In a simple but moving ceremony held on the Feast of Mary the Queen, at a Mass in Xavier School, Philippines, Fr. Ari Dy, SJ, presided and missioned Ms. Ma. Kristina Velez to teach English at the Xavier Jesuit School in Sisophon, Cambodia, where she will serve for one year.
The place where Ms. Velez is missioned to is the Xavier Jesuit School in Sisophon, Cambodia was founded in 2013 to help support the basic education system in the country. The school is an initiative undertaken after 30 years of Jesuit ministry among Khmer youth.
Ms. Velez is the very first Teacher Volunteer for the Basic Education Secretariat of the Jesuit Conference of Asia and Pacific. The education secretaries at the conference have been discussing the Teacher Volunteer Program for several years now as a response to the needs of our newer and lesser-resourced schools for help. We salute Xavier School headed by its President Fr. Ari Dy SJ for being the first to respond to our call for JCAP Teacher Volunteers. We expect many more to follow, thanks to his inspiration!
Ms. Velez was recruited by Xavier School specifically for this mission, and her assignment is made possible by the school’s Alay Kapwa Fund (net proceeds of annual Christmas Drive and School Fair). This is truly a contribution of the entire Xavier School family to the Jesuit mission in the Asia-Pacific region, and we thank all who have generously contributed.
Kristina, we wish you all the best!