Rolling Into . . .

Nuns on the Bus Rolling into St. Louis

“The wheels on the bus go round and round” was the music on the bus as we entered the Forest Park Southeast area of St. Louis. Met by Ms. Bobbie Sykes, chairperson of VOW (Voices of Women), the sisters participated in a tour of the local neighborhood. Ms. Bobbie explained that the area is undergoing gentrification where houses that previously were affordable were now out of the economic range of the local population.

Ms. Sykes gathered a group of VOW members (clients, board members, elected officials) for a discussion about the Work of VOW. Their vision affirms:

· Women, particularly mothers, are decision-makers.

· People bring diverse experience and knowledge to our efforts.

· Everyone contributes their efforts, ideas and hopes.

· People will be respected for their contributions.

· No contributions will be allowed to be diminished by anyone.

In order to assist women as heads of households, Ms. Sykes and her Board of Directors has been embodied this mission in a project called the “Unbanked Program”.  Instead of using Payday Loans, the Board set up the “Unbanked Project”. Women can make small, interest free, loans. 

As Bobbie Sykes says, “We don’t do background checks, we do face checks! Women repay the loans and Contribute to the services of the program.

 Another microfinance project, Women’s Helping Hands and Tiny Hands for children, allow women and children to make and save money, amounts of which are matched by a generous donor. 

Nuns on the Bus Rolling into Terra Haute, Indiana . . .

Rolling on, Nuns on the Bus participated in a rally at St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church. Sr. Simone greet the large groups of caucus participants, grouped at tables labeled by the Nuns on the Bus gap and access issues. Groups reported out the need for more jobs that pay a living wage, the need for re-tooling workers for today’s jobs.  The healthcare group raised the issue of child hunger where 60-65% of children are hungry. The group asked “Why? Why is this happening in our community?” Local people need to work 2 and three jobs to afford housing which results in less time available to support their family in ways other than financial. The absolute interconnectedness of all of the issues was key learning from the evening.