News - WBC

Madre Miguel to receive honorary doctorate from Marquette University

Marquette University will award Sister Mary Miguel Conway, BVM, with an honorary doctor of humane letters degree at this year's Commencement ceremony. Sister Miguel is Co-Director of the Working Boys' Center in Quito, Ecuador. The Working Boys' Center serves over 400 families of working children annually at three locations in Quito. A graduate of Clarke College in Dubuque IA, Miguel spent 11 years teaching high school before being assigned to work at WBC in 1967. Madre Miguel, as she is called, is responsible for the creation of many family development activities at the WBC.

Marquette's 131st Commencement ceremony will be held at the Bradley Center Sunday, May 20, 2012. Baseball great Hank Aaron will be Marquette University's Commencement speaker at this year's spring ceremony. As part of the ceremony, Aaron will also receive an honorary doctor of humane letters degree.

Even the youngest students can make a difference

During Advent, students from several schools in the Midwest raised valuable funds for the meal program at the Working Boys' Center.

Students at St. John Vianney in Brookfield, WI, St. Anthony School in Milwaukee, WI and Our Lady of Perpetual Help in Glenview, IL participated in the Food for Families program.

It costs $17.50 to feed an entire WBC family for a week. Classrooms were challenged to see how many families they could provide with weekly meals.

Each school supported well over 35 families each with weekly meals. St. John Vianney's efforts were featured in Mission Connection.

If your school is interested in a service project for Lent, consider the Food for Families program sponsoring the Working Boys' Center. Learn more about the Food for Families program.

Dipolmas, jobs and a bright future

85 WBC members graduate with technical degrees

Working Boys' Center students graduated on Friday, December 2, 2011 after completing training and passing their final exams.

At a moving ceremony, graduates received their diplomas and began a new stage in their professional lives.

"Many times we see mothers and fathers graduating with their children," said Marco Polo, WBC Director for Technical Education. "I think that is something you'd rarely see outside of the Working Boys' Center program."

Craft technician graduates leave the WBC technical education program and 100% have jobs in auto mechanics, tool and die, metal mechanics, carpentry, toy making, industrial sewing, cosmetology, baking, plumbing, sales and marketing and licensed nurse's aide training.

The ceremony included Father Gilberto Freire, provincial leader for the Society of Jesus in Ecuador.

Each program awarded honors to its top students. This year, Jonathan Paul Chicaiza Tenorio received top honors with the highest grade point average in the technical school. Jonathan is a graduate of the baking school program.

View photos of the 2011 Graduation.

Remembering Christmas Past

A reflection of Christmas festivities in the early years of the WBC

By Father John Halligan, SJ

Working Boys' Center's first home was in the attic all the way up the stairs to one floor below the Jesuit Church's bell tower. It was certainly poor enough to pass for the place where Jesus was born. But it was also big enough for Santa Claus, Christmas stockings, bundles of used clothing, Bingo, a stage for skits of every kind, an ecological tree, the Holy Family, all the other families of the working kids and memorable Christmas dinners. In the earliest years, celebrating Christmas in a big way was something very new for the kids. That was in the 1960's and 1970's when worldwide enlightenment was on a rampage: group dynamics, mutual confrontation, personal definition, children's rights, I'm OK - You're OK, and just be yourself. So the kids had their own ideas for celebrating Christmas in accordance with Eleanor Roosevelt's declaration of rights for all people. Although they didn't know who she was, they were sure that she meant that they had a right to do things their way.

The kids loved staged drama, the more bizarre the better. In one year's performance, eight year old Luis Oswaldo Bauz, otherwise famous as a holier-than-thou for ratting on the other guys, won renewed acceptance in the second grade gang with his Christmas play and performance. When Santa came ho-ho-hoing onto the stage, Bauz put a toy gun on him. His gang tied Santa in a chair. They told him they didn't need kisses and candy. They needed steady meals, education, and doctors and dentists for themselves and their families. They let him go to make the contacts for all that, convinced that their skit was the best of the too many we had already sat through.

Some of the Christmas gift-giving was serious happiness. Each working boy member had candy plus a couple of small surprise things in a red stocking identified with his name. These gifts were rewards for their help to their families by earning money. But the most popular gifts were the great big bundles of used clothing, one for each family. For purposes of prestige, the working boy had to receive it personally and give it over to mom or some other family member. But don't imagine that a shoeshine boy would put his precious shine box out of reach just to carry a clumsy gift bundle, no matter how valuable. The balancing acts were a tribute to their street survival expertise.

Our attic home was in a building that some people claimed was "cloistered" which meant no women allowed because of what Eve did in the Garden. The cloister claim wasn't solidly based on any Church records. So on special days like Christmas when other people weren't in the building on the lower floors, we invited all the mothers and sisters and brothers and fathers in for a party. Each year, the kids spent more than a month using whatever we had on hand to get things ready for Christmas in the Center with their families.

