by Dionel Rodriguez | Aug 3, 2026
Migrant workers in Taiwan often arrive with limited formal training beyond the specific labor roles that brought them to the country, leaving them with few options if they wish to change careers, start a business, or return home with marketable skills. Long and demanding work schedules further limit their ability to pursue additional education through conventional means.
Maryknoll provides free vocational and technical training programs specifically designed to accommodate these constraints, offering instruction in areas such as computer technology, hospitality, caregiving, photography, baking, and language development. Classes are scheduled with migrant workers’ demanding jobs in mind, making participation genuinely feasible rather than theoretically available but practically inaccessible.
This program embodies the Catholic Social Teaching principle of the Dignity of Work, affirming that migrant workers deserve more than temporary labor arrangements, they deserve the chance to develop skills that open genuine, lasting opportunity. It also carries forward Maryknoll’s founding charism of crossing cultural and linguistic boundaries to serve those far from home, meeting migrant workers with practical support suited to the actual constraints of their daily lives.
Gifts to this project support vocational and technical training that helps migrant workers in Taiwan gain marketable skills, prepare for future careers, and build greater financial independence for themselves and their families.
by Dionel Rodriguez | Mar 5, 2025
Music has a distinctive power to inspire, unite, and transform the lives of those who create it, offering benefits that extend well beyond artistic skill alone. For young people in particular, sustained participation in a structured musical program can build discipline, teamwork, and confidence in ways that carry over into other areas of their lives.
The St. Cecilia String Orchestra brings together young people, parents, teachers, and volunteers in a program that promotes artistic growth alongside Christian values and community spirit. Through regular rehearsals, performances, and shared musical goals, participants develop not only technical musical ability but also the discipline and teamwork that come from working toward a collective artistic achievement.
Forming young musicians reflects the Catholic Social Teaching principle of the Call to Family, Community, and Participation, building bonds among young people, families, and volunteers around a common artistic and spiritual goal. This project also reflects Maryknoll’s charism of forming the whole person, recognizing that beauty and creativity, no less than direct service, can be genuine expressions of a life of faith.
Gifts to this project support instruments, instruction, and program costs that nurture the artistic talent and character of young people while fostering a vibrant, connected Catholic community in Taiwan.
by Dionel Rodriguez | Feb 15, 2024
Young people who actively participate in parish life from an early age are significantly more likely to remain engaged in their Catholic faith as adults, making youth-focused ministry a critical investment in the long-term vitality of the Church. Without structured opportunities for meaningful participation, many young Catholics can drift toward the margins of parish life as they grow older.
The St. Mary’s Altar Server Association provides young people with substantive opportunities to deepen their relationship with Christ through service at the altar, combined with retreats, camps, leadership development, and broader spiritual formation. Serving at the altar offers young people a direct, visible role in the liturgy, one that fosters a personal sense of ownership and connection to the Mass beyond simply attending as a spectator.
Forming young people through service at the altar reflects the Catholic Social Teaching principle of the Call to Family, Community, and Participation, giving youth a genuine, active role in the life of the parish rather than a passive one. This ministry also carries forward Maryknoll’s charism of forming missionary disciples early, cultivating habits of service and leadership that many participants carry with them throughout their adult lives.
Gifts to this project support retreats, leadership training, and formation activities that help young altar servers in Hong Kong build a lasting foundation of faith, friendship, and future Church leadership.
by Dionel Rodriguez | Feb 22, 2023
Across Asia, many migrant workers face exploitation, unsafe working conditions, and violations of their basic human rights, often within complex global supply chains that make accountability difficult to trace and enforce. These abuses can range from illegally charged recruitment fees to unsafe labor conditions to outright human trafficking, and workers frequently have little power to address them individually.
Maryknoll works alongside laborers, community organizations, corporations, and government agencies to confront labor abuses, human trafficking, and environmental concerns embedded within global supply chains. Through advocacy, worker education, research into supply chain practices, and structured collaboration with multiple stakeholders, this ministry works to promote ethical business practices and greater respect for human dignity within international commerce.
This project embodies two interconnected Catholic Social Teaching principles, the Dignity of Work and Care for God’s Creation, recognizing that exploitative labor practices and environmental harm frequently share the same root causes within global supply chains. It reflects Maryknoll’s prophetic charism of confronting injustice at its structural source, working directly with corporations and governments rather than addressing only its downstream effects on individual workers.
Gifts to this project support advocacy, research, and worker education that advance justice, protect vulnerable migrant laborers, and promote responsible, ethical business practices across global supply chains.
by Dionel Rodriguez | Feb 22, 2023
Conflict and violence within Myanmar have forced millions of people from their homes, creating one of the world’s most significant and prolonged humanitarian crises. Many of those displaced have sought refuge near the Thai border, living in precarious conditions with limited access to consistent food, medicine, shelter, or safety.
