by Tracy L. Barnett
Contributor
In the tiny country where a slice through the Earth connects its two greatest oceans, Maryknoll Sr. Melinda Roper and her fellow sisters have staked a claim to protect a bit of Panama's lush biodiversity — and are working to rekindle a spiritual connection to the planetary ties that bind us all.
Susan Kidd is a member of the Congregation of Notre Dame and is currently the campus minister of the University of Prince Edward Island in Canada. She previously taught and chaired the Religion Department at a Catholic co-ed high school in Toronto and was involved in parish and community renewal. She worked for two years in youth ministry in Cameroon, West Africa. She is a contributor to the first round of the GSR series "The Life."
Florence Nwaonuma is a member of the Sisters of the Sacred Heart of Jesus. She has served as national president of the Nigeria Conference of Women Religious and for two terms as superior general of the Religious Institute of the Sisters of the Sacred Heart of Jesus in Nigeria. She has been deeply involved in the fight against human trafficking for 10 years. After a sabbatical in the U.S., she returned to Nigeria in May. She holds masters' degrees in public administration and social work and practiced law.
Maryknoll Sr. Helen Graham, a native of Brooklyn, New York, has lived in the Philippines for 50 years. At the Institute of Formation and Religious Studies in Quezon City she teaches Sacred Scripture and mentors students from across Asia, Africa and even Latin America. Graham was instrumental during Ferdinand Marcos' martial law years in bringing the stories of those who were imprisoned and tortured to the world. She was a founding member of the Task Force Detainees of the Philippines in 1974, wrote for Amnesty International and spoke to U.S. officials who were visiting the Philippines.
Eden Panganiban is a member of the Missionary Sisters Servants of the Holy Spirit, an international missionary congregation. Her early work included teaching and a two-year mission experience in Brazil. She has been in leadership positions since 1989, including two terms in congregational leadership in Rome (1996-2008) and as provincial of the Philippines-North Province (2010-2016).
Giselle Gomez was born in Nicaragua and entered the Society of Saint Teresa of Jesus in 1975 in San Antonio, Texas. She worked in Nicaragua from 1978 to 1991, teaching religion and psychology and serving as principal of her school in Managua for several years. Gomez also worked with youth in retreats, workshops and counseling. In 1991, Gomez was appointed delegate of education for her province, which includes Central America and Cuba. In 2000, she was elected provincial and in 2005 was elected general counselor. She resides in Rome.
by Lauren Magee
Notes from the Field - I hear patients in a new way when they speak through their art, and it allows me to see nuances in their personalities that would otherwise go unnoticed.
by Dorothy Fernandes
Contributor
In order for India -- the land of my birth -- to move forward, we as a nation will have to focus less on our personal interests and benefits. We will have to move to safeguard diversity, with its beauty and richness.
by GSR Staff
"Change is something desirable, yet it becomes a source of anxiety when it causes harm to the world and to the quality of life of much of humanity."
World Refugee Day - Tension remains amid relative calm in Wau, and the thousands who fled violence and found refuge at the city's St. Mary Cathedral still fear to return to their looted homes.
