Burlingame nun gives the gift of education globally

BURLINGAME, Calif. (KRON) -- On this Giving Tuesday, a Sister of Mercy in Burlingame is asking you to consider giving not just locally this year, but globally too. 

After four decades of working with refugees, Sister Marilyn Lacey founded Mercy Beyond Borders in 2008 in South Sudan. Her organization works with young girls born into extreme poverty, providing them with an education and the chance to become leaders in their home country.

Mercy Beyond Borders supports girls from primary school through university and has gradually expanded to serve young women in Haiti, Malawi and refugee camps in East Africa. 

"We're working in countries that do not educate girls. We invest in the girls and the young women. We don't build the buildings, we don't own schools," said Sr. Marilyn. "We give the girls scholarships, so they're not pulled out to be forcibly married." 

Over the last two years, more than 80 women have graduated from university in South Sudan. Sr. Marilyn says they're the first educated women in their country. 

"What we see in our graduates is they're all determined to pay it forward," said Sr. Marilyn.  "They've found their voice, they have good jobs and they're lifting up their families."

Through Mercy Beyond Borders, it costs $200 a year to keep a girl in primary boarding school, a high school education is $500 a year and university is $5,000. The university education comes with room and board as well as monthly leadership training.

"Charity should begin at home, that's sensible. But I feel every one of us should do something local and something global every year to make the world a better place," said Sr. Marilyn.