In anticipation for the Opus Prize award ceremony, Creighton is hosting Spark Sessions from September to November.
Last week’s Spark Session covered Creighton students’ and faculty members’ trip to the Cana Communities in Australia.
The Opus Prize is one of the world’s largest faith-based awards given out every year to three finalists. Finalists are selected by the Opus Prize foundation and are humanitarian organizations that are committed to successfully changing lives, based anywhere in the world.
Finalists must also be motivated by faith or religion; however, while the Opus Prize Foundation pairs up with a Catholic university, finalists do not necessarily need to be Christian.
To start the process of selecting the finalists, the Opus Prize Foundation first partners with a Catholic university. Last year, the Opus Prize awards were held at Gonzaga University. This year is Creighton’s turn.
The winning award is $1 million while the runners-up receive $100,000 each.
Ravi Nath, Department of Business Intelligence & Analytics Chair, and Arts and Sciences seniors Adrienne Pyle and Kim Sorensen spent their spring breaks in Sydney spending time at Cana Communities to assess the organization’s ability to use funds, such as the grand or runner up prizes.
Last Thursday, the trio shared their experiences during a panel discussion to kickoff the Spark Sessions and to introduce Creighton to Cana Communities.
Cana Communities has been operating since 1975, originally known as De Porres House. The organization works in inner Sydney, setting up overnight shelters and homes.
Recently, Cana have begun a farm project in western Sydney that is now fully sustainable and offers rehabilitation courses for individuals at the community to take, such as horticulture or woodworking, in hopes of easing the transition back into society.
The community takes in “the most marginalized and ostracized” of the Sydney community, “individuals accepted into Cana Communities literally must not have any other option,” said Pyle.
Those individuals include the homeless, drug addicts, prisoners on parole, mentally ill and sex offenders.
Cana operates primarily through volunteers and donations from around the world. While donations from the public greatly helps the communities’ daily operations, Nath said there is one catch, “they must be willing to visit the farm, to see what their contribution would help.”
Nath shared a story where the Cana Communities refused a $25,000 donation because the business refused to visit the farm.
Cana does not accept government funds, as it would restrict the communities on where and who to allocate money.
Cana Communities could not operate without former and current CEOs Sister Anne Jordan and Julie Sneddon. All three panelists attest to the near sainthood of Sister Jordan’s actions and the inspiring work Sneddon performs.
The Cana Communities have significantly changed the way poverty and helplessness is perceived in Australia.
“If Jesus were to come to Earth today I don’t think he would go to a mass, he would go to the lowest levels and invite them in … such as the Cana Communities did,” Pyle said.
The Opus Prize Award Ceremony will be held in the Holland Performing Arts Center on Nov. 17. The Next Spark Session will be today from 7-8:30 in the Hixson-Lied Auditorium in the Harper Center and will cover the topic of homelessness in Omaha.