PRINCIPAL'S MESSAGE

CULTIVATING THE FUTURE

Humankind has always had faith enough to plant seeds of hope, altruistically investing in the future with no expectation of benefitting from or even seeing the end result of the long-range plan.

In Assam, India, the Akshar Foundation sows the seeds of a better future by using education to end child labour, promote better health and bring sustainability to their rural community.

Instead of teenagers working in stone quarries for around $2.50 per day, older students earn money by tutoring younger students and working around their free school, including in the ‘recycling centre’. The students bring in plastic bags and bottles in lieu of school fees. They then sort the plastic to use in building materials around the school. The environment benefits from less plastic waste.

Akshar’s founders Mazin Mukhtar and Parmita Sarma simply saw a community in need and thought creatively to find ways to satisfy that need by empowering people. Just imagine the far-reaching impact of their work in Assam and perhaps the world.

Catherine McAuley’s experience was in some ways not so different. She saw that people needed help, and she had help to give. She sowed the seeds of Mercy and had faith that God’s will and the inherent goodness of humankind would prevail.

Planted by the Sisters of Mercy in 1906 and now a full-grown tree with strong branches, St Joseph’s College perpetuates the cycle of good that Catherine McAuley began so long ago. We strive to cultivate a better future for our community by educating, instilling values and inspiring students to plant their own seeds of faith in a better tomorrow.

God bless,

Mrs Marg Blythman