Children cool off in a plastic pool donated by California nonprofit Border Compassion to the Cobina Posada del Migrante shelter in Mexicali, Mexico, where temperatures reached 120 degrees July 8. The nonprofit, founded by Sr. Suzanne Jabro, organized a hot weather fund to purchase plastic pools, popsicles, fruit and transportation to cooler venues for those at the shelter, which has no air conditioning, as temperatures hovered in the 110s this summer. (Courtesy of Border Compassion)
by Rhina Guidos
A California nonprofit run by a Sister of St. Joseph of Carondelet helped migrant children at the U.S.-Mexico border find temporary respite from the blazing heat by providing plastic pools, water slides and popsicles as temperatures rose to 115 and above this summer.
"This is how children stayed cool in 115 degrees and above without adequate air conditioning," said an email with a photo sent out by Border Compassion, showing a toddler squeezed inside a bucket as another child poured water on her head at the Cobina Posada del Migrante shelter in Mexicali, just south of San Diego. But thanks to Border Compassion, the southern California nonprofit that works closely with the shelter, some children staying there were subsequently able to play in plastic pools and had transportation provided to cooler venues — such as movie theaters and malls — to find respite during the hottest times of the day.
The organization said there are 100 people living in the shelter, which has one giant fan to provide relief from the heat, but that fan is broken.
The Mexicali area saw the mercury rise up to 120 degrees on July 8, the hottest day recorded that month, but most of the month of July showed high temperatures into the 110s, according to Accuweather.com.
Children cool off in a plastic pool donated by California nonprofit Border Compassion to the Cobina Posada del Migrante shelter in Mexicali, Mexico, where temperatures reached 120 degrees July 8. (Courtesy of Border Compassion)
Sr. Suzanne Jabro, a member of the Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet, who founded and runs Border Compassion, told Global Sisters Report Aug. 27 that the organization raised $15,000 for a hot weather fund.
"As the pool boxes arrived, a wide-eyed child exclaimed 'Are these for us?' " said the email showing photos of the children cooling off.
The fund also helped buy fruit and popsicles for families waiting at the shelter for their appointments with immigration officials near the southern border, Jabro said.
Various groups of women religious have visited the border in southern California through the organization's "crossings," activities where they meet with migrants, other women religious who work with them, and learn about immigration issues.
Call for sisters involved in US election outreach
Every election season, congregations of Catholic women religious promote ways for voters to educate themselves, get involved, or to reverse voter suppression efforts. If your congregation has an election initiative this year, share it with Global Sisters Report for possible inclusion in a future story or column, whether it is as involved as a get-out-the-vote effort or as simple as organized prayer.
Send your information to GSR national correspondent Dan Stockman at [email protected] by Sept. 27.
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Dominican Sisters to transfer schools to Vatican-recognized civil entity
The Dominican Sisters of Peace announced the "transfer" of four of its parochial schools to Dominican Veritas Ministries, "a canonical entity recognized by the Vatican" and founded in 2022.
The change will affect Our Lady of the Elms in Akron, Ohio, Dominican Academy in New York, St. Agnes Academy-St. Dominic School in Memphis, Tennessee, and St. Mary's Dominican High School in New Orleans, the congregation said in an August press release. It did not say when the changes were taking place.
"For more than 160 years, the Dominican Sisters have encouraged and ensured these schools' Catholic and Dominican identity. Dominican Veritas Ministries now will be responsible for the spiritual formation, financial stewardship, and effective governance of these four founded schools and nine other Dominican schools across the United States, for a total of 13 schools," the release said. "Recognizing the Archbishop/Bishop's responsibility for Catholic education in the diocese, each school will continue to maintain a relationship of mutual trust, close cooperation, and ongoing dialogue in the years ahead."
The press release said the schools' academic and extracurricular offerings will not change.
"We now have a bigger brain trust for the schools' governance and the schools' commitment to their Catholic identity," said Sr. Pat Twohill, prioress of the Dominican Sisters of Peace, in the press release. "As we continue to focus on the future, this new arrangement helps ensure solid theological and spiritual formation. We believe that this is a positive move for the long-term health of the schools, the families, and communities that they serve and for their ability to continue to offer the riches of Catholic education. By actively taking part in this change, we continue to innovate to ensure our values remain strong long into the future."
The press release said that "other schools are expected to join in the future."
Indigenous women and men religious to gather in Ecuador
The Confederation of Latin American Religious will host a gathering of Indigenous consecrated life Sept. 27-29 in Quito, Ecuador.
The goal is to "make visible the experience of the feminine from the cosmoexistence and cosmopraxis of the Indigenous peoples," said CLAR.
CLAR is offering a 50% discount of its $100 registration cost for Indigenous women and men religious, which includes room and board. For more information, visit www.clar.org.
