Responding to the Challenge

Sister Teresa Piro, DC went to her eternal reward on November 8, 2001. Shortly before her death she was asked, “Was your vision for Seton Institute realized?”

Sister Teresa answered:

“It has more than fulfilled our expectations. When Seton Institute was begun, its sole purpose was to aid the destitute in Peru by providing primary healthcare education to our Sisters and their lay health workers there. Happily, the project was so successful that in subsequent years, Seton Institute has coordinated the training of more than 700 Sisters and lay healthcare assistants throughout Latin America and another 800 in Africa and Asia.

The wonderfully rewarding result of this training program is a bit like the proverbial pebble in the water – the circle keeps expanding. Each individual we trained went on to teach hundreds of mothers how to save their babies. When the mothers understood the importance of clean water, sanitation, immunizations, breast feeding, and proper nutrition, their babies lived. The circle now reaches thousands and thousands of lives that have been improved because of the Sisters’ initial involvement in Peru. Of course, now we are also heavily involved in African third world countries. The old adage that if you give a man a fish, you feed him for one day – if you teach him how to fish, you feed him for a lifetime is certainly true with our training program.

It is my hope that a growing number of individuals will recognize the magnitude of the Sisters’ work and decide to assist them financially. It doesn’t have to be a huge endowment. With turmoil, famine, and fear rampant in many areas of the world, it is my hope that Seton Institute will continue to reach out to heal and feed the thousands of individuals who live in quiet desperation. It is a challenge, for the greatest needs are often in the most volatile areas, but, if we are to be true to the Mission, it is a challenge that we must meet.”