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United States - California Jesuit Province endorses abolition of death penalty

30 Apr 2012 GMT

The California Province recently endorsed the SAFE California Act, which would replace California's death penalty with a sentence of life in prison with no chance of parole as the maximum punishment for murder. This means convicted killers will remain behind bars forever - with no risk of being executed.

Latin America - Online workshop for citizen commitment

30 Apr 2012 GMT

"Todos somos parte" an online workshop on the above theme is open and applications are available from 9 April. The online workshop for citizen commitment will commence in June 2012. It is addressed to teachers who want to deepen their knowledge and acquire values, attitudes and aptitudes for citizen commitment. The initiative has been supported both by Fe y Alegría and the Latin American universities of the Society of Jesus (Ausjal). This is intended to be an important contribution for the renewal of democratic values among communities in Latin America.

India - Academicians and Activists search for an integral response to Displacement & Migration

30 Apr 2012 GMT

A Jesuit run premier Business Management Institute, Xavier Institute of Management - Bhubaneswar (XIMB), Orissa, brought together academicians and 25 Jesuit social activists, including a Provincial for an international conference on Displacement and Migration from April 10-12, one of the 5 chosen priority issues for South Asia. The participants and academicians were from Mexico, South Africa, France, Japan, China and many other countries besides India. The conference, a first of its kind, helped the intellectuals, management personnel and grass root activists to reflect together and learn from each other and search for a common response. In their search, poor and the displaced people were the focus. Read more...

Africa - CYNESA the Catholic youth response to environmental challenges

30 Apr 2012 GMT

Catholic Youth Network for Environmental Sustainability in Africa (CYNESA) has created a platform through which young Catholics across Africa are responding to the twin challenges of environmental degradation and climate change, from the perspective of Catholic social ethics, paying attention to the most vulnerable. Taking advantage of social media, the network has threefold aims, namely Education and awareness creation, Networking and advocacy training, and Encouraging and supporting concrete action plans at the local level. Read More...

France - Catholic Social Doctrine online

30 Apr 2012 GMT

CERAS, The French Centre for Social Research and Action has created a new site on the Social Teaching of the Catholic Church that helps to understand the doctrines in the context of the tradition of the Church, of the new theological perspectives and the reading of the signs of the times together with the contributions of the natural sciences. The articles that present the different questions come from very renowned authors. CERAS offers the texts for translation into other languages. www.doctrine-sociale-catholique.fr. If you wish to translate them, kindly contact CERAS.

United States - An International Conference on Networking in the Society of Jesus

30 Apr 2012 GMT

The Jesuit Institute at Boston College, together with the Graduate School of Social Work and the Centre for Ignatian Spirituality, organized an International Conference to reflect on the challenges and potentials within our International network of institutions in order to facilitate and maximize our impact as a transnational body with a universal mission. The conference held at Boston College from April 28-30 brought together around 35 Jesuits and lay colleagues from all over the world, academicians and practitioners from apostolic works. The main objective was to initiate a line of reflection and research on the opportunities and ways to develop international networking in the Ignatian family; given the challenges that globalization poses to the universal body of the Society of Jesus.

Malta - Meeting of the Social Delegates of European Provinces

30 Apr 2012 GMT

Around 15 Social delegates of various Provinces of Europe gathered together for the second time at the Jesuit Retreat House, Malta from April 12^th to 14^th along with Fr. John Dardis, President of the European Conference. Convened by José Ignacio García, director of JESC in Brussels, the participants shared about the situation of the social sector in each of their provinces. They also shared on the main strategic options of JRS-Europe and the response of the Jesuits to the document "Healing a Broken World". The high point was the visit to the detention centres of refugees and migrants and the sharing of experiences by John Mauki and Jaroslay Mikuczenwski, two young Jesuits from Tanzania and Poland respectively, working in JRS-Malta under a joint project of the Jesuit Conferences of Africa and Europe.

CPAL - Meeting of SJR / SJM in Latin America

30 Apr 2012 GMT

The meeting of the Jesuit Migration Services and Jesuit Refugee Services will be held between 28 April and 4 May, at Buga (Colombia), an active and coordinated network in the Conference of Latin America. This network tries to respond comprehensively to the movements of people in Latin America, addressing in a coherent way economic migrants, internally displaced and forced migrants seeking for asylum. The meeting plans identify some common specific objectives for the network and some common actions.

United States - Santa Clara University Selected for 2013 Solar Decathlon

30 Apr 2012 GMT

Santa Clara University (SCU), a Jesuit University in California, hopes the third time will be the charm as it takes part in one of the world's most prestigious competitions to determine the best designer and builder of a net-zero energy house. The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) has announced that Santa Clara University will compete in the 2013 Solar Decathlon, joining 19 other teams of universities and colleges from around the world.

Europe - Global Campaign for Education

30 Apr 2012 GMT

The Global Action Week for Education took place from the 22 to 28 of April, 2012. There are still 69 million children in the world that do not go to school, out of which 54% are girls. There are also 759 million adults that are illiterate and 2 thirds of them are women. Several institutions such as Fe y Alegría, Alboan, Entreculturas of the Society of Jesus are promoting the Campaign. And the Secretariat for Social Justice and Ecology, through its Ignatian Advocacy Network is also promoting (GIAN) 'Right to Education' as an area for advocacy.

SJES - Annual Meeting of Conference Social Apostolate Coordinators

30 Apr 2012 GMT

The annual meeting of the Conference/Assistancy Social Apostolate coordinators will be held at the SJE Secretariat in Rome, from May 14-18. This year the team will reflect on the responses of Jesuits to the Ecology document "Healing a Broken World" (PJ 106). The response has been collected from the Province Social Coordinators through a short questionnaire sent from the secretariat. They will also reflect on the GIAN and the challenges ahead.

Tibet - Documentary on itinerary of Portuguese Jesuits in the Himalayas

31 Mar 2012 GMT

The documentary Himalaias: viagem dos Jesuítas portugueses retraces the routes of a group of intrepid pioneer Portuguese Jesuits in the early 17^th century in the Himalaya area, inviting viewers to meet an important chapter of our collective past: the exploration within the Asian continent, associated with the search of the mythical kingdom of Cathay. Joaquim Magalhães de Castro, the director of the documentary, traveler and researcher of the history of Portuguese expansion says, "From Goa (India), they went to Agra and from there to Tibet." Read more...

