Missions

A wide variety of opportunities are available in the Americas, Europe, Asia, and Africa including:

Worcester, MA 

At this site, the volunteers live at Cana community and serve the population of the Main South neighborhood, a diverse tapestry of cultures and languages from around the world.  AMA's provide youth ministry, mentoring, and parish ministry through St. Peter's parish and St. Andrew the Apostle Mission parish.  There are also other local opportunities available, depending on the skills and interests of the volunteers, which include Family Health Center , Refugee Apostolate,

Columbus Park Elementary School, St. Peter's School, Clark University Campus Ministry.

Chaparral, New Mexico

In rural Chaparral, on the US/Mexican border and about 20 miles from El Paso, the Assumption Sisters, along with their partner AMA's, work with the largely recently arrived Mexican population.  The AMA's live and work at Casa Maria Eugenia, running vacation and summer camps for children and teens.  (The school year is arranged in a 9 week on, three week off schedule).  They also coordinate Friday night  activities for the families of Chaparral;  assist in the nearby middle-school with ESL classes and transitioning recently arrived students; assist with RCIA and First Communion preparation; join the Sisters in many peace and justice activities; volunteer at the prison; and immerse themselves in the life of the community.  (see the article on the Straw Sisters of Chaparral)

Canada

With the Assumptionists in Quebec City, the AMA would be involved in the daily running of their spiritual center, Le Montmartre, situated on the St. Lawrence River.  The successful candidate would be proficient in the French language, able to get along with people of various cultural backgrounds, and able to live with vowed religious.  The service includes assisting in the various publications produced by Montmartre and the dissemination of those publications; assisting in the upkeep of the website; ans assisting in youth programming.  There is much room for creativity at this site, especially in the area of youth ministry.  

Ecuador

There are four sites available in theAssumption Sisters province of Ecuador/Chile:  Quito, Guyaquil or Calpi in Ecuador and one site in Chile.  AMA's would work alongside Assumption Sisters in the field of education.

• Quito:  At this site, the volunteers teach in the Assumption School, mostly teaching English to the younger children.  They can aslo help with basic computer classes and physical education.  There are also administrative duties that the volunteers can get involved with.  The female volunteers live with the Assumtpion Sisters in community at their convent, which is a walk from the school.  The community has many needs and the volunteer will become a vital and important part of this small community.  Quito Center is a 45 minute bus ride from the community.  Read more here in Spanish
• Guayaquil:  The volunteers serve at the school of almost 900 children . It is a very popular school (elementary school until 16 years old). There is a school cafeteria that feeds 200 children and there are always a thousand and one necessities tied to this work. In addition, the sisters are very involved in the local parish community: catechism, childhood mission work, teenage outreach, choirs, adult groups, etc. .Both male and female volunteers can be accomodated at this site.  Read more here in Spanish
• Calpi: With this site, it is completely necessary that the volunteer knows how to drive a car. (stick shift) The towns are very far apart and there aren't many people who can lend us this service. Volunteers also needl skills in finance and accounting to help and advise the small development projects that exist in the indigenous communities. It is a completely rural environment: the people live on what they cultivate and it is one of the poorest regions of the country. Volunteers who would like to come to this site should have an excellent ability to adapt and to communicate, as well as a lot of patience, because the indigenous way of life is very different than the western style of living.   Read more here in Spanish
• Chile:  In Chile, the sisters live in a very popular neighborhood and run an education center (not a school). Its called COSECHA. Its really a library and information center with computers. They organize after-school activities, provide additional school help and tutoring, and have many other types of projects. The volunteers live in community at Cosecha, which is a building across the street from the Sisters. There is room for two volunteers.   This is an international site, where the Assumption often receive AMA's from other countries as well from the US.

Mexico

AMA's in Mexico City live the Assumptionist Brothers at Casa Manuel, the house of studies located in the San Pedro Martir neighborhood of the city.  The service would include work at a local respite home for people seeking medical treatment in Mexico City and their families.  The home provides free housing and food the the patients and their families and survives on private donations and those given by large corporations.  The volunteer would assist with the general upkeep and operation of the house, with special attention to securing food donations from local hospitals and restaurants, providing a sympathetic ear to patients and families, and perhaps accompanying people to treatments.  The interested volunteer must become a full member of the community, sharing life, meals, and a prayer life with the Assumptionists.

France

AMA's serve in Compiegne, France, located about 50 miles north of Paris on the Oise River.  There they live in JEFA (Jeunes En Fraternité Assomption), which consists of young professionals, graduate students, and AMA's committed to living and growing in community and providing service to the poor.  They receive guidance and spiritual direction from Assumption Sisters, who live closeby.  An AMA could be teaching English, working in a l'Arche house or workshop, working at a homeless shelter for women and children, or working in youth ministry. 

