Maine in Mission

Mission Ambassadors

A new program aims to connect the Diocese of Portland's Missions/CRS Office to parishioners around Maine to provide a greater awareness about the work being done for Mission, here at home and overseas.

An article spotlighting the Mission Ambassador Program appeared in Harvest. To read it, click here.

Children Helping Children

The moment that students at St. John’s Catholic School in Brunswick were told what was happening at Mbabaali Memorial Nursery and Primary School in Kampala, Uganda, they knew they had to help.

“We explained that for the children of Mbabaali, shoes mean that they can attend school. Without them, they can’t,” said Jaline Cogswell, the pre-kindergarten teacher at St. John’s. “The shoes protect their feet from parasites that permeate the soil and get into the children. With Kathleen Curry, our kindergarten teacher, we wanted to do something as their student body is comprised mostly of AIDS orphans. Right away, our students were motivated to make a difference.”

“Operation Mbabaali,” spearheaded by St. John’s pre-kindergarten and kindergarten classes, began in early September as boxes to collect shoes and supplies were placed around the school and letters were sent home to parents. By the end of the collection on Halloween, the students had gathered 267 pairs of shoes, sneakers, slippers, sandals, and boots, as well as various school supplies that included pens, crayons, markers, notebooks, folders and glue sticks.