Missionary receives major award from Irish president

SR Mary Sweeny

Sr Mary Sweeney - an Irish member of the Sisters of St Joseph of Cluny - received a Presidential Distinguished Service Award from the President of Ireland, Michael D Higgins at Áras an Uachtaráin yesterday, 8 December. Speaking afterwards Sr Mary said: "This award recognises the many people who have supported my missionary work in Sierra Leone over the past 44 years, especially the people of Sierra Leone whose dedication greatly helps hearing impaired children. These people have helped me in every way through their financial and spiritual support. They have given me encouragement to continue my faith-inspired work through many trials, including the civil war and Ebola, to support those on the margins of society.

"I am grateful and full of joy to receive this award not for myself, but on behalf of the Sisters of St Joseph of Cluny who have served Sierra Leone for over 150 years, as well as the communities who have welcomed and supported them and other missionaries for so many years."

"In particular" she said " I thank the people of Donegal and the Friends of St Joseph's, whose on-going dedication enabled me to create school facilities that
allow these marginalised children to get an education and take their role within their communities. Education is key to ending the cycle of poverty and deprivation in poor countries like Sierra Leone."

St Joseph's School for the Hearing Impaired in Makeni was set up by Sister Mary and the Cluny Sisters in 1979 in response to the great need for suitable provision for children with disabilities in northern Sierra Leone. The school supports over 200 hearing impaired children, and has dormitory accommodation for those from long distances away. It provides education, skills training and opportunities to children with a disability who have been excluded from education, and often from society as a whole. Over the years the school has worked to dispel the deep seated belief that children with disabilities are incapable of being educated.

The school costs over €100,000 a year to run and shrewdly Sr Mary has opened new revenue streams including a guest house, a farm and carpentry and tailoring business where some of the school graduates work and learn, providing essential employment and livelihoods training. She aims to make it partially self sufficient by growing some of their own food which includes pineapples, oranges, mangoes, papayas, and yams. Hens are reared and eggs are supplied daily to two supermarkets in Makeni.

Sr Mary successfully lobbied for the establishment of a specialised teacher training institute for children with disabilities at the University of Makeni. Over
the years, she has lobbied the Ministry of Education to recognise the importance of educating children with disabilities. The ministry now acknowledges the primary school and pays the salaries of its teachers.

News of her award was warmly welcomed by The Friends of St Joseph's School for the Hearing Impaired - a registered UK charity based in Essex and run by volunteer trustees. It was started by Linda Freestone and her husband after they visited the school in 2009 and were inspired by the great work being done there for the hearing impaired. Linda says: "We are delighted to see the work of Sr Mary and her colleagues being recognised by the President of Ireland. Over the years we have raised money to help support the farm, to train staff, building new classrooms, and most recently sitting two shipping containers on site as a canteen and a shop selling goods from the tailoring department. This was a large project where we worked with St Anselm's College in Liverpool to give the older pupils business skills that they could use to support themselves and their families when they have to leave the school."

Another trustee, Kate Dixon and her husband visited the school last month to finalise plans to renovate some of the existing facilities starting with the
sanitation block.

Readers wishing to support the school and Sister Mary's work can donate through the Virgin Money Giving page:

http://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/charity-web/charity/finalCharityHomepage.action?uniqueVmgCharityUrl=FriendsofStJosephs

Further information about the work of the charity is available at: www.friendsofstjosephskids.org/