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SSND delegates to the February 26-March 9, 2007 meeting of the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women (CSW) have been busy sharing what they learned about discrimination and violence against girls with audiences around the world. Their efforts are inspiring others to join their efforts to make a difference.
The SSNDs, students and teachers who attended the conference have initiated service projects, shared their experiences with television and radio audiences, spoken to student groups and forged relationships with peers across the globe. Here are some of the ways they have taken action.
Student Nadine Binder (second from left) from the Brede School in Brakel, Westphalia, Germany, has granted a television interview, sent a report to a regional government official, and, with her teacher Felizitas von Boeselager, has given presentations to all of the classes at school and in her church.
“I’m working on a bilingual web site in German and English which will provide information about our working group and also publish news from the other SSND Delegates who attended the CSW,” Nadine said. “The web site should provide everyone who is interested in supporting us with information and at the same time be a platform for discussion and exchange of ideas and experiences.”
She also has started a SHALOM club which includes groups which are already working for peace and justice as well as a new working group on girls. The club has quickly grown to 70 members, and its first projects include supporting an SSND kindergarten in Romania.
 Caitlin Byrnes, a student at St. Saviour High School, Brooklyn, N.Y., spoke about the experience during Founder’s Day ceremonies at her school. In her remarks, she recalled the girls’ caucuses which drew participants from nations worldwide.
“The finding of just about every discussion was that the main way to end discrimination and to empower girls is education,” Caitlin said. “This is clearly an idea that the School Sisters of Notre Dame understand. By pioneering schools for girls in places where none would have otherwise existed, the SSND have been empowering girls for many decades.”
In the coming months, Caitlin will be working with her school's SEEK (Christian Service) Club on projects and fundraisers.
 Agnes Agyemang-Barnie, a student at Notre Dame Girls Senior Secondary School, Sunyani, Ghana, West Africa has spoken about her experience on three of the national television stations and was interviewed by the national newspaper, the Daily Graphic. She has used these opportunities to stress the importance of education for girls.
“There has also been time to talk to my school community, as well as to my peers, both male and female, about the need to eliminate discrimination and violence against the girl child,” Agnes said. “I have become aware that we possibly unknowingly contribute to this problem and we must be made aware.
“Two radio stations have invited me to talk about what I have to say to Ghana after attending this meeting and because I have had the experience of meeting young girls from all over the world one of the radio stations has asked me to join the Children’s Channel programme whenever I am home in Accra on holiday.”
 Faculty member Juliane Bungartz of Theresia Gerhardinger Gymnasium, Munich, Germany, and student Stephanie Braun (right) have found a variety ways to share their experience with their community and raise awareness about girls’ issues.
“Stephanie has already given three presentations about our experiences at the United Nations” Juliane said. “She succeeded in pointing out the importance of girls' issues and has convinced quite a few students to join the SHALOM Club which we intend to establish at our school. Stephanie is also planning to give her presentation at other schools in Munich in order to raise awareness there, too.
“Stephanie has also given a radio and a TV interview in youth broadcasts of the main Bavarian radio and TV stations. In these interviews she spoke about her experiences at the UN. She was invited to a radio talk show as a female youth representative. The topic of the discussion was ‘50 years of equality of men and women in the German constitution.’”
 Linda Kennedy, teacher at Notre Dame High School in St. Louis, Mo., and student Jamie St. Eve gave a presentation on the CSW experience for the whole student body.
“You could have heard a pin drop,” Linda said. “All 400-plus girls and 60 faculty members seemed to be riveted as Jamie and I explained what we had learned. After the presentation, the girls were asked to write their comments and thoughts on large note cards. They wrote how they felt about what they had learned and how we, as a community, can be involved in helping with the plight of the “invisible” girl child in the world.
“It is our hope to branch out and extend this message to the Catholic community in general around the St. Louis area, by visiting other schools and other faith-based organizations.”
S. Yvonne Nosal, SSND, who served as a translator for student Vanessa de los Milagros Juárez Arévelo, from María Teresa de Jesús Technical High School, Tejedores, Piura, Peru, and her principal, S. Marleny Bardales Raymundo, a Sister of Notre Dame de Namur, were invited to the Congress to greet Peruvian President Mercedes Cababillas, as well as to spend a little time with the congresswoman from Piura, Rosa María Gónzales.
“The challenge now is to share this experience with others here in Peru as Vanessa has done with the students and teachers at her high school and with the youth group, JUFASCA, which includes youth leaders from the village we serve in Fe y Alegría,” Sister Yvonne said.
“We also need to struggle together to eliminate all forms of violence and discrimination against the girl child.”
 Beth Huggins, who served on the SSND Leadership Team at the conference, found that her experience connected to her subsequent travel to Guatemala.
“Following this experience, I spent eight days on an alternative travel experience through Guatemala,” Beth said. “Visiting a diverse array of communities, I found myself noticing the many issues I had learned about at the United Nations being played out before my eyes.”
Gender-based violence is accepted in Guatemala, Beth said. Since 2001, more than 2,000 women and girls have been brutally killed in Guatemala. The government is not investigating fully and they are not prosecuting the perpetrators.
“What did I learn? I learned that there is hope. With healthcare, water projects, and education, women and girls are empowered and they can break the cycle of discrimination. I learned how little it takes to change reality – a simple water faucet changes the world for people.“
S. Carolyn Jost, SSND, another member of the leadership team, has also been involved opening others’ eyes to the needs and concerns for girls. In April, she visited three high schools in the Chicago area and spoke to more than 1,200 students.
“I told them the stories of girls in Ghana, Peru and various other counties,” Sister Carolyn said. “I believe it's telling the stories of real people that touch lives.
“The students were very taken with how women and girls are discriminated against. They all saw the value of education as a way to transform lives and they expressed appreciation for their own education.
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