Today's Marists V.6 Issue 1 FALL 2020

“So many people keep asking when will this pandemic end? No one can answer
that with any kind of precision. ...together, we must continue to pray for all humanity.”
This health crisis has also affected our schools. Although classes
in Senegal and Cameroon have resumed, they are open only
for students to come and complete their exams. The majority
of children remain at home. The limited re-opening of schools
will undoubtedly lead to a decrease in learning and an increase
in the number of students who drop out of school. To help
address the current situation, our Marist school in Senegal, in
collaboration with the teachers, has organized ways for students
to continue with their lessons so as to not fall behind. Teachers
have prepared exercises and homework for students in order
to keep them mentally active while at home. Furthermore, we
created a WhatsApp group for the parents of the “CM2” students
(students in the exam class). This provides a way to help with
students’ questions and to offer them follow-up for our “CFEE”
exam candidates. With the grace of God, we hope to return to
school in-person for the new academic year which starts in
November.
So many people keep asking when will this pandemic end?
No one can answer that with any kind of precision. Based on
information from the World Health Organization (WHO), we
understand that the world will have to come to live with this
disease. One thing we have not forgotten, however, is that,
together, we must continue to pray for all humanity who have
been deeply affected, and pray that the Almighty may deliver us
safely from this pandemic.
Sandwich Service at Notre
Dame de France Continues
During the Pandemic
by Ivan Vodopivec, SM
Outreach Work Coordinator, Notre Dame
de France, London, England
Normally on a Saturday morning the parish center at Notre
Dame de France (NDF) in Soho, London (Leicester Square)
would be full of volunteers preparing sandwiches, potato
chips, cakes, cookies, fruit and soup to welcome our 100-
120 visitors. Most of our visitors are homeless or vulnerably
housed. However, on March 14th all that stopped. The
normally lively, bustling Leicester square with hundreds of
thousands of people and tourists on the go became a still and
quiet and somewhat eerie space. The lockdown had begun,
and because of social distancing measures, our center was not
allowed to welcome our guests so that we could do our part to
keep everyone safe from the virus.
Thanks to the volunteers in the sandwich service and
members of the NDF team, we decided to offer a takeout
service to anyone who needed food. Some of the people were
continues on page 14
The happy bunch of NDF volunteers
Volunteers at NDF Sandwich Service – behind the masks are smiling faces
Fall 2020 13