News

Students ready for life-changing pilgrimage

Tue, 04 Jul 2017 15:51:00

Three St Joseph’s College students are set to embark on a pilgrimage to discover new ways to improve the lives of people in the local community.

Nicholas Opie, Superanse Nduwarugira and Lodia Tuyininahaze will join hundreds of secondary students from across the world on the Young Mercy Leaders Pilgrimage from July 18 to 21.
The year 11 students will travel to Dublin, Ireland and Rome, Italy to immerse themselves in the history of the Sisters of Mercy and become better equipped to be leaders in their school and world.
Nicholas, 16, is leader of the college’s social justice organisation, the Mercy Action Group.
He said the group had helped him develop a more compassionate world view, and he wanted to learn more about how he could help others.
“We do a lot in terms of helping the homeless, the downtrodden and people in need,” he said. “I want to see how other people develop projects to benefit the lives of others, and whether
there’s things we can collaborate on or ideas I can bring back and implement in our
community.”
Nicholas said he also wanted to get to know students from other Mercy schools and learn about different people and cultures.
“Hearing stories about how they live their lives and the projects they’re working on will help me develop a different world view to the one I hold now,” he said.
“It’s also about the history of the people that came before me and their idea of social justice.
“My focus will be on developing new ways that we can help others and be just in a world that
isn’t always just.”
For Superanse, 17, and Lodia, 16, it will be their first overseas trip since they came to Australia as refugees a decade ago.

The cousins said they were inspired by the Sisters of Mercy, and were excited to walk in their footsteps and engage in discussions with people on the same journey.
“It’s a journey to discover who they were and how we can continue what they started and try to emulate their values in our community, school, and families,” Lodia said.
“It amazes me that the sisters started in one basic room in Western Australia, and they spread
across Australia and the world.
“They’ve shown us that anything can be achieved, that one thing can grow into something
much greater.”
Superanse said the Sisters of Mercy had also shown them that women were just as capable as men of achieving success.
“I believe in independence in women and the things they can achieve through their independence, their strength and their beliefs,” she said.
“When you look at the world, most areas are male dominated, but this is something that was made by women to help other women get the strength, confidence and capabilities to achieve things for themselves.
“That’s who I want to be – I want to inspire young girls and women to become everything they can be.”