Vatican - Water an Essential Element for Life

31 Mar 2012 GMT

With a view to the Sixth World Water Forum that took place in Marseille, France, 12-17 March 2012, the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace prepared the Holy See's contribution, entitled, Water an essential element for life. Although some results have been achieved, the document points out that half of the world's population still does not have adequate access to drinking water and expresses a strong hope for better management of water resources on the part of all those involved as they are called to act responsibly, with sobriety and solidarity.

Bolivia - Andean-Amazon Forum for Rural Development

31 Mar 2012 GMT

The Jesuit Social Centres in Bolivia, along with several institutions, are getting ready for the Andean-Amazon Forum for Rural Development, to take place from 9-11 May in La Paz. This international event will bring together organizations and participants from different countries of Amazonia, namely Mexico, Panama, Brazil, Ecuador and Bolivia along with Spain, who will involve in activities such as debates, meetings, agro ecological markets and a photographic contest. Amazon region. Read more...

India - Darjeeling Jesuits play proactive role in Right to Food Campaign

31 Mar 2012 GMT

To highlight the plight of the tea workers and villagers of North Bengal in India, who do not get their due food grains, because of the serious drawbacks within the Public Distribution System of the government, a few Jesuits social activists of Darjeeling Province along with 20 other NGOs, including some religious, and trade unions campaigned for Right to Food on 11^th March in Siliguri town, with a march of 2,500 people from various parts of Darjeeling and Jalpaiguri districts, and the convention that followed. Read more...

Bolivia - Bolivian Bishops' Conference issues Pastoral Letter on Ecology and Human Development

31 Mar 2012 GMT

The text, "The Universe, gift from God for life" was released on the 22nd of March. It speaks about creation as a gift from God and raises awareness about the threats that is facing today. In the case of Bolivia it shows how mining activities, deforestation and climate changes are having dangerous impact on the environment in the region. It expresses the need for change both at the global and local levels. It calls us to take responsibilities and a deep sense of reparation and commitment. It also expresses a sense of hope and calls for a change in the present consumerist way of living and to establish international alliances to responding to the challenges. Click to read the Letter

United States - Jesuits and Religious leaders call for a Faithful Budget

31 Mar 2012 GMT

Standing in stark contrast to partisan federal budget proposals in the United States that seek first to address a bottom line instead of the nation's needs and priorities, on March 22, the Jesuit Conference joined religious leaders and faith-based organizations from across the U.S. in unveiling a "Faithful Budget" proposal for congressional consideration. The Priorities for a Faithful Budget is a set of comprehensive and compassionate budget principles that will protect the common good, value each individual and help lift the burden on the poor. Read The Faithful Budget in its entirety.

South Asia - Fifty Eco-Jesuits meet to Reflect on Ecological concerns

31 Mar 2012 GMT

Fifty Jesuits, that included the Conference President, one Provincial, 15 theology students and many Jesuits involved directly in the ecological concerns, came together at Tarumitra in Patna from 10-12 March, to share their personal experiences, their concerns about deforestation, pollution, global warming, plight of the poor and the tribals (Indigenous people) and to reflect on the eco spirituality that draws them to eco-action today. Reflecting on the SJES document "Healing the Broken World" they prepared 5 priority concerns for South Asia and also made a Final Statement of the Meet titled "God's Dream With Us". Read more...

Africa - JASCN organizes animation and training Programs for Social Change

31 Mar 2012 GMT

Jesuit African Social Centres Network, which aims to encourage joint initiatives among Jesuit social centers in the continent and facilitates the exchange of experiences and mutual enrichment coordinates the social action in the conference, has initiated a series of 6 programs of animation and training for Jesuits in 2012. Two have already been conducted on Project management, one in January in Nairobi and the second in February in Abidjan. Two more programs are planned as formation courses in management, and another two on research, analysis and publication. They will be held in four African cities, namely Nairobi, Abidjan, Kinshasa and Lusaka. JASCN also plans to organize training courses specializing on the processes of elections, and on how to prevent electoral conflicts and violence. Finally, in the light of the fifty years of independence of many African countries, the final seminar will address the question of how to create structures among Jesuit social centers in Africa to bring in Social change and social transformation.

Korea - A Jesuit held for protest against naval base on Jeju Island

31 Mar 2012 GMT

The Church in Korea has taken a stand against the construction of a naval base on Jeju Island, a province of South Korea. The Korean Jesuits are in strong support of this, participating in protests and conducting masses on-site. As a result some have been arrested a number of times in the past for hindering the construction work. On March 11, the Jeju district court issued arrest warrants for Fr Joseph Chong-uk Kim SJ and Protestant Reverend Lee Jeong-hun. As of March 14, Fr Kim was still being held for investigation and trial. Read more....

Perú - Jesuit Archbishop receives death threat for standing against mining

31 Mar 2012 GMT

Mons. Barretto, Jesuit Archbishop in Huancayo received phone calls and SMS messages telling him that his days are numbered and asked him to get the coffin ready. The threats were because he wrote a letter about the danger of mining activities in La Oroya that contaminates the environment and damages the health of people particularly the children. His letter titled 'No silence before evil' asks for not reinitiating the mining activities before implementing the protocol to protect life, health and dignity of people in La Oroya and in the region. He received threats two days after releasing the letter. Read more...

Healing a Broken World - PJ 106

13 Mar 2012 GMT

"Healing a Broken World" the latest document on Ecology was published recently by SJES in Promotio Justitiae No. 106. We regret that this PJ 106 is not available on the PJ web pages presently. Hence we give the link here for you to downloadthe PDF version temporarily. We regret the inconveniences caused.

JRS - Commitment to Justice

29 Feb 2012 GMT

JRS has recently made public the Strategic Framework for the period 2012-15, where they express their mission and values, their compassion for humanity on the edge. They also explicit their commitment to justice rooted in a deep faith and the need for building a stronger and more united JRS. The text can be found here.

(It can also be found in other languages)

United States - St. Louis University program in Mo. Prison helps set minds free

29 Feb 2012 GMT

In 2008, SLU started offering certificates in Theology Studies at the prison. In March, it expanded to an associate of arts, a two-year degree that will take the inmates four years to finish. When the initial certificate was offered, the application window closed after five days - more than 300 inmates applied for 15 slots. SLU selected inmates without life sentences and those who tutored or held leadership positions in prison. Read more...

