Missionaries of Mary give at-risk youth a ‘second chance’
For the past 20 years, a community of apostolate of mostly French nuns has run a program for at-risk teens and young men who had a run-in with the law. Their stories illustrate how the program continues to provide a path to reintegrate society. Now some of them have become themselves “agents of change”.
Manila (AsiaNews) – The Association of Compassion Asian Youth (ACAY) is behind the Second Chance, an outreach program run by the Missionaries of Mary, a community of apostolate operating in the Diocese of Novachiles.
Designed to help at-risk youth from poor areas of Manila by offering them a second chance to redeem their life after time in prison, the Second Chance Program (SCP) marked its 20th anniversary earlier this year.
Sr Sophie de Jésus, Sr Laetitia Gorczyca, Sr Rachel Myriam Luxford and Sr Edith Fabian founded ACAY in 1997, which eventually spawned two important outreach programs: the School of Life for girls in 2000, and Second Chance, a program for teens and young men in prison in 2002.
Sr Sophie explained that at the start in 1997, many programs focused on children, but few helped troubled teens and young adults. This led to the ACAY program.
“Before it became known as Second Chance Program, we ventured to hope that these juvenile offenders, housed in a Youth Home under trying circumstances, might develop into the kind of successful citizens they are today – responsible, respectful, and eager to help others," said Sr Edith.
The chosen name for the program reflects the missionaries’ idea that people should get a “second chance”, and that ACAY could provide hope to kids who might become living examples of this.
Marking the program’s 20th anniversary was a significant step in recognising its importance and contribution to getting kids involved in community life.
“This year we marked the compassion, generosity, and belief in a second chance for both those who are delivering and those receiving the SCP interventions. The impact is profound and lasting," said SCP program manager Marlou Simangon-Dumao.
“We are happy that we have travelled over the years in the mission of metamorphosing youth's lives,” said Sr Sophie.
Constant contact with the kids in their reality is one of the strategies used to change their perspective.
By sharing their stories, the first to enrol in the program are now the role models for newcomers.
“We are proudly the fruit of ACAY’s labour. We become agents of change,” said Rainer, one of the early participants in the program. “Everything has paid off for me,” said another, Kim,
For many, those who have undertaken the Second Chance Program have become like a family because it has changed their lives and inspired them to have hope in the future.
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28/06/2023 18:10
01/08/2017 12:39
