Organization Spotlight: The Maryknoll Sisters
This is the second installation of our Volunteer Spotlight Series, highlighting the amazing people and organizations that volunteer their time to support our new neighbors.
Sister Dora Nuetzi led an initiative at the Maryknoll headquarters in Ossining to provide temporary housing for refugees.
On the campus of the Maryknoll Sisters, located in Ossining, NY, a small, usually quiet apartment has recently been bustling with life. That’s because since January, the Maryknoll Sisters have opened an apartment to refugee families in need of temporary housing.
In partnership with local organizations such as Hearts & Homes for Refugees (HHR) and Open Arms for Refugees, the Maryknoll Sisters have provided temporary housing to five refugee families already this year.
“We are just really happy to be able to make the space available, and get to know the people,” said Sister Dora Nuetzi, a member of the congregation since 1954. “Hopefully, they find a little bit of kindness here.”
Though the Maryknoll Sisters humanitarian work focuses globally – currently in 24 countries – the Sisters also prioritize their local impact. Having worked up close to the root causes of displacement abroad, refugee resettlement has become an issue close to many of the Sisters' hearts.
“We have a strong commitment to justice, especially at the global level, and that's part of why we've been so interested in trying to help refugees,” said Sr. Anastasia Lott, a member of the congregation for the past 37 years, who served as General Secretary from 2016-2021. “And I think it's because we have a broad understanding of some of the many factors that create the crisis.”
Sister Anastasia Lott
Assigned to Kenya in 1987, Sr. Anastasia spent almost ten years providing direct aid to the local population. During her time in Kenya and later Namibia, Sr. Anastasia was exposed to the realities of life as a refugee, as displaced peoples from neighboring countries such as Somalia and Sudan often resettled in Kenya.
Now based at the Ossining headquarters, Sr. Dora and Sr. Anastasia work on a committee to provide temporary housing and resettlement assistance. “It’s the least we can do,” said Sr. Dora.
Sr. Dora, who spent decades in Hawaii and the Marshall Islands on various missions, kick-started Maryknoll's recent local initiative to assist refugees last year by tapping into her connections with local organizations.
In August, for example, Hearts & Homes for Refugees, partnered with Neighbors for Refugees, needed temporary housing for an Afghan family while their teams searched for permanent housing. The Maryknoll Sisters jumped into action, quickly preparing their apartment for a last-minute arrival. Then for the past month, from Monday to Friday, Sisters would walk up the hill to the apartment and provide English tutoring to the children and the mother, and spend time with the family to orient them to their new community.
When the family moved to an apartment in White Plains, the Sisters wasted no time, and got the apartment ready for a new family to arrive days later.
”The early vision of Hearts & Homes for Refugees was of private citizens, community organizations and institutions coming together to welcome refugees by offering time and resources to help them build new lives,” said Kathie O’Callaghan, founder and president of HHR. “We will always be grateful to the Maryknoll community for helping make that vision a reality by showing up as one of HHR’s earliest supporters. I know I speak on behalf of other resettlement groups when I say we are grateful for their continued support of the expanding welcoming movement.”
In addition to providing temporary housing for refugee families, the Maryknolls provide their new neighbors with ESOL tutoring and general resettlement assistance, whether that’s running errands with them or orienting them to their new country. Last spring, the Maryknoll sisters worked with HHR to donate a car to a recently arrived Ukrainian refugee.
“I just have a deep love in my heart for refugees,” said Sr. Dora. “I have always had a special spot in my heart for people from another country trying to adapt to this country.”
Headquartered on a sprawling green campus in Ossining, NY since 1912, the Maryknoll Sisters were the first U.S.-based congregation of women religious created for foreign mission work.
If you’d like to learn more about the Maryknoll Sisters, visit their website here. If you are a part of an organization interested in working with Hearts & Homes for Refugees to provide resettlement assistance, click here.
