An encounter with extreme poverty in Sri Lanka in 1979 sparked a fire within the heart of Perth Catholic Maggie Box and it is still burning brightly today.
After witnessing two young children eating from a garbage tin while their parents stood sadly by with an infant in their arms, Maggie knew her life would never be same.
The experience planted a seed of inspiration that has since spread its branches into Sri Lanka, India, Burma, Nigeria, Peru,Thailand and Vietnam and she is now embarking on her next initiative, the “Retired Teachers Mission Outreach”.
This innovative project, which invites retired teachers to utilise their skills by tutoring Perth students for one hour a week and donating half the money to projects supported by Mission Partners Morley, will be introduced to parishioners of the Infant Jesus Church in Morley over the next six weeks.
Maggie is excited with the potential of this new project, which she hopes will be the launching pad to many more parishes across the diocese.
The idea, she explained to The Record, is to invite primary and secondary teachers who are no longer in the workforce and match them up for an hour each week with a local student who is seeking extracurricular support with their education.
Supervisors will be provided to support the project and a monthly meeting will be held to share ideas and empower teachers.
Maggie is excited by the potential of the arrangement. “Teachers will be able to utilise their skills by assisting Aussie kids with their education while simultaneously empowering children and families overseas through a wide range of projects supported by Mission Partners Morley.
Maggie is well aware of the benefits of such projects, having initiated many herself through Mission Partners Morley, which she established, along with friends, in 1988.
“I was profoundly challenged by what I saw in Sri Lanka all those years ago and I have been involved in one form or another of overseas mission ever since,” she said.
Such projects have included the building of an orphanage as well as assisting in the establishment of small businesses by supplying cooking trolleys, milking cows, goats, chickens, rabbits, sewing machines, food stalls and small shops.
Mission Partners, which has relied on fundraising through events such as dinners, dances, concerts, quiz and card nights, has also provided materials for community endeavours such as the building of dormitories, sewing centres, classrooms and hygienic toilet facilities.
Maggie, and other members of Mission Partners, have been able to make visits to Sri Lanka, Vietnam and India to witness the life-changing effects their support has had in the lives of individuals, families and communities.
While Maggie’s experiences have exposed her to the immensity of the plight of those caught in the cycle of poverty, she does not allow herself to be overwhelmed by the enormity of it.
To maintain her enthusiasm and compassion, she looks toward people such as Mother Teresa, whom she met in 1981.
“One of her sayings,” Maggie recalls, “was ‘if you can’t feed 100 people, then just feed one’. It is an attitude I take into each project I approach.”
And it is an attitude Maggie knows will be embraced by the parishioners of Morley this Lenten season, well aware of the generosity they have provided toward the work of the Missions Partner projects over the past 25 years. “My hope is that this is only the first step to something greater,” she says.
“I pray that many retired teachers will hear the call of this initiative and be inspired to become involved. The more teachers we have willing to offer their time and skills, the greater the impact we will be able to make into the lives of those who are most vulnerable in our world”.
For more information or to become involved with the “Retired Teachers Mission Outreach”, contact Maggie Box on (08) 9272 8263 or email margaretbox7@bigpond.com.