GLOBAL OUTREACH 

These are ministries that address problems of worldwide social injustice and reach out to the needs of the poor locally, nationally, and internationally. 

Empowerment  Fund

 Fair Trade Coffee, Cocoa, and Chocolate

Fair Trade coffee, cocoa, and chocolate bars will be on sale in the Fatima room each weekend after all Masses.  There will be several varieties of coffee available from Nicaragua, Mexico, and El Salvador, including whole bean and decaf.  Buying Fair Trade products ensures small farmers in developing countries get a fair price for their products, have access to affordable credit, and are able to support their families.  Please consider buying Fair Trade products and help plant the seeds of hope while enjoying a delicious product.

Twinning

Twinning Community Cultural Center of Batahola Norte, Managua, Nicaragua 

 

In January 2000 IHM and Cultural Center of Batahola Norte began their twinning relationship.  Fr. Jan Schmidt, Sr. Margie Navarro, CSJ, and members of both communities signed a covenant which stated that we would learn from each other, pray for each other, share resources, and strengthen our kinship in Christ.  Further, we pray that our partnership would increase our love for Jesus Christ and for one another. Immaculate Heart of Mary works with Friends of Batahola, an organization formed after Sr. Margie’s death.  Since then, IHM parishioners each year have visited the Center and individuals from the Center have visited IHM.  Our relationship continues to flourish. The Twinning Committee headed by Dick Gruber 232-4680 gruber@xavier.edu. meets four times a year.  The Center continues its mission of education and transforming society into the Kingdom of God.   

www.centrobatahola.org (Spanish) or www.friendsofbatahola.org (English) 

Projects:

• Batahola Garage Sale – Over 300 individuals share their time and treasure for an annual May parish wide garage sale.  Contact:  Melissa Auvil. mauvil@aol.com
• Breakfast for Batahola – Fund raiser held each year during the visit of our friends from Batahola Norte.  Contact Sue Keefe 232-9702 skkeefe@fuse.net
• Shoes for Success--Help out fellow students of all ages in Batahola, Nicaragua attend school by donating new or gently used shoes and backpacks. Students are required to wear shoes (no sandals or flip flops) in order to attend school. Backpacks and socks are needed and welcomed too! For more information or if you would like to volunteer, please email us at info@shoesforsuccess.org . The shoe drive runs from May through the end of September.
  
• Project Education - sponsorship of students at the Cultural Center for classes held at the Center and for further education in primary, secondary, or college levels. Sponsorships are accepted November-January. Contact Jim Vorwald 831-1990.  ihmbatahola@yahoo.com. 
• Immersion trip – annual trip of youth and adults to visit the Cultural Center and other areas in Nicaragua.  Contact Sue Keefe 232-9702.  skkeefe@fuse.net

How has twinning affected our community at home?

Our immersion trip students have gone on to study in Spain, Mexico, Costa Rica, Ghana, Japan, and China.  They have studied a fourth year of Spanish, and majored in Spanish and international business in college.  They minored in Third World Peace Studies and are studying premedicine.  Immersion in another culture has increased their knowledge of the world and seeing the face of Christ each day has increased their faith.  Mission came alive. 

Lauren Meisman:   “IHM’s Nicaragua trips are something very special.  I don’t think teens get the full impact of the trip until they are back for a while.  The memories and pictures that are stuck in my mind will impact me forever.  I think about where the clothing I wear was made.  Are the workers being treated fairly?  Is the coffee I drink fair trade?  The Latino immigrants that clean my school are much more than just janitors.  They are the main supply of money to their families back in Central America.  Nicaragua had a huge impact on my life.”   

Our adults who have participated in our mission trips have begun Project Education, organized a calendar of faces from Nicaragua, and have become more active in social justice issues.  As a parish, we are all richer in our faith because we have met our brothers and sisters in Nicaragua through visits, stories, photographs, and videos.  We are working together with our family at Cultural Center of Batahola Norte.