India-Jesuits house Flood Victims

29 Feb 2012 GMT

Loyola Pragati Kendra, the Jesuit Social Centre provided 127 flood-affected families with new homes in Karnataka's Raichur district. Many poor families from various religious backgrounds lost their homes in October 2009, when flood waters struck washing away thousands of houses. Fr. Eric Mathias, the director of the centre says that the Jesuits have been working since then to help rehouse the flood victims, especially the poorest. Read more...

India - Jesuit Social Centre brings together 10,000 Tribals to rebuild their identity

29 Feb 2012 GMT

LAHRC-Shakti Social Centre in Gujarat brought together more than 10,000 tribals for a two-day cultural fest to revive, encourage and strengthen the adivasi (indigenous) culture and identity. The fete completely organized and financially supported by the tribals themselves has become a powerful tool to build a greater bond among the tribals and to struggle for justice and equality. Read more...

United States - Jesuit Conference engagement leads to adoption of Human Rights Policy at OM Group

29 Feb 2012 GMT

The Jesuit Conference of the United States announced that its four-year engagement with OM Group has resulted in the adoption by the company of a human rights policy for its employees, including miners at its cobalt smelter in Lubumbashi, Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). According to the Jesuits, their engagement with OM Group began after a visit to the company's smelter in Lubumbashi raised concerns about worker safely at an adjacent site owned by a joint venture partner. In 2007, three children were killed in a workplace accident there.

Africa - JESAM plans to Assess and plan the future of Jesuit Social Apostolate in Africa

29 Feb 2012 GMT

Jesuit African Social Centers Network (JASCNET) is organizing a seminar on 'Assessment and Future of the Jesuit Social Apostolate in Africa, in view of 50 Years of Independence: The role of our Centers for Social Study and Action' from June 24-28, 2012 in Nairobi. This seminar will bring together at least 30 leaders, directors and delegates from various provinces, to consider how to make the Jesuit social apostolate an instrument of social change, for the rebirth of the continent.

Europe - International day for Soldiers Children

29 Feb 2012 GMT

The International day for Soldiers Children was celebrated on 12th February. The Jesuit NGOs Entreculturas and Alboan joined Amnesty International and Save the Children in a campaign promoting their rights and rehabilitation and asking for education for them. They have issued some information about the Soldier Children in the world and some videos have been edited on this reality. Video1 and Video2.

Venezuela - An Analysis of Latin America

29 Feb 2012 GMT

On 31st January 2012, the Centro Gumilla in Caracas - Venezuela released the last Analysis of the situation (Análisis de Coyuntura) in Latin America, covering the period from October to December 2011. These analyses are produced with the help of other Jesuit Social Centres in Latin America. Among other questions it offers some thoughts about the present economic crisis from the perspective of the Latin American countries. For more information

Vatican:

31 Jan 2012 GMT

"Current Global Economic crisis is not only a financial crisis, it's an ethical crisis. Climate change is a faith issue because it deals with God's creation and with poverty", said Honduran Cardinal Oscar Rodriguez Maradiaga of Tegucigalpa and President of Caritas Internationalis in Durban. Cardinal Rodriguez, a member of the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace, also said that globalization "is not a bad word", but if people see it only as a process of expanding markets and finance, it will not help the human community. "It is necessary to globalize solidarity." The current global economic crisis "is not only a financial crisis, it's an ethical crisis". Read more...

United States: Jesuits Launch youtube Channel featuring Ignatian News

31 Jan 2012 GMT

Loyola Productions, a Jesuit-sponsored film production house in Los Angeles, has recently launched a YouTube channel dedicated to promoting the works and mission of the Society of Jesus. Ignatian News Network (INN) will tell the stories that inspire, inform and spread the word about the people in and around Jesuit ministries and institutions. These short videos, many featuring biographical profiles of Jesuits, will give a distinctive Ignatian lens to news and happenings across the U.S. National Jesuit News will be featuring upcoming INN videos right here. You can also subscribe to the INN YouTube channel and check out this promo piece

Haiti: Jesuits commit to build a better future for the country

31 Jan 2012 GMT

The Jesuits in Haiti write a message about the situation of the country after 2 years from the earthquake that took place on the 12^th January 2010. In the message they denounce the promises that were never accomplished, they give thanks for the generosity they have received and they make a call to the government in Haiti and to people of good will to contribute to a new society in Haiti: Click Link:

Japan: Abolish Nuclear Plants immediately say CBCJ

31 Jan 2012 GMT

"Abolish nuclear plants immediately", this is the title of a letter written by the Catholic Bishops' Conference of Japan, addressed to all residents in Japan and which the Japanese Jesuits have recently supported. In their message they call for the immediate abolishment of all the power nuclear plants in Japan, after the tragedy in the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Plant. Read the letter....

India: You can also read about the continuing struggle by the ordinary villagers for years to stop the nuclear power plant in Kudankulam, Tamilnadu, India and how the local church is being victimized for supporting the movement of the people. Click Link

Asia Pacific: Scholastics Promote Reconciliation with Creation

31 Jan 2012 GMT

Scholastics and Brothers in Asia Pacific Conference showed the innovative campaign materials about promoting reconciliation with creation that they developed during a workshop on Effective Communications. The environment was chosen as this year's workshop focus in line with reconciliation with creation being one of common priorities for the Jesuit Conference of Asia Pacific and the desire of the Scholastics and Brothers to be of assistance to the Jesuit task force on ecology. Read more...

Philippines:

23 Dec 2011 GMT

The island of Mindanao where many Jesuits work has been devastated by Typhoon Washi on 17 December, with a death toll of about 1,000 people. The Jesuit University Ateneo de Cagayan has set up a relief centre to collect food and medicine and has opened its campus for people seeking shelter. Click here to find out how to make a donation.

Sri Lanka:

23 Dec 2011 GMT

An advocacy workshop has been organised in Sri Lanka from on 14 and 15 November by the Jesuit social action team. Over 20 people participated from all Jesuit social centres on the island. While some participants felt that there's need for national level advocacy against domestic violence, others expressed that there are burning issues such as ethnic problem, militarization, family rule, moving the constitutional framework towards dictatorship, suppression of the media that need urgent advocacy action on a national and international level. A follow-up workshop will be held in January. click the link

Latest Blogs

The indigenous peoples of the Amazon and the "listening world"

30 Apr 2012 GMT

Being called to the mission of the Society of Jesus we partake in a living process, as it requires an on-going encounter with the inner person, from the spirit and the desire, to serve our personal concerns to be called and to be part of a new process, of pathways and of life.