Maryknoll partners with local organizations to provide emergency food, medicine, shelter, and broader humanitarian assistance to displaced families living in this border region. Because conditions along the border can shift quickly depending on the state of the conflict inside Myanmar, this ministry is structured to respond flexibly to evolving needs rather than following a fixed, predetermined program.
Responding flexibly to a shifting humanitarian crisis reflects the Catholic Social Teaching principle of Solidarity, a readiness to stand with displaced families regardless of how circumstances along the border may change from month to month. This ministry also embodies Maryknoll’s founding charism of presence at the peripheries, remaining engaged in a protracted crisis that has, for many observers, faded from regular public attention.
Gifts to this project support emergency food, medicine, and shelter for families displaced by conflict along the Myanmar-Thailand border, providing comfort and stability amid ongoing crisis and uncertainty, and bearing witness that these families have not been forgotten.
by Dionel Rodriguez | Feb 8, 2022
Every day, people around the world search for encouragement, spiritual guidance, and a deeper sense of connection with God, yet many never set foot inside a physical parish for reasons ranging from geography to schedule to simple unfamiliarity with the Church. Digital platforms offer a way to reach this wider audience that traditional parish ministry alone cannot access.
Through digital ministry based in Hong Kong, Maryknoll reaches thousands of individuals with Scripture reflections, podcasts, online faith resources, and spiritual content designed to inspire and uplift listeners and readers wherever they happen to be. This content is crafted to be accessible to people encountering the faith at very different points in their spiritual journey, from lifelong Catholics to curious newcomers.
Reaching a global audience through digital media reflects the Catholic Social Teaching principle of Solidarity, extending the Church’s reach to people separated by geography, culture, or circumstance from a physical parish community. This ministry also carries forward Maryknoll’s founding charism as an evangelizing mission society, adapting the timeless task of sharing the Gospel to the tools and platforms through which people now most often search for meaning.
Gifts to this project support website content, podcast production, and digital outreach that share faith, hope, and inspiration with a global audience searching for meaning and connection.
by Dionel Rodriguez | Jun 12, 2020
Violence and instability in Myanmar have forced thousands of children and young adults to flee their homeland, seeking safety and opportunity in neighboring Thailand. Many arrive with little more than what they could carry, having lost access to consistent schooling, stable housing, and basic services during their journey and displacement.
Maryknoll helps provide food, shelter, medical care, educational support, and language instruction for refugee students living at Wat Prok Mon Temple in Bangkok, a community that has taken in Burmese refugees seeking safety within Thailand’s borders. These services address both the immediate necessities of daily survival and the longer-term goal of allowing students to continue their education despite significant disruption.
Supporting refugee students in a Buddhist temple community reflects the Catholic Social Teaching principle of Solidarity, a commitment that reaches across religious lines to serve the Life and Dignity of every displaced child. This ministry also embodies Maryknoll’s founding charism of interreligious cooperation in mission, working alongside partners of other faiths whenever doing so serves the wellbeing of people in genuine need.
Gifts to this project support food, shelter, medical care, and education for Burmese refugee students in Bangkok, giving young people who have fled violence the opportunity to learn, grow, and pursue their dreams despite significant hardship.
by Dionel Rodriguez | Jun 12, 2020
Thailand is home to thousands of refugees, asylum seekers, migrants, and survivors of human trafficking, individuals and families who have fled war, persecution, and poverty in search of safety and stability. Many arrive with urgent, immediate needs and little understanding of Thailand’s legal systems or available support services.
Maryknoll works alongside local and international partners to provide food assistance, medical care, emergency support, legal referrals, and pastoral accompaniment to this vulnerable population. Coordinating with established partner organizations allows Maryknoll to extend its reach and effectiveness beyond what any single organization could achieve independently, connecting individuals with the specific type of assistance their circumstances require.
This ministry embodies the Catholic Social Teaching principle of Rights and Responsibilities as they apply to refugees, affirming the Church’s teaching that those fleeing war and persecution retain a claim to safety, dignity, and just treatment. It also reflects Maryknoll’s charism of coordinated accompaniment, working alongside partner organizations to extend care to displaced people whose circumstances often exceed what any single ministry could address alone.
Gifts to this project support food assistance, medical care, and legal referrals that help refugees, migrants, and trafficking survivors in Thailand rebuild their lives with dignity and hope, grounded in the conviction that every person, regardless of legal status, remains a member of the one human family.
