Mercy Beyond Borders

Mercy Beyond Borders (MBB) reaches out to women and girls in some of the world's most challenging environments, where many other nonprofits do not venture. As a donor and board member, I am deeply honored to support their mission.

Mercy Beyond Borders excels in their goal of creating opportunities for women and young girls to learn, connect, and lead. It is widely recognized that education is the key to escaping poverty. They have assisted young girls and women in Malawi, Haiti, Uganda, and South Sudan in obtaining high school diplomas, attending university, starting businesses, and becoming community leaders. Sister Marilyn Lacey leads the organization with remarkable efficiency, strength, and compassion.

Mercy Beyond Borders is an exceptional organization. The staff are totally committed to bringing an education to extremely vulnerable girls in the poorest parts of the world. They are extremely efficient with the funds and highly effective in impacting the students. Mercy Beyond Borders truly makes a huge difference in the lives of these girls and once educated, these young women make a huge difference in their families and communities.

I've been a donor for the past year. I think the organization tries to spend as much as possible on programs and directly improving the situations of girls in poverty through education.

When I heard of Sr Marilyn and Mercy Beyond Borders thru a mutual friend, I was moved by the story and the mission of education in Sudan: a mission to educate young women. I know this: if a woman religious, Sister of Mercy, is involved in a mission for good, things are going to happen. Sr. Marilyn's tireless efforts and work for many years to help the most vulnerable is the work of God. The mission of mercy in Sudan is the story of miracles. In my life as a priest I am moved by the selfless works of mercy, justice, and charity by the woman religious, the sisters. Sr. Marilyn and others in religious communities work and dedicate their lives for the good of all regardless of the risk. The work and mission in Sudan continues to make a difference in the lives of so many young women. If someone asked S. Marilyn if she is a Christian She would have to plead guilty... Fr. Gerald Waris, Kansas City, Mo

When we donate to Mercy Beyond Borders we feel good about how our donations are managed and the impact our dollars can have in Haiti and Africa. It's important to give locally and abroad. What happens anywhere impacts what happens everywhere. Educating girls is the single most important thing we can do to address extreme poverty and gender disparities.

This is a most amazing nonprofit charity. The work that the organization has done since its inception has changed the lives of countless women and girls in Africa and Haiti. It is inspiring to read the stories of girls who have been saved from young, arranged marriages by scholarships for high school and college and have become nurses, teachers and other professionals who have then changed the future of their families for generations to come. Micro loans have allowed women to start small businesses that have helped them to feed their families and hope for their futures.

I worked with Mercy Beyond Borders (MBB) for over 7 years and witnessed first-hand the impact their work has with women and girls around the globe. I became a donor a few years ago, and recommend this nonprofit to anyone and everyone who asks me about how they can effect transformative change to the most marginalized among us.
The intentionality and purpose behind all programs MBB offers is culturally relevant, appropriate, and empowering. MBB never objectifies those whom they work with and this goes a long way for me in terms of treating all with inherent dignity and respect. I highly recommend supporting MBB's programs worldwide.

Mercy Beyond Borders’ compelling mission, as well as their focused, effective and efficient leadership, are two reasons why I enthusiastically support this organization. MBB cultivates and activates the potential of girls and women who live in extreme poverty to be a powerful source of positive change in our world. MBB spends donors’ money wisely. They share the stories of many of the girls and women, and account for the results of their work. They create an opportunity for many of us to make an impact that none of us could do alone, but can definitely do together. It's an honor to support such a important work, led by such a competent director, Marilyn Lacey, RSM, and her incredible team!

Mercy Beyond Borders has as its mission to provide loving concern, care and assistance in parts of the world that few would dare to tread due to political unrest and severe poverty, both of which make the conditions unpredictable and often dangerous for staff and volunteers. It focuses much of its work on educating women and girls so that they may uplift their own communities, creating a never-ending system of bettering the conditions of these people for generations to come. With little fanfare, MBB is the love of God in action!

I had heard of the founder of this nonprofit, Marilyn Lacey, and a book she had written. The book was about her experiences working with immigrants in the U.S. and with economically disadvantaged in other parts of the world. This inspired me to donate to Mercy Beyond Borders. I wanted to donate to an organization that sees value , hope and love in all people. And, also important to me, the nonprofit is highly rated on Charity Navigator, and I believe more of my money has a direct impact.

This organization makes such an impact in the lives of those they support. The stories I receive always inspire me. I am proud to be a donor

Mercy Beyond Borders is committed to improving the lives of women and girls in some of the world's most difficult places.

