Bronx Teacher Returns with Lessons from India

Gail Maliam Ryder spent 16 days far from the halls of St. Raymond Academy for Girls to learn about schools in Calcutta, camps that help children adjust from a life of labor to learning, and programs that rescue children who have fallen victim to South Asia’s bustling human-trafficking industry. There the global studies and English teacher, who returned to the Bronx recently, learned some of the heavy lessons of life in a developing country. In part, that was a goal of the trip sponsored by Catholic Relief Services (CRS): to show both the challenges and solutions to problems like child trafficking, overcrowding and even HIV/AIDS.

The program, called Frontiers of Justice, takes Catholic secondary educators from around the United States to a developing country with the hope of giving them the kind of first-hand knowledge that will bring to life their classroom lessons on such subjects as justice and culture.

“By being witnesses and by sharing the stories of the people they meet, teachers like Gail Maliam Ryder can, in turn, broaden young people’s concept of who is our brother, our sister, our neighbor,” said Michele Gilfillan, CRS domestic programs manager and coordinator of the trip. Frontiers of Justice is a joint project of CRS and the National Catholic Educations Association. Six teachers are chosen to participate in the program.

Catholic Relief Services is marking its 60th year as the official international humanitarian agency of the U.S. Catholic community. The agency provides assistance to people in more than 90 countries and territories on the basis of need, not race, creed or nationality.

For more information contact Cecile Sorra at Catholic Relief Services 410-951-7215

Name:- E-mail: City: State: Comments:

Education Update, Inc., P.O. Box 1588, New York, NY 10159.
Tel: (212) 477-5600. Fax: (212) 477-5893. Email: ednews1@aol.com.
All material is copyrighted and may not be printed without express consent of the publisher. © 2003.