Come and browse at the exhibition-sale organized in aid of the Amitié Tiers Monde association, for the benefit of the African, Latin American and Indian Missions of the Congrégation des Servantes de Marie: antique linen, embroidered petticoats, lace, embroidery, haberdashery, little treasures of yesteryearCOPY00
Come one, come all, and spread the word... Everyone's welcome!
Self-sufficiency aid for the Sisters of the Congregation of the Servants of Mary, who work in India, Côte d'Ivoire and South America on behalf of women.
While the headquarters of the Congregation of the Servants of Mary is at Notre-Dame-du-Refuge in Anglet, it has several missions in India, Côte d'Ivoire, Argentina and Uruguay. To help them, Sister Marie-Madeleine, a member of the Angloye congregation, set up the Amitié Tiers-Monde association in 1996.
"Its aim is to come to the aid of our missions, to help them in the initiatives they undertake", explains the nun.
Wherever they are, the members of the Congregation of the Servants of Mary undertake to help women in difficulty. "We follow in the footsteps of our founder, Father Louis-Edouard Cestac", emphasizes Sister Marie-Madeleine, "We place ourselves at the service of people in difficulty, especially women and children".
In 1838, Louis-Edouard Cestac acquired the Châteauneuf farming estate in Anglet, which he renamed Notre-Dame-du-Refuge. It was here that he founded the Congregation of the Servants of Mary in 1842, to take in young prostitutes from Bayonne who wanted to escape their condition.
"It is in this spirit that the history of the congregation has continued", emphasizes Sister Marie-Madeleine. "We want to enable women to acquire the means to ensure their autonomy and independence. Wherever we are, we adapt to meet local needs".
In Ivory Coast and India
Sister Agnès, also a member of Amitié Tiers-Monde, spent many years in Côte d'Ivoire. "I was in Toupah, in the south of the country, where we have a center for girls who have dropped out of school. For three years, we teach them to write, count, sew and cook. These are the subjects they need to become independent. We also take care of malnourished children and, at the same time, help their mothers." In Adzopé, a town of 50,000 inhabitants, the Servants of Mary run a hostel for young girls, whom they take in as boarders.
In the south of India, the congregation has around forty members on several sites. This time, the emphasis is on children's education. The Sisters have set up schools, a home for handicapped children and a center for the elderly. They also run a tea, coffee and pepper plantation.
"From Anglet, we provide financial support for the running of these various structures", continues Sister Marie-Madeleine; "All the money we collect at our garage sales goes to them. This enables them to buy milk, medicines and anything else they need to help the people they receive. We also help finance the boarding fees for the girls at the Adzopé boarding school".
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