They equip them with the tools and opportunities they need to break free from the chains of generational poverty. Every supporter, volunteer and donor is valued and recognized for their important role in the mission. They have enriched my own life with a profound sense of purpose and the joy of being part of something greater than myself.

I contribute to Mercy Beyond Borders because I learned years ago the power that a single girl can have. I had the privilege of being one of Sister Marilyn's high school teachers, and I marvel at what she has accomplished. Multiply her gifts of leadership and innovation by the numbers of girls in Haiti and Africa served by MBB. What a fantastic gift to the world.

Who would have thought that such hope for the future could be unleashed in some of the poorest and most desperate places on the planet for young girls and women who have been so utterly dis-valued, demeaned and disrespected as persons! And yet, that is what Mercy Beyond Borders is accomplishing through the education of young girls who had not an ounce of hope of gaining an education in Haiti or South Sudan and who will then impact many others in their countries through the professions they will be able to enter. As well, for countless women in these countries and in neighboring African states where refugee camps abound, MBB is offering hope through its micro-enterprise endeavors that enable women to prosper and provide adequately for themselves and their families for the first time in their lives. MBB's founder, Sr. Marilyn Lacey, her staff and her Board of Directors are to be highly commended for their integrity, their expertise, and their deeply-rooted commitment to the remarkable mission of this amazing not-for-profit organization.

From my comfortable circumstances in Atherton, CA, I have marveled from afar at Mercy Beyond Borders’ fidelity to its founding vision. In incredibly difficult circumstances, beginning with St. Bakita’s School in South Sudan, MBB has rescued so many “girl children” from the slavery of arranged marriages, giving them a future as educated women having their own autonomy, prepared to share their gifts with the broader Society — in South Sudan, Uganda, Malawi, and Haiti. As an 83-year-old Catholic nun my financial support is modest but it is supplemented by my admiration and prayer!

As Sister Marilyn Lacey frames it best: " I support Mercy Beyond Borders because I want to mind the gap!" What an awesome Nonprofit which brings liberation to women through education and hope to the world.

As a Sister of Mercy and a lifelong educator, I deeply believe that one of the most effective ways to positively influence a community is to educate women and girls. The work that Sr. Marilyn and MBB does with the young women of the Sudan and Haiti is beyond miraculous and will have long term effects to change those very vulnerable countries.

Sister Marylin's vision of serving young women in Haiti and beyond shows the great need for a nonprofit like theirs. Donating every month is the easiest thing that I can do to support a fantastic organization, and employees of Mercy Beyond Borders, specifically Lizzie Hancock, connect with stakeholders and donors in an authentic way. I could not recommend this organization more.

Mercy beyond borders is a great charity ran by an amazing group of people. I am lucky enough to get an inside look at what this group does for impoverished woman as my fiancé has grown with this company after graduating university. The passion I see her have for the woman they help everyday mirrors that of her boss Sr Marylin and the entire team at MBB. My fiancé Lizzie Hancock’s ambitions towards growing MBB’s ability to help women who otherwise have no opportunities are infectious just as she caught the bug from her role models in the company. MBB doesn’t just enrich the lives of the down trodden but it has completely enriched our lives as well.

I was introduced to Mercy Beyond Borders (MBB) and Sister Marilyn Lacey over four years ago. When she asked me to join the Board, I was so inspired and awed by what MBB was doing to help women and girls in dire need. Women in developing countries face daunting restrictions on (or outright denial of) their basic human rights. MBB prepares young women in Haiti, South Sudan, Uganda, Kenya and Malawi to become leaders in their respective communities.
MBB's Mission:
Forging ways for women and girls in extreme poverty to learn, connect, & lead.
MBB's Vision:
A world in which all women are educated, connected, and influential.
MBB's Conviction:
When women learn, women matter. Then everything changes.
This is at MBB's very core. The integrity and the commitment of the staff and leadership is unrivaled. I am a donor and a board member and so proud of the hard-working, compassionate and brave scholars and women that our funds support.

Mercy Beyond Borders does work that most other non profits wouldn't touch. The problem they are addressing is that a majority of women in South Sudan, Uganda and the other countries that they serve, are sold at a very early age into marriages for cattle, and face a future of extreme poverty, with no choice and no voice. The way out is education, which then leads to financial independence which is what Mercy Beyond Borders does and has been doing with impressive results for many years. It is transformative work: for women, for families, for communities, for countries.

