The Sisters of Notre Dame de Namur in the Peru/Nicaragua Province have accepted a new challenge in the rural area of Tambogrande, north of Lima, Peru. The Sisters are now administering a network of 31 schools in 15 villages, with a central office in Malingas. Sister Marleny Bardales Raymundo, SNDdeN is the Director of the Rural Network Programme “Fe y Alegría” No. 48. She works with 100 teachers and a team of 10 people who assist her in accompanying the teachers. There are 2,147 pupils at initial, primary, secondary and adult level.

Sister Marleny visits a remote school.

Sister Marleny offers this reflection: We realize the value of our mission as Sisters of Notre Dame, when we listen to stories of our people living in poverty. We empathize with their sufferings; we embrace them with compassion; we join with them in laughing over amusing circumstances or events. In all, we do discover their needs and we attempt to find tangible support in human and financial resources for education in an area deprived of this essential for survival. Currently, we are seeking sponsors for funding those children who do not have any money for education. Also, one of our secondary schools educates children from 14 villages. Many of these students walk to school for an hour and a half. For these pupils, we dream of providing bicycles for getting them to school. We search for ways and means for enabling the people to move beyond their poverty. We reflect with them on such individual

Students learn basic elements of farming.

responses as “I know that God is good,” or “Now God has become present to us.” We acknowledge the importance of their lives in themselves and to God. We welcome all support in whatever manner it comes to us in “making all things new” for the people of Tambogrande and its environs. We accept the challenge of bringing the Gospel message through education to Peru, to a deprived corner in God’s universe.

We invite you to share in our ministry of prayer, presence, and action in Peru. 

Click here to read the entire story.