- December 20, 2022 Social Justice, Community
By Associate Marge Mattice
After several years of delay due to Covid, the Wisconsin Community of St. Joseph was able to resume their annual week-long service trip to Okolona, Mississippi. A group of seven (two sisters and five associates) completed the 13-hour journey to Okolona, ready to offer their support wherever it was needed.
Okolona is located in Chickasaw County, one of the poorest counties in the United States. Excel, an organization committed to racial, religious, and economic inclusivity, was founded 34 years ago by Srs. Liz Brown, CSJ, and Nancy Schreck, OSF. Excel has helped residents in Okolono through community building, encouragement of community service, and fostering of healthy lives.
Our timing coincided with the community’s Annual Health Fair, an event that encourages better nutrition, exercise, and optimal control of hypertension and diabetes. These two conditions are prevalent in the African American population.
While in Okolona, our work consisted of removing bamboo growing on the property and scraping, power-washing and painting the storage shed/garage area. Part of our team also visited an elderly lady in rural Mississippi to help her with property maintenance. When we asked her age, she said with a laugh, “I have children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren. You figure it out!”
Excel recently gained ownership of a home previous owned by a local banker. The home has been converted to a shelter, providing a much needed safe-haven to those who are survivors of domestic violence.
Excel also operates the One of a Kind Thrift Shop. We cleaned the shop and helped stock the shelves with fall and winter clothing. Profits from the shop go to an after-school program that helps tutor students for academic success.
The trip could not have been made without the financial and material support of the Wisconsin Community of St. Joseph. An entire SUV was loaded with material donations. Financial support from the community provided plywood for donated beds at the shelter, various supplies needed throughout the week, and a $1000 contribution to pay tuition that would enable CNA training for a person at a local community college.
Our week concluded with a prayer session, reflecting on the many faces and experiences of the week. We reflected on the Gospel story of the woman who was bent over and held in oppression by gender, social status, and religious law. It took the gentle touch of Jesus, overcoming all the obstacles that stood in her way of wholeness, to raise her upright and restore her dignity. As we strive to live in the image of Jesus, we must ask ourselves, “Who are you bringing with you?"
Originally posted on October 10, 2022