The story of how Sister Marilyn founded
this organization reflects its grassroots commitment to direct and multi-faceted outreach to so many, especially women and girls. Money goes directly to those in need and transforms the lives of young girls who are now becoming community leaders in health and education. If I had to choose one group to whom I would donate, it is this one. The impact of one individual’s passion and vision is staggering. The joy on the faces of those who have been forever changed is the most beautiful indicator of women’s success and commitment to changing their world.

I have been a donor and volunteer with MBB for 5 years and I am continually impressed with the transformative impact they make for women and girls in some of the most challenging places in the world. Through education, brave and hard-working young women are acquiring knowledge, skills, and leadership that allow them to change not only their own lives but their families' as well. I traveled with MBB to Haiti a few years ago and saw how determined and brave these girls are. They literally travel (sometimes only on foot) for miles and miles out of the mountains from small, simple homes (most likely crumbling from earthquakes) for the opportunity to become scholars, university students, nurses, doctors, leaders. They are thoroughly aware of what a rare opportunity they have, and they take the responsibility seriously. Their mothers beam with pride because they know their girls are getting opportunities that they themselves never had. Education saves them from early marriage and a lifetime of poverty. The staff are outstanding and they make an outsized impact for a relatively small organization. MBB operates with efficiency and transparency, and I am proud to be a supporter.

Mercy Beyond Borders is the best of the best non-profit organizations which is working from the grassroots and with people in dire need. This organization is a faith-based organization that respects the dignity of the person and uses donated funds to give women and children the training an education needed to improve their present and future quality of life. Based on a solid commitment with
solid vision, this organization promoting practical long term change for the common good for the poorest of the poor.

MBB educates, empowers and sets a young up for a successful career.

Mercy Beyond Borders (MBB) serves women and girls where many nonprofits will not, in the most desperate of places in the world. I am a donor and a board member. I can assure you that every dollar sent to MBB is received and spent with integrity to its mission. Its work rescues girls from child marriages by providing education and lodging as an alternative. Its work lifts women from the savages of destitution through its successful micro-enterprise programs. These are just two of MBB's initiatives to empower women and girls. I urge you to learn more about MBB's hope-filled work and to get involved. https://www.mercybeyondborders.org/

Mercy Beyond Borders is exceptionally effective at their mission of forging ways for women and young girls to learn, connect, and lead. They have helped young girls and women in Malawi, Haiti, Uganda, and South Sudan get a high school diploma, go to university, start a business, and become leaders in their own community. Sister Marilyn Lacey runs the organization with efficiency, strength, and compassion. Mercy Beyond Borders is not only effective in achieving their mission, they are also fiscally sound and have a strong and supportive board.

Mercy Beyond Borders' commitment to educating and empowering girls and women is inspirational. Beginning with work in South Sudan, MBB has expanded to Haiti, Malawi, Kenya, and Uganda.

It is well known that the path out of poverty begins with a good education. But MBB takes this to the next level, instilling its scholars with leadership skills as well. MBB also has a micro-enterprise program, enabling women to run businesses to support themselves and their families in displacement camps.

When I donate to MBB, I am confident that the money goes directly to those in need. For that reason, I am a HeartBeat monthly supporter. I highly encourage others to join this program (https://www.mercybeyondborders.org/the-heartbeat) as well!

I have been a financial supporter of Mercy Beyond Borders for several years, and have also visited their location in Gros Morne, Haiti, where I was able to see for myself the wonderful things they are doing there. Sister Marilyn Lacey, the founder, is doing amazing work. She is an inspiration to me, and I believe she would be an inspiration to all who meet her .

I originally came to know of MBB's efforts in Haiti, but was impressed to learn that they help girls and women in several countries in Africa as well. Because of the efforts of this organization, many girls have access to education, can avoid forced marriages, and may develop ways of supporting themselves and their families.

I like supporting organizations that help people in third-world countries, both because the people in these countries need so much help, but also because my contribution goes much further than it would in a more developed part of the world. Thank you, MBB, for everything that you do!

Mercy Beyond Borders is an incredibly dedicated and focused organization who helps the women and girls in areas where it is most needed. These women are in the most difficult situations and Sr Marilyn and her team are extremely focused on changing their lives. The local leaders that have been trained by Mercy Beyond Borders have a direct impact educating, training, mentoring, and offering opportunities that make such a difference where it is needed most. I am so impressed with this organization.

