by Sr. Jennifer Kay Thi Kyaw, Province of East Asia

The country has been in a state of emergency for more than four years. No one dares to ask: “When will this end?”. We lose a part of ourselves as the days, months, and years pass. When we entered into the fourth year, there was little left of us. We lost our eyes, ears, mouths, hands, and legs. We lost our loved ones through death and little remained for food.

Amidst all of these crises, we can still sense the heart beating gently and softly, whispering to us “Fear not, for I have redeemed you, I have called you by name, you are mine.” (Is 43:1)

Suddenly, we are all shaken to spread this message and our hearts beg to reach out.

We are the sisters in Myanmar and for over four years we have been living through a multi-dimensional crisis.

We are pleased to share with you that we were able to organize a 24-day program for 24 young girls from five different dioceses in Myanmar. Although there were many challenges, it successfully came to an end on April, 24 – the feast of our beloved mother foundress, Saint Mary Euphrasia.

The girls, all impacted by the crisis, were provided with food and accommodation while they had the opportunity to develop skills in resiliency and leadership and learn new knowledge through activities.

The sessions offered a space for participants to inter-relate with each other, develop a team spirit, and build a strong network.

In addition to the learning activities, guest speakers, day trips, IT, and music sessions, time was made available for meditation and recollection – as well as for evening games in the garden!

After 24 enriching days together, I was able to glimpse a small crack of hope inviting me to be flexible enough to be molded, entering into this crack to discover how beautifully we all were woven together in the light of our differences, such as race, gender, age, and so on. We all thirst for peace, justice, love, and joy. That’s enough and that’s the point I meet with Jesus.

We wish the girls well as they return to face the tragic circumstances of their lived reality of the world with a fresh set of eyes and renewed hearts. We wait in anticipation to see the program’s long-term impacts.

May they never forget the words of Saint Mary Euphrasia: “If we love one another and if we uphold one another, we will be capable of working wonders!”.