Being called to work with the indigenous Awajún-Wampís people has helped me recognise the complexity of these processes. It involves asking questions about the meaning of life: Do I really try to understand the indigenous world? Is my way of building relationships really rightly-balanced? What are my prejudices and reservations about the indigenous world? What is their experience of faith, their experience of the transcendental being? What is their worldview? Do I value it? These are the questions which touch the lives and desires of those who come into contact with this reality.

All this involves breaking with one's old schemas in order to open up the possibility of a real coming together between man, environment and culture. We learn that life is only lived through listening and about learning how to listen. This requires disposition, as the mission is not only about the necessity of being. It requires disposition to know we are worlds of encounter and complementarities; brothers, who can act with very good intentions in our service, but continue to be this distant "other". With regard to this other, make no mistake, I have reservations about my way of being, those which categorise me as an outsider, the mestizo.

Within the dynamics of this encounter, our alumni from the Fe y Alegría College, Valentín Salegui, (on the banks of River Marañón in Amazonia) come with very complex experiences of community life, with emotional, as well as material needs. They come with conflicts in a world which makes new demands on them so they can "be". The young Awaruna-Wambisa also are affected by these new codes and necessities, where their aspirations take their dreams far from the land, where formal education sometimes breaks their sense of belonging.

The 'world of listening' appears as a duty of encounter, as education involves the accompaniment of human beings whose identities are being formed, being constituted, a way of valuing their way of "being" in the world. The reference points should clearly be rooted in the value of their identity, their worldview and traditions: these are their strengths, the set of values from which they will relate to the world of "those from outside".

But have we unveiled the questions which come to us during this encounter? The responses only take form when we recognise that in parity of circumstances we are getting to know worlds which must necessarily learn to engage in dialogue in order to understand each other and from there see each other as inseparable parts of the same identity.

Dialogue begins inside each one of us; our world of certainties must give way to the desire to learn other ways of thinking, other worlds of feeling, meaning and life. These are steps towards a mission which will allow us take on this challenge, to be better brothers.

Jorge Cabeza SJ

Jorge, a Peruvian Jesuit and coordinator of the Indigenous Apostolate, lives in Yamakai-éntsa, the indigenous area of Bagua province in Amazonas. He is the deputy director of the Fe y Alegría College, Valentín Salegui, and a member of the Social Commission of the province.

Learning together about AIDS in Africa

31 Mar 2012 GMT

People living with HIV/AIDS in sub-Saharan Africa are often targets of prejudice. Their HIV +ve status shifts their positioning within the community from the middle to the peripheries, with dire consequences for their overall welfare. Sometimes what is forgotten is that being HIV +ve does not make one less human; quite the contrary, sensitivity is often heightened in people with HIV. To forget this is to ignore their humanity.

In Shakespeare's The Merchant of Venice, a famous quote by Shylock poignantly describes this reality: I am a Jew. Hath not a Jew eyes? Hath not a Jew hands, organs, dimensions, senses, affections, passions? Fed with the same food, hurt with the same weapons, subject to the same diseases, healed by the same means, warmed and cooled by the same winter and summer, as a Christian is? If you prick us, do we not bleed? If you tickle us, do we not laugh? If you poison us, do we not die? Shylock's words are a reminder that, lest we forget as a society, people with HIV will bleed when pricked, laugh when tickled and die when poisoned. As a community, our actions, inactions, words and silence towards people with HIV is symbolic 'pricking', 'tickling' or 'poisoning'.

I shared this quote recently during a conference organised by the African Jesuit AIDS Network (AJAN) in Nairobi; the conference was part of a book project initiated in June 2011, marking 30 years since the first cases of what would later become known as AIDS were reported. Sub-Saharan Africa has borne a disproportionate burden of the AIDS pandemic, with current estimates of 22.5 million people living with HIV, 68% of the global total. As part of the need for greater reflection on this pandemic, AJAN issued a call for papers for a book exploring the multi-faceted response to AIDS in sub-Saharan Africa.

In late January 2012, AJAN invited the book contributors for a conference to present and debate their papers. Twenty-six Jesuits and their collaborators attended, representing a wide range of academic disciplines, from theology and philosophy to human rights and ethics to medicine, as well as considerable field and advocacy experience.

Those of us who responded to the AJAN call for papers did so for a number of reasons. HIV/AIDS is an important pastoral issue in our ministries. Many governments, especially in Africa, have yet to incorporate the rights of people living with HIV/AIDS into mainstream legislation. The dearth of legislation comes to the fore when we work with and for people with HIV at the global, national and local levels. We wanted to learn more about the pandemic and some of the best ways to respond.

At a personal level, I came to the conference with indispensable resources to help me understand more about the pandemic: the first is what in Ignatian parlance is called cura personalis, the second is an open mind to learn from fellow Jesuits and our collaborators. My contribution threw some light on the discriminatory practices, inequalities and unfair power relations surrounding AIDS in sub-Saharan Africa. It was important to reflect on these issues because at the heart of our conversations was an understanding of the human being as created in the image and likeness of God and therefore as a rights-holder.

Our conversations drew attention to the 'signs of the time' visible around us in the AIDS pandemic, such as the problem of stigma, universal access to antiretroviral therapy, and poverty of resources. These 'signs', in turn, raised the question of 'what God is saying to us?' and 'where does he want us to be within this pandemic?' Even with limited resources, it was clear that God is calling us to be present to those who are infected and affected by HIV/AIDS.

I left the conference, as I am sure the rest did, with new insights about how different organisations, not least the Catholic Church, are responding to the problem at several levels. But, more importantly, I learned that God is calling us to help reveal his face in this pandemic.

What makes the AJAN project unique is how the day-to-day work with people infected and affected by HIV/AIDS has led us to a deeper understanding of an issue affecting Africa and the rest of the world. There is every hope that the book emerging from the project will make an important contribution to literature about HIV/AIDS and a deeper commitment to work among the affected people.

Isidore Bonabom SJ

Isidore, a Jesuit from Ghana, obtained his MSc in human rights and LLM from London School of Economics. He has just completed a doctorate in human rights law at the University of Sussex. His research focuses especially on rights-based approaches to law and policy-making, the construction of human rights, and women's rights in Africa.

Contextualizing My Theology with Domestic Working Girls

29 Feb 2012 GMT

During my theology studies at Vidyajoti, Delhi, India from July 2007 to October 2010, I had to go for ministry with people as part of contextualized theologizing. There were many options given to us from among whom we had to give three choices in the order of priority and wait for the final word from the ministry coordinator. I was totally surprised when my name appeared in the list against the ministry for domestic working girls. It would not be out of place for me to mention that this ministry was nowhere in my list of priorities. In fact I did not want to work with the 'Domestic Working Girls', because I had heard a lot of stories about them and I was prejudiced about them.