England

There are two projects in the Newcastle, sponsored by the Assumption Sisters and our AMA UK Sister program, ALVP.  They are the Pendower Good Neighbour Project and Kids Kabin.  A short description of each will follow and more information can be found on the ALVP web site.

• Pendower Good Neighbour Project

  The Pendower Estate is a group of 500 households in the west of Newcastle. It has been left out of all major regeneration initiatives, though it shares the disadvantages of long term unemployment and lack of opportunity in the area. This results in anti-social behaviour, vandalism, drugs, etc. The project began in 1998 as an initiative of the local churches to build community in the estate and organize facilities for the children, the pensioners and all the residents. There is now a neighbourhood center for activities called the Sunnybank Centre, made up of two semi-detached houses with a flat above and a community garden. The project is staffed by a social worker, part time staff and volunteers.  The project is looking for volunteers who will:  form supportive relationships with residents of all ages and backgrounds through sharing the reality of daily life; use their talents in some of these areas: after school activities, holiday activities, parents and toddlers, community events, gardening, decorating, producing the newsletter, supporting pensioners; and be active members of one of the local church congregations (Anglican, Catholic, Methodist…)

• Kids Kabin

Kids Kabin is an alternative education project based in Walker, Newcastle-upon-Tyne. It offers young people creative and purposeful alternatives to boredom, which can lead to youth disorder. Young people from the ages of 8 - 13 attend Kids Kabin to do wood work, pottery, painting, fine arts, crafts, cooking and gardening. It also runs residential trips, day outings and camping expeditions. Kids Kabin operates on a drop- in basis; young people coming and going as they choose.  This project is looking for volunteers who: have an interest in the arts;  enjoy working with youth;  are enthusiastic about providing healthy alternatives to the disadvantaged; would enjoy joining in the mission of the Assumption Sisters.  The volunteers in this area of Newcastle will also volunteer at other neighborhood agencies, including:  Woor Hoos, a neighborhood center that provides activities to mothers and young children; Common Ground, an agency providing services to the many immigrants and asylum seekers in Newcastle; St. Anthony's Senoir Center,  an adult day center, providing activities and companionship to elders in the neighborhood. 

AMA also collaborates with L'Arche Bognor-Regis, where the volunteers (or "assistants") live and work with adults with developmental disabilities, creating a vibrant Christian community that is so important to all of L'Arche's members.  Work and volunteer life are intermingled as L'Arche strives to create a family atmosphere for its core members.   

For male AMA's, there is a service site in Bethnal Green with the Assumptionist Brothers.  The AMA would live in community with the Brothers, sharing meals, prayer and common life.  The service could include parish work: first communion preparation, first reconciliation preparation, RCIA, Baptism courses and preparations for parish activities; work in a Day centre for the Homeless; advocacy work with a Community Organization Group on Living Wage campaigns, affordable housing, and undocumented workers.

Ireland

AMA's in Ireland live and work at L'Arche Cork.  There, assistants and core members live out Jean Vanier's dream of giving value to those people whom society have deemed to be of little worth. His vision is that people who have learning disabilities, though still very much devalued in many parts of the world, have a wealth of gifts to offer to all of us through their very presence in our lives.

The Philippines

There are a number of youth and community based projects available in the Philippines. One project that is currently most in need of volunteers is:

• Cabanatuan Youth Ministry Team -                                                                               Cabanatuan City, Nueva Ecija (central Philippines)Cabanatuan Youth Ministry Team is responsible for the training and empowerment of young people in local schools, colleges and parishes. The team is responsible for designing and implementing training seminars, exposures, social outreach and formation programs for young people. Volunteers are needed here to help in the delivery of sessions and to animate young people. Volunteers will also help in the day to day running of the office - therefore computer literacy is a big help!   This is an exciting project for anybody who is interested in working with teenagers and/or local community development. Again, training will be provided so no formal youth work qualifications are needed.   

Volunteers wishing to work in the Philippines must hold a bachelors degree (in any discipline) and must be prepared to live with other volunteers in community houses.

Tanzania

There are two options for applicants when considering Tanzania:

•   Sangiti Girls' High School

The Religious of the Assumption live and work in Sangiti, in the foothills of Mt Kilimanjaro. It is surrounded by maize fields and banana plantations. The farm there has cows and grows vegetables. The school accommodates about 300 young high school girls and is expanding. They would like teachers of English, Math or Science. They would also appreciate anyone with farming, horticultural or fishery skills. The school year begins in January.

