Kateri Tekakwitha Mission Fund, a BVM Ministry Partner, has long had a supporter in Mary Waddell, BVM.
While living in Guatemala, Mary met Kay Sweeney, a PBVM Associate, at the Missionary Sisters of the Eucharist motherhouse in San Andrés Semetabaj, Sololá.
Kay, a retired schoolteacher, had spent her career saving so that her retirement could mean serving a mission. Hoping to lend her tech skills to Tonia Orland, PBVM, who was building a community of Indigenous women religious, Kay instead grew close to young women who left the community after discerning they did not have a vocation.
“Kay became very involved with these young women,” Mary says. “She wanted to help them.”
Inspired to make a lasting difference, Kay moved from the United States to Guatemala and, in 1997, founded the Kateri Tekakwitha Mission Fund. She named the organization after the first North American Indigenous woman recognized as a saint.
Indigenous women in Guatemala complete an average of just three years of schooling. The Fund exists to change that, paying for school and professional training, then helping program participants find apprenticeships and employment.
“The program has broadened as the need arose,” Mary says. “It started by providing money for school, then professional training, then helping with job applications and financial support during apprenticeships.”
Kay, who has returned to the United States, continues to fundraise and counsel as needed, while graduates of the program now take care of its administration.
The support of Sisters of Charity, BVM has helped the Kateri Tekakwitha Mission Fund to add essential staff, allowing them to assist even more young women.
Mary calls it a true partnership, empowering Guatemalan women to break the cycle of poverty through education, collaboration, and support. The Fund opens pathways to employment, economic independence, and greater opportunities within the community.
Together we continue the BVM Legacy of Love.
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