The only consolation was that I was going to work with a Jesuit headed organization Adivasi Jeevan Vikas Sanstha (Tribal Development Society). It is directly under the care of Social Apostolate Coordinator of the Assistancy, JESA Secretary, at Indian Social Institute, New Delhi.

The first day was shocking and surprising. My predecessor Fr. Rajenius Barla accompanied me to the hall along with the JESA Secretary, where almost around 100 girls were gathered. I could not believe that such a great number of girls worked as Domestic maids. In fact, I came to know later that there are around 200,000 such girls working in Delhi alone, most of them being tribal Christians. I wanted to almost back out and run away, which I could not. We were given a warm welcome and thus began my journey with the domestic working girls. Though initially unwilling, I decided to put my heart and soul in my ministry and decided to be a true brother throughout my stay and work with them. I thought 'what if these girls were my own sisters'. This helped me to identify myself with them and became friendly.

I had various roles to play some of which were of teaching, advising and sometimes being a parent. I gave special attention to the ones who looked lost, lonely and sad. Whenever I spotted them needy for attention I reached out to them and made them feel at home. I found them cheerful after every such personal interaction. Almost all the girls were Tribals from the States of Jharkhand, Orissa, West Bengal, Assam and Chattisgarh. I, being a tribal myself, was able to understand them and enjoy being with them, listening to their life stories. The most significant need was to give them a listening ear. It helped them a lot to overcome their hurt feelings and emotions. Many a times I had no words to say but just give them an empathetic hearing and a few words of consolation showing them that I was with them. That's all I could do. As days passed, most of them started trusting me and would approach me without any hesitation and ask for help. More than anything else I became their brother and they were no more Domestic Working Girls but my own sisters working as domestic helpers.

The following year I was assigned the prison ministry, which was on weekdays. So I requested that I continue to work with the girls and the prison ministry. In my theology class this ministry helped me contextualize my theology studies and raise relevant questions. This ministry with the domestic working girls has helped me to improve my personality, temperament, spirituality and my theology. It has also taught me to deal with the persons of complimentary sex, to behave maturely and to make plans and implement them.

The peak experience was when I went back to these sisters of mine to offer my Thanksgiving Eucharist as a priest. The joy and happiness I saw in their faces was a great encouragement to live my priestly life. I thank God for the gift of many sisters who formed me in becoming who I am today. In return I pray that they live a happy life in spite all the hardships they face.

Fr. Vijay Pratap Toppo SJ

Nepal Region

Finding God in the People to Whom I Minister

31 Jan 2012 GMT

I am Fr. Mauki, a Tanzanian Jesuit from the Eastern Africa Province of the Society of Jesus. I joined the Jesuit Refugee Services (JRS) team in Malta to consolidate the pastoral accompaniment of JRS for African asylum seekers amid migrants present in Malta. After working for fifteen months with JRS, I have experienced that my having joined the Jesuit Refugee Services was to embark on a faith journey. I have discovered that God is giving me the privilege of assisting the forced migrants and through them experiencing God's blessing.

Listening to the immigrants' stories and frustrations in the detention centres has been the intervention I can provide to aid in lightening their hearts' burdens. As a pastoral team, the only way we can help detainee migrants is to listen to their stories, instill hopes and offer a realistic approach to their problems. Most immigrants tell me that Mass in the detention centre is the only thing that gives them hope. Nobody can afford to take that away. They feel that God will not abandon nor forget them. For many, the Church is a sign of hope in the midst of an alien and hostile environment.

Working with immigrants has strengthened my faith. I have realized that God is present even in life's most tragic episodes. The immigrants I encounter in detention have a profound faith conviction, a faith that can move mountains. I have seen immigrants who have discovered God as their only help and comfort in exile. I am amazed by their mysterious capacity to believe in God amidst many seemingly unjust situations. Many immigrants speak about Jesus as their only refuge and hope. During my pastoral care in detention, I try to penetrate their world and be with them, even if it is that I be present and silent. A vibrant hope I discover among the immigrants leaves me with a question: Do I bring hope, or do I find it there?

The hope I see among the immigrants is grounded in suffering. It is a grace that gives strength. The challenge for me is to search for and find the seeds of hope, to allow the same hope to continue to grow. In the present situation at the detention centres, pastoral care is a sign of hope and comfort for the people. I have also encountered immigrants who have abandoned their faith. They cannot fathom a loving God who has allowed them to be in detention for eighteen months and being rejected for asylum. The more the immigrants stay in detention, the more difficult it is for them to live out the virtues of their Christian faith.

My role is to search for and find the seeds of hope and to fan the feeble spark into a flame. Immigrants need to see light at the end of the tunnel. Christ offers a larger picture, a meaningful story of suffering, sacrifice and hope within which to situate one's life. It is for this reason JRS Malta seeks to accompany, serve and defend the rights of asylum seekers and forcibly displaced persons who arrive in Malta. Forced migrants are victims of a violation of basic human rights. JRS Malta cannot ignore issues of protection and human rights violations in the context of forced migration.

Beatus Mauki SJ

Dar Manwel Magri

Mons Carmelo Zammit Street

Msida MSD 2020

Malta

mauki@jrsmalta.org

Praying with Refugees is a new section on the website of JRS International:

http://www.jrs.net/Prayers?&L=EN

Christmas in Kyabé

23 Dec 2011 GMT

By Lindjo Joseph Alpha SJ, Côte d'Ivoire

Kyabé is located in the Lake Iro Division, in the South West of the Republic of Chad. It is the capital of this division and is situated 900 km from N'Djamena, the capital of Chad. It is a rural environment where Arab speakers cohabit with the Sara-Kaba, the indigenous people of the area. The former are traders and the latter are mostly farmers. Access to the towns during the rainy season, from July to November, is almost impossible because of bad roads.

The Saint Pierre Claver parish covers an area of 17,000 km²- more than half of Belgium - with a population of 200,000 inhabitants. It comprises 323 villages with an average of 440 inhabitants per village. This vast parish is run by just one priest, Father Manuel Fortuny Salas SJ, assisted by two scholastics doing their regency. The parish is divided into four sectors: North, East, South and West. Each sector groups together a number of villages.

