FOLIA MONTANA SUMMER 07 - Mount Saint Vincent University

Helping families in the
Dominican Republic
A living example of MSVU values
A conversation, almost thirty years ago, between Sr. Catherine
McGowan, ACAD ’44, BScHE ’48, of the Sisters of Charity and
MSVU Professor Emeritus Dr. Alleyne Murphy, DHumL, ’97, has
changed the lives of countless children
in the Dominican Republic.
“In the mid 70s”, explains Murphy,
“CIDA (Canadian International
Development Agency) was focusing
on how to link the expertise in
universities with aiding the
developing world. At this time, MSVU
was discussing the need to reach out
to help women in these areas.”
A faculty member of the Home
Economics Department, as it was
known at the time, Murphy was
personally interested in how she
could help families at the most
basic levels – food, shelter and
safety.
Sr. Catherine, who had been living
in Bani, Dominican Republic in
connection with her work as a
Sister of Charity, returned to
Halifax on sabbatical.
She met with Murphy and they discussed the huge problem of
child malnutrition in the poor areas of the country.
“Fifty per cent of children died before the age of five and the
average weight of a 3-year-old was 15 pounds,” recalls Murphy.
Sr. Catherine had established relationships with the country and
an understanding of the language and culture, so the two
decided to collaborate on a proposal to CIDA. They wanted to
create a facility to educate women on nutrition, general hygiene
and food preparation techniques. They were successful and in
1977, they were awarded a grant of $77,000 to build the Centre
for Nutrition Education and Recuperation in Bani.
Sr. Catherine McGowan in the Dominican Republic
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The program was designed so that thirty children attended this
day care centre for a minimum of three months, with the mothers
participating one day a week.
“What we were seeing was that the mothers would
wean their children from
breastfeeding at about one
year, and put them directly on
the family diet, without
preparing weaning foods.” This,
and poor hygiene, contributed
significantly to the malnutrition
problem.
At the Centre, the mothers
learned how to transform the
staple diet of rice and beans into
a toddler-friendly meal, as well
as incorporate fruit juices and
other more nutritionally robust
foods.
“We wanted to ensure the
lessons they learned at the
Centre could be duplicated in the
home, so we used foods and
tools that were available to them.
This did so much for the selfesteem
of these women. They
were failing to keep their children alive and they now could do
this and do it well. They just blossomed.”
Today, the Centre has developed into a community centre with a
pharmacy, preschool and an adult education component. Peace
Corps workers have even been trained there.
Sr. Catherine remains in the Dominican Republic with other
members of the Sisters of Charity, but comes home every two
years. During these visits, she always meets with Murphy to
update her on the Centre and the families that were helped by
their conversations and friendship.
Folia Montana 15