[Congressional Record Volume 151, Number 1 (Tuesday, January 4, 2005)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E20]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                     A TRIBUTE TO SISTER MARY BURNS

                                 ______
                                 

                        HON. NYDIA M. VELAZQUEZ

                              of new york

                    in the house of representatives

                        Tuesday, January 4, 2005

  Ms. VELAZQUEZ. Mr. Speaker, today, I would like to pay tribute to a 
remarkable woman from my Congressional District, and wish her the best 
as she begins a new chapter of her life. Sister Mary Burns has spent 
more than a decade honoring the lives of Maura Clarke and Ita Ford, 
Maryknoll Sisters who were killed in 1980 while working to assist the 
poor in El Salvador. I am pleased to take this opportunity to honor her 
and her own work on behalf of economically disadvantaged women.
  In 1993, Sister Mary Burns founded the Maura Clarke-Ita Ford Center 
(MCIF) in one of New York City's most impoverished communities, the 
Bushwick neighborhood in Brooklyn. The center provides education and 
training to low-income, mainly Hispanic, women. Under the leadership of 
Sister Mary Burns, MCIF has thrived--providing personal development, 
education and economic independence, and empowering women to break the 
cycle of poverty.
  Like many Irish women who grew up in South Boston, Sister Mary Burns 
is strong and resilient, a person with deep faith and a wicked sense of 
humor. She is generous of heart and giving to her core. And her work on 
behalf on disadvantaged women is as impassioned as it is pioneering.
  Bushwick was devastated during the riots of the late 1970s, and 
severe poverty and unemployment continues to plague the neighborhood. 
MCIF offers residents literacy classes, GED instruction, and job 
training. Recognizing the desperate need for entry level jobs in the 
Bushwick area, MCIF initiated an innovative program to create a small 
clothing factory in the neighborhood to offer low income women 
employment earning a livable wage, day care services, and the 
opportunity to attain business development and leadership skills.
  MCIF also has a kitchen incubator to help new entrepreneurs develop 
the skills and experience necessary to launch successful small 
businesses in the food industry. Similarly, the center is home to a 
bakery program where local women put their skills to work baking 
cookies. Sales from these cookies, which on their own are well worth a 
trip to Bushwick, are used to support the program and compensate the 
bakers for their hard work--providing a path to economic independence.
  These programs serve as an important model on how to strengthen 
communities one person and one family at a time. And its through the 
dedication and drive of Sister Mary Burns that the women who enter the 
doors of MCIF leave believing in themselves, envisioning promising 
futures, and chartering successful lives for their families.
  I am honored to have worked with Sister Mary Burns over the years in 
advancing the mission of MCIF. Under her guidance, the center has 
become a critical resource for some, a sanctuary for others, and a 
source of inspiration for all who witness its extraordinary work. I, 
along with so many residents of the community, will miss her dearly. 
But her principles of loving acceptance, unwavering encouragement, and 
enduring faith are now firmly embedded in the spirit of the community--
and families from Bushwick will benefit from her work for generations 
to come. It is in this light Mr. Speaker, that I ask my House 
colleagues to join me in honoring the remarkable contributions of 
Sister Mary Burns and wishing her the best of luck in her future 
endeavors.

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