In this vast parish, many villages have Mass just twice a year, on Christmas and Easter. The parish priest starts celebrating Christmas in villages from the 18^th of December and ends after the first week of January. Mass is always a great occasion for the villagers. Each Christmas celebration in a village brings together inhabitants of the surrounding villages. Some trek for up to 60km to attend Mass. The host village usually provides shelter for all the visitors who spend the night with them. The priest arrives one day earlier to hear confessions and to converse with Christians. These are always moments of great spiritual renewal and sharing for the Christians. Everyone contributes the food that will be shared together for that day. The highly animated Night Mass is always followed by singing and dancing till dawn. The celebrations end after the morning Mass.

During my regency in Kyabé from 2008 to 2010, I experienced these moments of sharing and community life as life-giving as much for myself as for the parishioners. To me, it felt like "a taste of Heaven". I could not but be touched by the simple, yet profound faith of these communities, by their great generosity and ardent desire to participate in the mysteries of our salvation. Since I have left Kyabé, I have been praying for the Master of the harvest to send more labourers.

Lindjo Joseph Alpha

Institut de Théologie de la Compagnie de Jésus

Cocody les 2 Plateaux

27 B.P. 884 Abidjan 27

Côte d'Ivoire (Ivory Coast)

joealpha98@gmail.com

Past, present and future of the Mekong

30 Nov 2011 GMT

By Pieter Dolle SJ, Indonesia (translated by Bayu Risanto SJ)

"Our lives depend on the flow of the Mekong. When it comes up to high tide during the rainy season, the waters of the river flood the riverbank. That is the right time for planting; we become farmers. When the river is in its low tide, the land is drained and there is no possibility to water the riverbank and to continue planting. Then we turn to be fishermen again."

This is what happens to the Mekong river at the moment. Uncountable water creatures and sixty million people living along this very long river passing through China, Myanmar, Lao, Thailand, Cambodia, and Vietnam would suffer if we fail to save this beautiful river.

From 11-15 July 2011, I joined the social apostolate meeting on ecology Kompong Cham, Cambodia, as one of three scholastics among 46 participants. The meeting awakened my awareness and concerns of the importance of environmental sustainability for our home planet.

The first two days, we were given a time to reflect and be grateful for the gift of the Mekong river. To make it real and touch the very sense of our spiritual side, we strolled along the Mekong riverbank on our way back to the hotel at the end of the day. We walked about 20 minutes in the rain, encountering the culture and the day-to-day activities of the people living in Kompong Cham. People were sitting and chatting on the promenade, doing physical exercises, gazing at the beauty of the river, and some were doing business by selling food and drinks for the passersby.

We learned from Pedro Walpole, the main speaker of this meeting, that the present Mekong was heavily polluted with waste and garbage, and damaged by overexploitation. In some areas, people are making money off it by taking out sand from the bottom of the river and selling it. As we looked at the river from the hotel, we saw that is was more dead than alive: the river looked dirty, brown in color, and not interesting at all. I imagined the Mekong clean and beautiful, as it might have been in the past.

From Fr. Gabby Lamug-Nañawa, we learned that the damage of the Mekong river ecosystem had been affecting the Cambodian economy. It had reduced the income of the people earning their living from the Mekong. A few years ago, fish have started decreasing in number as a result of the environmental damage. Fishermen have hard time nowadays to catch fish and they make less money than before. There are few fish and then ones they find are no bigger than a palm.

This experience led me to reflect deeper on the words of the 35th General Congregation on Reconciliation with Creation. The true reconciliation with creation is our care of the environment. Every created thing is the expression of God's grace and love in the world, and we as human beings are chosen and entrusted to take care of all created things. This care affects the quality of our relationship with God, with other human beings, and with creation itself. As a result of this five day ecological meeting, I believe that we need to begin our care of the environment starting from the very simple one, namely our personal life and our community life.

Scholastic Pieter Dolle SJ

Scholastics' Residence

Jl. Salemba Bluntas C222

Jakarta 10440

Indonesia

pietdolle@gmail.com

Images from Jesuit Service Cambodia show how the recent floods in Cambodia have devastated the banks of the Mekong

Scholastic Min John Kim SJ, YIUTSARI Jesuit Centre for Migrant Workers, Gimpo, Korea

31 Oct 2011 GMT

I would like to speak about a foreign worker I tried to help. When I met him, he asked me to help him to change companies. From the first, I realized it would be difficult. At present our Korean government imposes some impediments toward migrant workers changing companies because employers want the migrants to continually serve their company. I explained to him that we would have a difficult time getting him released from the company. When I contacted the company, the company's response came as no surprise. The employer shouted at me: "Are you Korean? If so, you should not help this migrant. Why do you bother me? Mind your own business." If the company had violated Korean labour law, I could have followed the correct legal process. However, he wanted to change the company because of cultural differences, so I could do nothing except trying to persuade the employer.

In my experience, it would be extremely difficult to persuade employers to release the migrants. In this case, I failed to do so. I said to the foreign worker, "I am sorry. I am afraid that you will have to work in this company till the end of your contract." I felt really sorry for that. Surprisingly, he got very thankful to me. "Brother, thank you very much. I am just satisfied with your endeavour to help me." I was surprised. Why does he give me gratitude? I just failed to help him...

I am working in our Korea Province Jesuit Centre for Migrant Workers. Previously, the area where we stay was famous for agriculture. But now companies have begun moving into this area because of the low price of land. Now, out of a total population of 238,000, around 30,000 migrants live in this area. 7 years ago, the Jesuit Centre where I work was founded to help these migrants, whose numbers grew and grew. The main concern of the Centre is placed on social services for the migrants.

The experience which I described to you happened months ago. I confess that this man touched my mind. Before this experience, I unconsciously thought that if I failed to help the people, I failed in my mission, so I got depressed. I was accustomed to evaluating my job based on success. He changed my viewpoint. He was ready to give thanks for even tiny things. He could find a thankful thing even in failure. On the contrary, my eyes were directed only at success. I realized that I had made a mistake in defining my job. I decided to change my mind. What is the significance of the presence of the Jesuit Centre? We find it not in the efficiency of our apostolic activities, but in living and sharing with the migrants. Ironically the Korean name of our Centre is Yiutsari, i.e., Living with Neighbours. At the end of my regency, I come to realize the real meaning of my mission. The focus of this mission, the reason why I was sent to the Centre, was not primarily on successful engagement but on accompaniment with neighbours. I will soon enter my theology studies in preparation to become a priest. My regency has given me a special chance to reflect on the real meaning of apostolic life.

