Entrance Year 1969-Fifty Years
Sister Mary Little, M.M.
Sister Mary has blessed the lives of many children throughout her 50 years as a Maryknoll missioner! She entered the Maryknoll Sisters Congregation in 1969 from Connecticut as a caring and compassionate teacher. Sister Mary holds a Bachelor’s Degree in French and Spanish and two Master’s Degrees, one in French and the other in Religious Studies. Since then she has taught English in a government school in Tanzania and in universities in China and South Korea.
Now in Cambodia, Sister Mary began her journey as a teacher for nine years at one of the local Universities. Currently, she serves as the Co-Director of the Boeung Tum Pun Education Project, which provides education to the most vulnerable of poor children, many living with HIV/AIDS. Over the years, Sister Mary and her co-workers have observed and changed the program for the children by providing books, supplies, teacher training, and making sure literacy begins at the earliest age possible. She facilitates scholarships for primary, secondary and university aged students as well as runs workshops and supervise the preschool teachers.
Sister Rebecca Macugay, M.M.
Sister Rebecca has reached so many people around the world in so many different capacities. She entered the Maryknoll Sisters Congregation from Cabatuan, Isabela, the Philippines. She has a Bachelor’s Degree in Medical Technology and a Master’s Degree in Education. Her first mission assignment was to Mwanza, Tanzania she was part of a team that set up the Bugando Regional Teaching Hospital and trained lab technicians and taught Microbiology to nursing students. Sister Rebecca was then assigned to Kenya, where she served in a variety of ministries, including teaching biology in a secondary school for girls, income generating projects for out-of-school youths and leadership development training for adult literacy teachers, women and youth in various Catholic diocese in the country. As part of a pastoral team in Bura-Tana, Kenya, Sister Rebecca trained village health workers, youth and women leaders, and participated in small Christian Communities. During her year in Nairobi, she helped setup a day center for people living with HIV/AIDS. Sister Rebecca then transferred to Namibia and teamed up with another Maryknoll Sister to establish the Christian Development Education Program of the Rundu vicariate, in the northeastern part of the country. In 2000, she worked with the International Grail of Kleinmond, South Africa, in the program Training for Transformation for development education practitioners from Africa, Asia, Latin America and Europe.
Presently, after serving as Vice President of the Maryknoll Sisters, her mission is in Panama; where she serves as a pastoral worker in a peri-urban parish in Las, Mañanitas, Panama
Sister Judith Noone, M.M.
Sister Judy entered the Maryknoll Sisters Congregation in 1969 from St. Mary’s Parish in Alexandria, Virgina. For the past 50 years, she has felt an affinity with preserving the traditions of the indigenous peoples in the Americas. Her first mission assignment was to Bolivia, where she helped resettle migrant workers, led literacy programs, taught adult education classes, and did home visiting in remote areas. Sister Judy was then assigned to the Highlands in Guatemala, where she has found her true calling and has spent the past 34 years and counting! Her current mission work involves coordinating projects and workshops on domestic violence, alcoholism, HIV/AIDS, gender issues and ecology, along with Bible studies and literacy, this helps adults respond to problems that have become rampant in Guatemalan society.
With a Master’s Degree in Anthropology, Sister Judy can more than just appreciate the cultures of these indigenous peoples. She has also helped local Guatemalans earn their own income through home-grown businesses that sell and market fruits and vegetables, candles and soaps, and a variety of woven products. Sister Judy is a true Guatemalan in her heart and soul!
Golden Jubilee Celebrations will be celebrated on August 11th, 2019 for Sr. Mary and Sr. Rebecca at the Maryknoll Sisters Center, NY. Also, on August 24th, 2019 for Sister Judy in Guatemala.