"Work with the formation of women in Chile has been an eye opener to how women have been used and dominated. Yet when they come to value themselves through self-knowledge their self-esteem rises and they are wonderful leaders in helping other women grow."

Sister Helen Carpenter’s commitment to the empowerment of women continues as she accompanies the people in Chile. It is here that she builds community with them to empower each one to lead.

Her dedication to mission was continuously nurtured when she joined the Maryknoll Sisters on September 2, 1953, from Worcester, Massachusetts. She first worked in the Maryknoll Seminary kitchen, then was assigned  to teach in Transfiguration School, Chinatown, New York City.

In 1971, she was missioned to Santiago, Chile where she continued her work in education and catechetics. She moved to Buzeta in 1973 to have a supportive role in directing a formation school while working with mothers in preparing children for the sacraments. Back in the United States she shared her Chile experiences in mission education and promotion in schools and parishes.

Returning to Santiago in 1981, she focused her mission in the empowering of women. She worked in the mental health program of Casa Malen, a women’s center that helps poor women who have developed neuroses under the stress of political violence compounded by the extreme culturally approved dominance of their husbands. Sisters Helen and Gerri Doiron and the women wrote a book, El Arcoiris Comienza Al Poniente, Casa Malen, Su Historila (The Rainbow Begins in the West, The History of Casa Malen).

The center helps women come to know who they are and to value themselves. They give these women a physical space for relationships and ways to continue to develop their talents. The center  also offers workshops with couples including those who are not married yet but are dating, hoping in this way to help them with tools for dialogue Her intensity of commitment and her profound spirituality nurtured by years of involvement in peace movements lead her now to be part of human rights organizations in Chile.