Mercy Beyond Borders is doing exceptional work in uplifting women and girls from extreme poverty my means of education. I have the distinct pleasure of knowing Sr. Marylin and Lizzie Hancock and seeing first hand the impact that their work has had on the women and girls in Haiti, South Sudan, Malawi and beyond. I am completely at awe and so humbled by the work that MBB does. Please donate to this amazing nonprofit as every little amount helps directly impact the precious life of women and girls in these impoverished countries.

Sr. Marilyn does wonderful work with young girls and women in Haiti and Africa. Because of her and her team, these young girls are given the opportunity to work hard at school and dare to dream of what they will do with that education. It opens the door for them to become anything they want to be.

Her kindness, dedication and hard work is changing lives…not only in Haiti and Africa, but for anyone who has ever had the chance to meet her.

A great way to support and encourage disadvantaged women and girls in poorer countries. The best thing about MBB is that they directly affect the lives of individual girls and women, supporting and sponsoring them through school and college to gain professional qualifications. Then MBB encourage these trained and established 'leaders' to go back into their impoverished countries and affect real change! Get involved today and donate to MBB or ask Lizzie (my beautiful daughter, who works there) to let you know how you can contribute monthly to sponsor an individual lady or program. You'll be glad you did!
Charles

I have been donating to MBB for a number of years and am completely overwhelmed with the amazing work that Marilyn and her team do in several of the most under-resourced and disadvantaged countries. I am a social worker andhave predominantly worked with women and children experiencing abuse. The support that MBB provides to girls and women is life-changing for those that are directly impacted and the generations of women and children that will continue to benefit from this work.

Why do I donate whenever I can to Mercy Beyond Borders? It is really quite simple: My heart has been touched by the newsletters including letters from the young women students, and the photos of them. I so admire Sr. Marilyn Lacey's determination and dedication to provide shelter, protection, and an education that inspires the women to study and succeed in applying for fine positions to improve the many needs in their countries. I have heard many of Sister Marilyn's presentation on the situations in the countries where Mercy Beyond Borders is located. I hope your hearts will be touched as you learn more about this outstanding ministry and the fine consequences for the many women who have been in the programs offered by Mercy Beyond Borders.
Sincerely, Sister Rosann Fraher, RSM

I cannot say enough amazing things about Mercy Beyond Borders. Sister Sr. Marilyn Lacey is a truly beautiful human with vision and experience and savvy enough to move mountains and create big change. Her mission is big and bold and MBB is truly doing the hard work and filling great needs in this world. Thank you MBB and Sr. Marilyn!

Mercy Beyond Borders is founded and led by Sr. Marilyn Lacey, who has (with the support of caring donors) begun to change the trajectory of an entire country by being the first to provide education to girls and women in South Sudan, in areas untouched by other organizations because it is too dangerous. Former students have become nurses and come back to care for students at the school. MBB is now doing great work in Haiti, in refugee camps in Northern Ugada, and Malawi as well. Sr. Marilyn is financially efficient and smart, supporting the girls and women in meaningful ways that allow them to become educated, independent, and self-sustainable long term. Sr. Marilyn & MBB’s substantial impact deserves recognition and support.

MBB has done amazing work for a small non-profit barely over a decade old. It is now expanding beyond Haiti and South Sudan into northern Uganda and Malawi. Working in South Sudan is definitely not for the faint hearted (especially working on behalf of women and girls) and this non-profit has stayed through thick and thin, even following refugees to the camps in Northern Uganda. It can now point to women graduates who are returning to or staying in South Sudan as nurses, etc. In Haiti MBB initiated a way to continue educational services for girls during COVID, using a local radio station, in lieu of supporting them in schools.
I have been a donor/volunteer with MBB since its beginning and can attest to its high standards and dogged perseverance.

This amazing organizations empowers women in two areas of the world of the most need. All the resources they receive are poured into the girls and women they serve. The work they do raises not only the women but entire communities out of ignorance and poverty.

As long time regular donors to Mercy Beyond Borders, we find it to be one of the most effective ways we can reach out to help impoverished women and girls out of extreme poverty! We have been called by our faith to care for those Jesus calls "the least of these," and Mercy Beyond Borders gives us a way help live out our calling!

This is an incredible organization. I know how they spend their money and it makes me feel good to know that the money I donate goes to help women and children improve their lives. I have watched MBB for 10 years and am continually impressed with the work they do and all the women and children they help. MBB is wonderful about sending updates and emails to share the progress they are making. Thank you MBB for the wonderful work you do!

