
In memory of Sister Jean Schaefer, D.W., Agnes Schaefer and Anne Schaefer (General Fund)
In memory of Joan Tambasco (Haiti Fund)
Vivian Anne Scott
In memory of Joan Tambasco (Haiti Fund)
Judy Daly Seamone
In memory of Joan Tambasco (Haiti Fund)
Patricia Fuller Smith
In memory of Maureen Libby Mohrman (Mission Projects)
Mary Ann Stecher
In memory of Maureen Libby Mohrman (Haiti programs)
Charlene & Robert Stewart
In memory of Joan Tambasco (Haiti Fund)
In memory of Joan Tambasco (Haiti Fund)
Eugenie Vitale
In memory of Joan Tambasco (Haiti Fund) In memory of Sister Marilyn Lieber, D.W. (Sound Beach Hospital Beds)
Martin Walsh
In memory of Joan Tambasco (Haiti Fund)
Gretchen Ward
In memory of Maureen Libby Mohrman (Sound Beach Renovation)
Patricia Warnke
In memory of Peggy Weismair (General Fund)
David Watson
In memory of his mother, Mary Watson (General Fund)
Ray & Jean Strangways
Regina Whitaker
Ray & Jean Strangways
Linda & Bob Woomer
In honor of the Daughters of Wisdom (Sound Beach Renovation)
In honor of Sister Marguerite White, D.W. (Sound Beach Renovation)
Ray & Jean Strangways
In honor of the Daughters of Wisdom (Sound Beach Renovation) (1/8/2013)
Thank You!!
Spring/Summer 2013
Ray & Jean Strangways
In memory of Domenica “Minnie” Algiere (General Fund)
In memory of Joan A. Wertz (General Fund)
Therese Wright
In memory of Sr. Mary Antoinette, D.W. our holy martyr and Sr. Theodore, D.W. & Stop Human Trafficking
Ann Yarborough
In memory of Joan Tambasco (Haiti Fund)
If for some reason, we have neglected to include a person’s name in the above list, please contact Roaslie Mullane at the Daughters of Wisdom at 631-277-2660, ext. 17. Page 15
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United States Province 385 Ocean Avenue • Islip, NY 11751-4600 (631)277-2660 www.daughtersofwisdom.org
Vol. XII No. 2
Spring/Summer 2013
Wellsprings Daughters of Wisdom, United States Province
Life today is no smooth sailing. We all hit stormy weather, but it is that adversity — and more specifically, our resilience — that makes us strong and successful.
Throughout this issue are some inspiring words from our Sisters on overcoming adversity.
If these stories remind you of the lessons you’ve learned in your own life, we encourage you to pay-it-forward by telling your story so that others may benefit from the wisdom you’ve gained!