Sch. Min John Kim SJ (top row, centre)

YIUTSARI Jesuit Centre for Migrant Workers

Gimpo

Korea

Xavier Jeyaraj SJ, designated Assistant Secretary at the Social Justice and Ecology Secretariat, Rome, Italy

30 Sep 2011 GMT

"Will anyone volunteer to go to Bombay to help in an action research study on the eviction of pavement and slum dwellers conducted by a Social Work College?" asked my Rector while I was doing my first year of philosophy in Pune in 1985. As a young scholastic, least interested in any work against eviction during the Puja vacation but rather more interested in seeing Bombay city in its festivity, I volunteered to go along with a few friends. God's ways are strange. He works in and through our human desires.

At this visit I never expected to receive a life time shock of witnessing the shanty houses totally bulldozed and all their utensils and clothes strewn around, children crying and trying to gather whatever they could salvage from the rubbles. When I heard that the demolition squad comes at night, not during the day, a few of us decided to spend the nights on the pavements of Bombay. I could not believe what was happening. Many questions arose from deep within. I received no answers. But that was the beginning of my inner search and a genuine passion for working for justice among the marginalized and victimized. The passion that I felt on that day has not diminished or wavered even today. Since then, this "eviction experience" of mine in Bombay has remained almost like a foundation experience for my insertion into social apostolate, though I have witnessed worse human right violations, human-made calamities, and destruction of human lives after that.

On completing my philosophy studies, I returned to the same College to pursue Masters in Social Work (MSW) to equip myself to continue working with the poor. While in College, I was privileged - rather I chose - to work in Narmada valley with Ms. Medha Patkar, a well known social activist in India against the Narmada dam. I will never forget her simple life and commitment to the cause of the tribals in the valley. It has remained a big challenge to my own religious life and commitment.

After my ordination in November 1993, I was assigned to teach Sociology at St. Xavier's College, Kolkata. While teaching, I continued my passion to work among the underprivileged, especially the slum and pavement dwellers. In order to provide an education to their children, I motivated some of the College students, through the social service wing of the College, to bring the children together in one of the classrooms of the College and teach them there. This initiative was later christened as "TITLI", meaning butterflies, and was incorporated as a parallel school within St. Xavier's Collegiate School. During these years of teaching, I completed Legal studies in 1998 as an additional tool to advocate the cause of the poor.

In 1998, I requested my Provincial to relieve me from the College, so as to get involved full time in social action. With the support and encouragement of the Provincial, I began the Province Social Action Centre called Udayani Social Action Forum and was in charge until I was appointed the Secretary of the Social Apostolate for South Asia in 2007. Through Udayani, I worked among the most deprived santal tribals and the marginalized dalits and among the slum and pavement dwellers of Kolkata city. We initiated diploma courses and trainings to multiply grass root social workers. It was a difficult and a challenging task to initiate something new, yet it was an immensely enriching and fulfilling experience both spiritually and in my commitment to the call of faith that does justice. This enriched and strengthened my faith in a very special way.

In the last 4 years as Secretary of JESA (JEsuits in Social Action) in South Asia, I gave myself fully to whatever promoted greater bond, unity, collective reflection and action among our men in social action. It was a humbling experience to learn much more from our Jesuit social activists and others than what I could contribute. It is with the similar sense of hope and desire, but not without fear, that I take up the new assignment at SJES sometime in January 2012. Relying on your prayers and support I entrust myself fully to His greater service.

Manuel Ruíz Parra, Suyusama* Programme, Pasto, Nariño, Colombia

29 Jul 2011 GMT

In the southern part of Colombian state of Nariño, we have started down the path towards local and regional sustainability, understood as a life choice in harmony with the surrounding environment. We are inspired by the fact that the region has conserved its great ancestral wisdom, the inheritance of the Pasto and Quillacinga Indians, the ancient inhabitants of this area.

Recently, while collecting the submissions of young candidates in the region for an undergraduate scholarship in agriculture, natural resources and environment studies at the Earth University in Costa Rica, the governor of the Inga tribe in Aponte (Tablón de Gómez municipality) introduced Liliana Armero Guerrero with the following words:

"Because she is a descendent of the Ancestral People, the Great Inca Nation, who have conserved one of the principles of life, "to love nature", since we are children of the sun and the earth and they are our Father and Mother. In this way, based on this discipline of knowledge, the applicant will be able to acquire new tools of learning to care for, protect and conserve our Land, being productive, without destroying it, so as to leave an inheritance for the endurance and survival of our Ancestral People in time and space".

This vision of life, also shared by rural communities with whom we work, has helped us understand and value their thought. This worldview becomes a valuable contribution to the efforts we make in helping to strengthen the communities' environmental culture. The processes of spiritual growth are fostering an inspiring dialogue between Ignatian and Andean spirituality.

On many occasions, in workshops or meetings, we have heard stories which reveal this wonderful way of understanding the world. Once, in a conversation with Ms Rosa Jojoa, a peasant woman in one of the rural communities where we are present, she introduced us to the world of "chagra", the peasants' life space, something like the microcosm in which life is sustained.

Ms Rosa told us that "in the chagra we are all Beings and we talk to each other ... if this conversation happens, creation happens. It's this talking that creates, that makes life blossom and flow... this is the world of the chagra. This is why one speaks to the plants, sings to them, dances with them, dresses them, grows them, and the plants in turn grow us men and women".

These are stories full of meaning which allow us to understand the spirituality surrounding the woods, crops, water and the mountains. This understanding means taking another perspective of nature, far from the utilitarian view of resources. It knows that everything possesses life, life that needs to be dignified by all means possible.

* Suyusama: Quechua word meaning "beautiful region."

Sandie Cornish, Sydney, Australia

30 Jun 2011 GMT

My involvement with the Tertians - Jesuits who are undergoing a final formal period of formation before taking their fourth vow - began at a joint birthday party. The Tertian Master, Pat O'Sullivan SJ, was pleased to meet me there. He had heard me speaking at a forum but didn't know how to contact me to enquire if I might do some work with the Tertians.

It was rather intimidating leading a group that included three professors! Each Tertian was highly educated, very intelligent, and brought a wealth of experience to the discussions. The graciousness, humility, and willingness of the group to enter profoundly into personal reflection on praxis impressed me deeply. The questions and reflections of the group challenged me intellectually and spiritually. I was being called to move more deeply into a spirituality of justice - and invited to identify my own spirituality as Ignatian.

