Past Missions
Dr. McHenry is an ordained Minister in the New Thought Tradition. She works with Interfaith groups throughout the United States to conduct missions in Africa and Latin America which focus on education. She also leads groups of educators to these missions who teach English to orphaned children while learning the language and culture of that country.
El Salvador
St. Carries Center partnered with the El Salvador Association of University to provide health and wellness services to 700 children in local high school. One out of Four girls in El Salvador has experienced a pregnancy by age 14.
Students met once a week in class to discuss making positive choices about pre-marital sex, alcohol and drugs. They would role play scenarios created in groups to handle peer pressure. They visited AIDS clinics and other medical and social organizations. At the end of the program they were able to receive a complete physical free of charge which included, vision, dental, hearing and testing for sexually transmitted disease. After they received the exam, they were eligible for free contraceptives for a year. The project was able to show a decrease in teen pregnancy during the 3 years of the program and a higher graduation rate.
Brazil
St. Carrie’s Center conducts research on the brain and how the brain acquires a second language. Dr. McHenry spent 3 months in Brazil learning Portuguese and attending Education conferences. In the evening, she would teach the street children English in the café of the Inn where she lived. Many of the street children had learned phrases to sell merchandise to Americans yet had no real comprehension of the language.
 
Costa Rica
St. Carries Center partnered with the Costa Rican Association of University Women to provide dental services for a rural area in Costa Rica. 50% of children drop out in Costa Rica after 5th grade. The purpose of providing dental services was to increase the number of students who attended school. Many students missed school due to dental issues.
  St. Carries provide the supplies and materials. The University of Costa Rica Dental School provided the services for 235 students and their families and 7 staff members. There was a decrease in absenteeism during the year that the program was funded. The funds for this project came from women’s organization and middle school students.
Mexico
St. Carries has implemented several programs in Mexico. Dr. McHenry volunteered to work with DIF in Guadalajara to encourage school age children to return to school after working full time in the summer. Children as young as 12 or 13 work as waiters and courtesy clerks in grocery stores to help supplement their family’s income. Many students work on the streets.
 
Dr. McHenry taught English and Psychology at two of the local Collegios in Guadalajara.
St. Carries Center had a project in an orphanage in Tijuana Mexico where American volunteers came to the Village and taught English to the staff and children in the orphanage for 1 and half years. This project required an office and residence in Mexico. We were able to bring volunteers from the United States, Canada, Switzerland and other countries to this project.
Benin
St. Carries Center went to Benin to implement a project. Dr. McHenry worked in a public pre-school with two to four year olds who were completely bilingual by the age of two and completely potty trained. These children have very little access to supplies and materials. They generally played with each other or with objects in nature or trash.
   
Dr. McHenry was able to develop her French sufficiently enough to live independently in this society.
Cuba
St. Carries Center gathered school supplies for an elementary school in Cuba. Cuba is a socialist country which includes housing, food, education and medical services in its compensation package for its citizens. Many citizens receive less than $50 U. S. a month in actually salary. Many Cubans depend on family who live abroad to supplement their families income. School supplies are a heavy burden on a family.
  St. Carries Center collected supplies from teachers in the United States. We donated bilingual books and dictionaries to the school library, along with writing pads and pens for the teachers and calculators and crayons for the classroom. Each child received a pencil, pen, extra eraser and a 70 sheet tablet with a personal pencil sharpener. The project was well received. Each child had what s/he needed at the beginning of the year to complete all assignments during the year.
Namibia
Dr. McHenry went to Namibia to study German. Namibia was a former German colony. She worked with women’s organizations on issues of equity and social justice. Namibia has one of the highest rates of rape of women per capita in the world. Women are starting to organize after apartheid to challenge a male dominated society which is accustomed to subjugating women.   
Current Missions
Tanzania
 
Tanzania remains remarkably untouched by the tribal rivalries and political upheavals that plague many of its neighbours. It’s large enough to travel for hours without seeing another traveller, it’s ideal for exploring in combination with other African countries, and yet it has more than enough attractions to be a journey on its own.
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