There was a box full of artificial Christmas tree branches but no tree trunk. One of the kids got a carpenter to drill holes in a long piece of two by four and put a point on it to hold the angel. We had to give it a strong ugly base to stand it up with all the branches stuck in it. The result was an attractive section of forest under an avalanche of tinsel. There was no room under it for Bethlehem. Better for us, because we needed a whole ping pong table space for that long winding street with poor families huddled in doorways. The one with the star above it was the holy family's doorway. The only animals the kids knew were cats and dogs and pigs and it would take years for us to acquire statues of them. We told the boys that each of their families could lend treasures from home that would stay in the Bethlehem scene or on the tree for the season and be returned to the families after Christmas. That was the beginning of a tradition that helps us know Jesus shares the way we live. The pre-Christmas season was packed with visits by parents and sisters and little brothers delivering decorations on loan and grabbing lunch.

Most of the preparation time was given to the piles of other donated stuff that was on hand. Folks had donated cast-off costume jewelry, assorted dishware, drinking glasses, framed paintings, you name it, and a huge variety of still packaged hardware store stuff and small articles donated by stores getting rid of no-sale stock. We invested in Christmas gift paper. The kids spent days wrapping each article with loving care. All of it was destined to be a traditional pile of surprise gifts for their Catholic families to celebrate Christmas with BINGO. The winners could pick any gift but couldn't know what it was until the treasure was unwrapped. Of course, Christmas Day was always heavenly, a loud liturgy, a meal eaten with total dedication, the hilarious BINGO teaching the letters and numbers somehow related to winning surprise gifts.

One famous Christmas a generous Ladies' Club insisted on not only donating the food but also cooking and serving Christmas dinner for our hungry folks who ate up and then slipped back in line time after time. The WBC authorities stepped in and stopped the crime before the ladies panicked at not having enough food on Christmas day for the poor little tykes and their families.

Each year Baby Jesus from His crib in the doorway with the star over it watched everything, including the seconds and thirds at table, the disgraceful treatment of Santa, the constant emphasis on making money for their own survival and putting their own families ahead of everybody else in importance. He knew He wasn't in Heaven. He was beginning to live our truths and our temptations. He was having a ball.

Adult Education Provides A Second Chance

Imagine going through life without being able to read the price tag at a store or sign your own name on a document.

For many new Working Boys' Center adult members, living life without basic literacy skills has been their reality until now.

Thanks to the Adult Education program, this fall over 80 adults are learning to read, write and do arithmetic for the first time in their lives.

The modular adult literacy program is run by BVM nuns Sister Miguel Conway and Sister Cindy Sullivan with year-long volunteers serving as the course instructors.

Because entering the classroom for the first time in decades can be a scary proposition, the first few weeks of classes engage students in social activities. Week one includes a social gathering and playing table games like Memory, Jenga, Connect 4 and Simon. The social interaction creates a bond between the teacher and students so that they can better support each other through the learning process.

The next module charges all the adult students with making a quilt-like banner featuring the 10 values of the Working Boys' Center: loyalty, personal formation, family, religion, health, education, economy, work, housing, and recreation. Each adult creates a patch for the banner. For many it was their first time using paints, scissors, markers and glue. The banners will be blessed during a Mass and hung for display at each center.

In week four, the adults designed a model house to be placed in the large Christmas crèches at each Center. The project helped the students learn to measure using rulers, cut using exacto knives and compile their vision using glue. The final products featured popsicle roofs, toothpick fences and even some tiny brick roads leading to their model homes.

In week five, the students learned about Ecuadorian history. Lessons were taught about the Legends of Quito and students shared oral history from their own villages. On a Saturday, students from both centers took a fieldtrip to historic downtown Quito to visit many of the famous plazas.

The adults loved being together and actually visiting the different plazas. They marveled at the rooster on top of the Cathedral, stared at the missing brick in the Plaza of San Francisco and listened attentively to the lady at the "Chapel of the Robbery" retell the legend that they had studied. They all returned to the downtown Center where they had lunch. They were excitedly sharing with each other what they had seen. It was a great way to finish up the Art and Culture module.

The next few modules will feature classes on music and religion before moving on to core curriculum classes for the remainder of the academic year.

2012 Spiritual Journey dates set

The 2012 Spiritual Journey trip is set for February 29 - March 6, 2012. Have the experience of a lifetime on a truly unforgettable trip to Quito. On this guided group trip you'll experience everything from the natural beauty of the Andes to the bustling capital city of Quito, in addition to visiting this well-established family mission. You'll see how the Working Boys' Center provides education, job training, healthcare, meals and life skills to help hundreds of families in need.