For this site in Tanzania, volunteers must have appropriate qualifications (preferably teacher certification) in order to get a visa.  Arusha

Located in the north, the safari center of Tanzania, surrounded by the famous Serengeti National Park and other beautiful landmarks, is Arusha.  It's a large city where AMA's are assigned to teach young seminarians at an inter-congregational seminary run by the Spiritan Fathers.  Usually the courses are in English, research, writing, and computers, but depending on the applicant's background and experience, there are other courses available.  The volunteers also have the opportunity for outreach ministry through the Assumptionist parish in Arusha.  Volunteers live in community with the Religious (postulants and formators) at Austin House.  Only males can be accomodated at this site at this time. 

Madagascar

The Assumptionists in the small village of Ejeda, in the southern part of this beautiful country, run a secondary school for about 300 students.  The AMA would teach English to secondary students and assist in training teachers at a nearby elemenatry school.  There is also the possibility of teaching some other courses (in French), depending on the skills, interests, and experience of the volunteer.  And the volunteers are always happily welcomed to participate in the school's extra-curricular activities!  This placement site is quite remote and requires a high level of French language proficiency, flexibility, and maturity.  Volunteers live closeby to the Assumptionist community in a small apartments. 

Rwanda

In Rwanda there are two schools that are in need of teachers: one in the village of Birambo, near Kibuye in the West of the country and the other in Rwaza, near Ruhengeri, which is nearer to the capital, Kigali. Both schools are High Schools although the classes that volunteers will be expected to teach are of mixed ages and abilities (with students ranging from 11 to well over 16 years old). English teachers are particularly welcome as Rwanda wishes to become tri-lingual (with French and Kinyarwanda).  Around the two villages there are a number of other projects that volunteers can become involved in including an orphanage and a dispensary.  Volunteers must be French-speaking, flexible, able to live very simply, and have a sensitivity to the tragedies of the recent past.  It is also important that volunteers have some teaching experience and a certificate in TEFL is preferred.

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"I began my journey as an AMA uncertain of what would await me, what was expected of me, and what challenges and joys the year ahead would hold.  The flight across the entire United States provided plenty of time for the anxiety and excitement to grow.  From the moment I stepped off the plane, I have felt fully embraced by the astounding community of Chaparral, New Mexico.  Exhausted from my travels, I pulled myself along the airport’s hallways to baggage claim.  There, eagerly waiting, were ten Chaparral children and one of the four passionate Assumption Sisters, to welcome and greet the new AMAs.  With smiles from ear to ear, one child held a sign, “Bienvendios. We love you”.  I was struck, taken aback, and while we went through introductions and hugs, I repeated their words in my mind,  “…We love you”.  They. Love. Us.  While it may have gone unnoticed by others, it was precisely these three small words that put my entire year into perspective.  It reassured me that I was where I was supposed to be, it assuaged any concerns, and it gave me a glimpse of the beauty I would experience throughout my time here.  Before Katy or I arrived in New Mexico, the community had already opened their hearts and lives to us. 

            Following in the direction of St. Marie Eugenie, we work primarily with the youth in Chaparral with particular attention to education.  The children lead lives faced with economic strains, violence in school, drugs in their neighborhoods, and blurry visions of a better future.  With such great need in so many different areas of the community, each day we wake with the motivation to use every interaction and moment through the day as an opportunity to form relationships and serve others.  Whether we are working in the schools, leading Confirmation class, visiting neighbors, or entertaining children on a Friday night, it is an essential desire that both the community and myself walk away bettered by the interaction.  The Assumption Sisters in Chaparral have made amazing achievements in their time here.  It is exciting to see Chaparral growing and the community strengthening.  The Sisters prove to be a vital source of strength and encouragement for us AMAs. 

            I wholeheartedly believe that it is necessary to leave one’s own world and experience the lives of others.  I have come to understand that when one is placed in a life drastically different than their own, it is only then that person can fully grasp who they are.  Suddenly, the person becomes stripped of the superfluous complexities of life, and in true simplicity, can begin to see the things that really matter.  Life in Chaparral is quite different from the comfortable life that I left in New England.  There is such a beautiful strength in the suffering, a strength that is incomprehensible to many people.  For those who do not know a life other than their own, I invite you to step into the experience of another.  I invite you share a meal with a family who welcomes you into their home whether they have enough food or not.  I invite you to experience the sorrow of a family of children whose parents have been deported.  I invite you to feel the strength in the embrace of a dying woman, with her children crying by her feet.  I invite you to sit in a family’s home, see beyond the cracks in the walls and holes in the floor, and breathe in their love and happiness.  I invite you to hold the hand of a child through the fence that divides the United States from Mexico.  I invite you to take part and make an impact on the world around you."

Kristen Penkala, AMA 2007-2008