Missionaries of Mary

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The Missionaries of Mary is a new community of apostolate established as a Public Association of the Faithful in the Roman Catholic Diocese of Balanga in Bataan, Philippines. Founded by Sisters Sophie Renoux, Edit Fabian, and Rachel Luxford, the group is devoted to the pastoral care of Asian youth with special needs, who are marred by experiences of abuse, violence and extreme poverty.

Working alongside lay partners, composed mainly of volunteers and staff, the Sisters administer the Association [of] Compassion [for] Asian Youth (ACAY) which presently consists of two programs, namely: the Marcel Van Program (MVP) and the School of Life Program (SOL).

The Marcel Van Program aims to facilitate the reintegration of male adolescents who have been through the juvenile justice system. Its service components include educational assistance, vocational training, job placement and character formation. MVP graduated its first crop in 2007 and these boys have all broken into their respective careers.

Besides aftercare, MVP seeks to effectively carry out initiatives that promote the welfare of children in conflict with the law (CICL), who are confined in various detention and rehabilitation centers. For that, it has received due recognition from the Manila Social Welfare Office as well as from the National Training School for Boys, both under the Department of Social Welfare and Development.

Meanwhile, the School of Life Program caters to teenage girls in a residential setting where beneficiaries are guided by competent helping professionals and mentors in following through a course of stages corresponding to their individual progress. Running in parallel to their life at home is the formal education they receive at suitable institutions nearby, primary through tertiary. Since its founding, SOL has produced professionals, many of whom have returned favor as support personnel or by simply becoming "big sisters" to the newer generations.