Click here to read about the trip itinerary.
Click here for flyer on trip.

For more information call Pat Parks at 262-797-8988 or email her.

Former WBC Volunteer Enters Jesuits

Former WBC volunteer, Jeff Sullivan, began the process to become a Jesuit priest this August when he became a novice with the Wisconsin Province of the Jesuits. Jeff served as a two-year volunteer at the Working Boys' Center from 2006-2008.

The journey to become a Jesuit priest takes over 10 years and involves significant education, rigorous prayer and thousands of hours of service. Read more about Jeff's journey.

WBC libraries benefit from Projects for Peace grant

Sophie Dresser, a student at College of Idaho in Caldwell, Idaho was awarded a $10,000 Davis Projects for Peace grant to benefit the Working Boys' Center libraries. As part of her grant, Sophie spent four weeks at the WBC purchasing, protecting, cataloging, and stocking the new library materials.

"It has been an amazing month of memories for me at the Working Boys' Center that I will never forget," said Dresser. Through the project grant, Dresser was able to purchase $10,000 worth of new books and materials for libraries at the centers located in La Marin, Cotocollao and La Gota de Leche.

"I believe these materials will have a lasting impact on the children here and I am very pleased with the final outcome," commented Dresser. "I couldn't have imagined a better organization to partner with on this project."

In its fifth year, Davis Projects for Peace funds university students to design grassroots projects that they will implement during the summer. The objective is to encourage and support today's motivated youth to create and tryout their own ideas for building peace.

Remembering Sister Katherine Ann Beckman, BVM

Long-time WBC teacher and BVM Sister Katherine Ann Beckman, BVM (Leonardette), 86, died April 13, 2011, at Marian Hall in Dubuque, Iowa. Visitation will be from 9–11 a.m. on Wednesday, April 20, 2011, in Marian Hall chapel, followed by a prayer service at 11 a.m. Funeral liturgy will be at 1:30 p.m. Burial is in the Mount Carmel cemetery, Dubuque.

Sister Katherine Ann was an elementary school educator in Muscatine and Iowa City, Iowa; and Chicago, Cicero and Rock Island, Ill. She served on the staff at Clarke College in Dubuque and also worked in Quito, Ecuador, at the Working Boys' Center.

She was born Jan. 7, 1925, to Leonard and Mary Haugh Beckman. She entered the BVM congregation from St. Mary Parish, Dodgeville, Iowa, on Sept. 8, 1945. She professed first vows on March 19, 1948, and final vows on Aug. 15, 1953.

She was preceded in death by her parents; brothers: James and Charles; and sisters: Virginia, Phyllis and Mary. She is survived by a sister, Rosella Johnston; sister-in-law, Romona Beckman, Lebanon, Ohio; brothers-in-law: Hugh (Terry) Fleming, Littleton, Colo.; and Robert Harpen, Columbia, Mo.; and nieces and nephews.

Memorials may be given to the Sisters of Charity, BVM Support Fund.

Funeral Reflection by Harriet Holles, BVM

WBC celebrates Flag Day

In all the grammar schools and high schools of Ecuador, in February of each year there are strenuous preparations for a solemn event of saluting Ecuador's flag on the anniversary of one of the heroic battles for independence. In whatever big or not so big school space available, martial music inspires miles of brisk marching around with flags on high preceding a very reverent ceremony of all senior students individually kissing the flag as a promise of patriotic loyalty unto death. A short speech is usually on the program along with the awarding of medals, certificates and special mentions of a few students the country can be proud of. In the Working Boys' Center, we prepare carefully, make and give invitations and always have a huge attendance for this Flag Day ceremony.

Construction Industry Helps Build WBC Family Home

Wisconsin construction industry representatives raised money and helped build the roof structure for a deserving WBC family this past February. Seven men with careers as builders, insurance agents, real estate brokers, commerical cleaners, plumbers and architects joined in the project.

Former WBC volunteer Jim Parks, Jr. started the volunteer Minga Program five years ago. "Minga" is an indiginous word for community work party and volunteers immerse themselves in the local tradition while working side by side with Ecuadorians and other volunteers to transform the lives of a family by completing the roof structure for their home.

This year, the trip focused on the construction industry to give its U.S. members an experience of working in developing country construction. In less than a week. the group formed and poured the roof structure for a WBC family who live in northern Quito, about 20 minutes from the Center Number Two.

Learn more about the Minga volunteer experience or other WBC travel opportunities.