MBB has made such a difference in the lives of women and girls in Sudan and Haiti! Great organization!

I’ve been a long time supporter of Mercy Beyond Borders & am so impressed with the work of Sr. Marilyn & her team! The stories of women & young girls she has helped to escape poverty & forced marriages has been so inspiring & encouraging. MBB has clearly had an impact on a part of the world forgotten by many. I’m happy to be a supporter!!

I love MBB! The money we donate goes directly to women and girls who are in desperate need of support, directed by Sister Marilyn Lacey who has gone to the sites and knows the support most needed by these women. It is also important to me that MBB is not a huge bureaucracy with donated funds disappearing who knows where. Our donations, for example, support young women-scholars so they can stay close to their schools in Haiti and complete their education. Our donations help girls at St. Bakhita's school in South Sudan, the only school for girls in the country, not only receive an education but also avoid early marriages. Our donations help women in Haiti learn skills like baking and sewing that allow them to make money and help support their families. MBB is a truly worthy nonprofit and a shining example of mercy in action.

Oh what MBB accomplishes with very little money! No high paid CEO's or fundraisers but LIFE SAVING and community changing results. The power of educated women! Sr. Marilyn saw a desperate need and with our help is filling it. Women are the future for a safe and sane world and MBB is making sure they get the education and training to do it.

Mercy Beyond Borders helps women rise up and be beautiful and strong. This ethos and caring people like those at MBB helped my daughter rebuild her broken life into onweed of strength and beauty beyond what we could have imagine.

I look at these lovely women of all ages that MBB helps, and I see the potential in THEM. Making a difference to one womans life can improve the lives of so many. I passionately support MBB.

I am confident that the money I give is handled with integrity and goes to the most use possible.

The founder Sr Marilyn Lacey is an inspirational,dedicated,expert,and visionary re displaced women in poorest countries.The Board and volunteers are mission-driven and committed.The cause is moving and important.and MBB approaches to providing aid and hope are pragmatic and well grounded.

A great new non-profit with very low overhead that benefits refugees in selected developing countries. Run by an experienced person who maximizes her contacts and has a hands-on approach.

The women of Sudan have proven their moral, physical, and emotional stamina in the face of the wars and environmental challenges imposed upon them and their children. MBB addresses the needs of these women today as they forge to re-establish their identity and that of their country. Perhaps no other avenue to self-reliance equips women more than education; young girls afforded the opportunity to access the web to broaden their learning, or mothers/grandmother tackling the beginnings of running a self-sustaining small business. These are long-term benefits realized by MBB through both first hand knowledge of the plight of women and children of Southern Sudan and in collaboration with the Mercy Congregation who since 1831, have responded pragmatically to the needs of women and children in need of fundamental human rights. MBB is in communication with Sudanese local communities and listens with mind and heart in order to provide them with their identified requirements that can best break the cycles of poverty, neglect and ignorance brought about through prolonged sufferings. As a high school educator I have had the opportunity to bring greater awareness of concerns of the Sudanese children to the mind-scope of young American students. Moved by the goals of MBB, the expertise of its Director, and long-lasting commitment of the Mercy Congregation, these young students have initiated programs to raise funds for this worthy cause. They know that MBB funds go directly to the people in need to assist them in implementing life-long goals which can be generated from generation to generation. In past activities, funds were designated for St. Bakita School in Sudan. Our US students saw immediate results of their efforts in the implementation of newer learning equipment to the school. I would want to see MBB continue its fine work and in future, perhaps open up more opportunities for US volunteers to labor hand-in-hand with those women and children whose lives MBB seeks to enhance.

I have seen how MBB works directly with women in South Sudan enabling them to achieve their goals. A young woman, in a culture that expects girls to be married early and to find their place only in the home, finds a place in school. A school is supported to provide a more encouraging and healthy environment for girls. Women returning home after war, hoping in the fragile peace agreed by their leaders, receive funding for income-generating activities around which their families will learn to thrive once more. Responding to the aspirations of local communities, and working through Church personnel, including members of the worldwide Mercy Congregation, MBB is addressing problems of poverty, ignorance and neglect and thus contributing to long-term peace and stability of the region. Previous to the founding of MBB, members of the organisation have visited the area over a decade during the war, and in the years of peace since 2005, and know the communities well. They have worked closely too with many others forced to flee their homes to seek refuge in USA. They are trusted and well-regarded friends with a good understanding of the current situation in Southern Sudan.