Volunteers reflect on Christmas at WBC

Lauren Downs:

Christmas at the center was one of the most joy-filled, unique, and memorable experiences I have ever had. I enjoyed making "bultos" huge bags stuff to the rim of clothes, shoes, and other gifts for the families. Handing them out was a quite an experience. I remember watching faces light up and children burst with excitement, waiting to see what was inside. A few weeks before Christmas each night everyone gathered in the comedor to sing Christmas carols. I will never forget the huge nativity scene, blinking lights, having a child on my lap, and singing at the top of our lungs, this experience truly made me feel part of this family of families. On Christmas eve my two younger sisters and my parents arrived in Quito. We celebrated in 4 masses in two days. The most memorable was Christmas Eve service and Guangopolo, where Padre Juan began his mission. The entire town gathered, and each of them brought a spirit of joy that I had never experienced before, this was truly a celebration. Afterwards we had hot chocolate and cookies, people come up and started talking my family in their broken English, wishing them a Merry Christmas. As we began to leave, my dad commented that this was truly a life changing experience.

Christmas day was beautiful, we celebrated it with the families For the first time in my life, I didn't open one single present on Christmas. There were no stockings, no cookies for Santa, just time to be together, and to celebrate the birth of Christ. At the end of the day, my mom said, "this was the best Christmas we ever had!"

Adam Affaflo:
Christmas in the CMT was an experience I will never forget. The thing that stuck out the most was that Christmas had a different feeling. We had the opportunity to fill Christmas bags for the entire family. When I saw a family?s name that I recognized, I would throw in a couple extra socks or underwear. Then we got to hand out the bags to the family and they looked so happy to be receiving their family gift. It was cool the see the new families receive their gifts too, because it was their first time being a part of the experience. Even though I was 3388 miles away from home, being around the families here was a great comfort. You can also tell it is Jesus? birthday because everywhere you go there is a statue of baby Jesus.

Laura Bradley:
Christmas season in the States begins the day after Thanksgiving, if not before, with the focus heavily on shopping for Christmas presents. In the Center, Christmas season begins in the beginning of December, with the focus heavily on community, among the volunteers, families, and staff. After having celebrated two Christmases here at the Working Boys Center, I am still struck by the beauty of the simplicity of focusing on the real meaning of Christmas. From filling the huge bags of clothing and toys together with the volunteers, to handing them out to the the families, to praying together every night with the families the 9 days leading up to Christmas, to the daycare Christmas skits, to the first graders giving their hearts to Jesus and the second graders receiving their First Communion, to Madre Miguel handing out hilarious gag gifts to all the volunteers and their guests gathered together Christmas Day, the focus is always on the true heart and
spirit of Christmas: being together and giving of one's self, just as Jesus Himself did.

One thing I will never forget was the shriek of joy from a four year old boy in the downtown Center after opening a Christmas present for the very first time. All of the daycare kids receive a brand new present wrapped in beautiful wrapping paper, and this little boy at first just stood there holding the present, thinking that the gift was the beautiful box. Padre Juan decided to help him out and told him to open up the box. Still, the boy just stood there, staring, so Padre Juan helped him tear off the wrapping paper, revealing a brand new truck. The gratitude and joy expressed in this little boy's face will be imprinted on my mind forever.

Father Halligan Named Co-Recipent of $1 million Opus Prize

Father John Halligan, Working Boys' Center co-founder, was named as a co-recipient of the million-dollar annual Opus Prize on Nov. 11 in a special ceremony at Fordham University.

Beatrice Chipeta, R.S., director of the Lusubilo Orphan Care Project in Malawi, Africa, and John Halligan, S.J., founder of the Working Boys' Center (WBC) in Quito, Ecuador, jointly received the award before a standing-room-only audience of 400 people in Keating Hall on Fordham's Bronx campus. An overflow crowd watched the ceremony from monitors on the building's third floor.

One of the largest humanitarian awards, the Opus Prize is designed to provide a single significant infusion of resources to advance humanitarians' work—and bring greater visibility to causes that have gone untold. This year marks the first time in the Opus Prize Foundation's seven-year history that the $1.1 million award is being split evenly between two recipients, said Don Neureuther, spokesperson for the foundation.

"After several visits and a thorough review of each organization's operations and commitment to the poor, the board determined that these two recipients were equally deserving of the top prize," Neureuther said. "Sister Chipeta and Father Halligan embody every aspect of the Opus Prize selection criteria. We're delighted to honor these two faith-based social entrepreneurs who have dedicated their lives to addressing some of the great social issues of our day."

Watch video of Father Halligan's Opus Prize acceptance speech.

WBC Co-founders Featured in Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

Father John Halligan, SJ and Sister Miguel Conway, BVM were featured in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel for their missionary work at the Working Boys' Center and the impact that their volunteer program has had on Milwaukee youth. Father Halligan's 80th birthday was celebrated August 13-15, 2011 in Milwaukee, WI.