That workshop on Catholic Social Teaching was well received and lead to an invitation by the Provincial, Mark Raper SJ (in whose honour the birthday party was held), to join the formation work of the Australian Province. He saw a need to better integrate the social dimension of Ignatian spirituality into formation programs and materials for lay staff of the Province.

The next year a new Tertian Master took up his post - the second of my birthday party friends, Adrian Lyons SJ! Throughout his term we have worked together to tailor social justice programs to the needs and characteristics of each Tertianship group. I have experienced the Tertianship as a graced opportunity to walk with committed and generous souls exploring how Catholic Social Teaching and Ignatian spirituality do, or might, interact to inform praxis. It has been a privilege to have received the stories of the great variety of ways in which God has acted in the lives of Tertians from many places, calling each to work towards the justice of God's Reign. Praying with the Tertians has been a profound experience of communion.

Over the years I think a few Tertians have found my familiarity with the Jesuit justice tradition a bit surprising. It is perhaps an odd thing for a lay woman to take such a detailed interest in the governance, spirituality and missiology of an order of religious men.

GC32 Decree 4's call to integrate the service of faith and the promotion of justice in all ministries found a deep echo in my heart when I first read it as a student of Catholic Social Teaching at the Gregorian University in Rome many years ago. The spirit of Decree 4 inspired a number of the Jesuits who have inspired me. The charism is indeed a fire that lights other fires. The Jesuit justice tradition continues to develop, and continues to resonate with me, affirm my own learnings, and to challenge me to follow Jesus, poor and humble, more closely. Like the dynamics of the Exercises, it is a gift to the whole Church.

While I am no longer employed by the Australian Province, I am pursuing my interest in the interaction of Catholic Social Teaching and Ignatian spirituality through doctoral studies. My case study will examine the migration work of the Jesuit Conference of Asia Pacific (JCAP).

* Sandie Cornish was the founding editor of Faith Doing Justice and is now Manager of Research and Social Policy with Rosemount Good Shepherd Youth & Family Services. She is a co-opted member of the JCAP Migration Task Force. Read her blog here: http://sandiecornish.wordpress.com/

George Williams SJ: Easter on Death Row

31 May 2011 GMT

San Quentin State Prison is an iconic American prison. Over 150 years old, it has witnessed thousands of prisoners pass through its massive iron gates. As all prisons, it has developed within its walls a spirit of oppression and cruelty. Over the past few decades it has witnessed the greatest growth in incarceration in American history. Since the late 1970s, penology in the United States has steadily turned away from hope in the power of rehabilitation and reform and has instead embraced an ideology of incapacitation and revenge. In the face of such cynicism and indifference to the plight of the incarcerated (and their families), Catholic prison ministry calls out more than ever for American Jesuits to become involved in what some have termed the "prison-industrial complex."

It is in this darkness that I see the light of God every day shining forth. Since my first experiences in prison ministry as a novice, I have learned over and over to see the face of Christ in the prisoners as well as in those who guard them. This Easter provided a good example. I have been working with a man on death row (there are currently over 750 men on death row at San Quentin), who studied Catholicism in his cell and desired to be baptized. I got permission from the warden to baptize him on Easter Monday.

Death row at San Quentin is a maximum-security area. All who enter it must don a stab-proof vest before meeting with inmates who are always kept locked up separately from staff - in other words: there is no human contact. Even when out of their cells, the prisoners are handcuffed and shackled with waist and leg chains.

Baptizing Bobby had to be accomplished within these security constraints. With his hands cuffed behind him, and attached to a chain around his waist, he was escorted down the tier of cells to the entryway of the building housing the "Condemned" prisoners. About 6 members of the medical staff and administrators were on hand by his invitation to witness his baptism. The normally noisy hallway became quiet and uncharacteristically peaceful as we began. Bobby read a passage from Romans 6: "Are you not aware that we who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death?" I had to hold the book for him as his hands were handcuffed behind his back. The words of the ritual were hauntingly powerful as we stood against a black-painted wall, a wall that hid from our view the old Gas Chamber behind it. "If we have been united with him through likeness to his death, so shall we be through a like resurrection." The words of St Paul challenged the whole machinery of death around us.

The words blessing the water were similarly a rejection of the power of death, violence and revenge: Light, Hope, Healing, Rebirth, Joy, Peace, Love, each word, each symbol hit like a sledgehammer against what promised only despair, only death. We who were gathered in that dark corner in that gloomy building that morning witnessed in the Baptism a clear sign of God's grace shining into one of the darkest corners of our world. "Do you reject Satan? I do. And all his works? I do, and all his empty promises? I do." This is why I love being a priest.

In a final breathtaking sign, as I prepared to anoint Bobby with Chrism, he said, "Can you bless my hands as well?" In order to do so, he had to turn and offer me his hands, handcuffed behind his back. The same hands that took lives received the anointing with the chrism of salvation. The promise of liberation from those shackles brought tears to my eyes.

Read more about George Williams' work here: http://www.jesuit.org/blog/index.php/2011/05/jesuit-ministers-to-inmates-at-san-quentin/

Peter Daniel SJ, Andhra Jesuit Province, India

29 Apr 2011 GMT

This is the story of the village of ‘Agnipuri' (A village of Fire). When I was appointed parish priest in Darsi, in the state of Andhra Pradesh, I soon heard of a neighbouring village called Erraobanapalli, which is more than 100 years old. In this village, there was a group of 65 high caste farmers, divided into two political groups, who used to win the elections for local government (Panchayat) every time. On the other side of the village lived 250 Dalit families who served them, and who were also split into two groups, and never allowed to come together. Most of the Dalits were either Christians or Catholics, but some Dalit Muslim and Hindu families had joined them over time. All the Dalits were landless labourers. The Government Primary School was situated in the high caste part of the village and hence the Dalit children had no access to education. The Dalit part of the village was 100% illiterate.

When I started visiting the village and found out about this situation, I met with the Dalits, first with the two groups separately and then eventually with everybody together. It took four years, but when the next elections for local government were called, the Dalits were ready to vote for their ‘independence'. They chose a single candidate and regardless of their great fear of taking a stand against the high caste farmers, they won the elections. As soon as the high caste farmers found out about the election results, they burned down the Dalits' houses.

The homeless Dalits, men, women and children, fled with only the clothes they were wearing into a nearby forest. When I found out about this, I immediately organised food for them. The next morning, we marched together to Darsi, to the office of the governor of our county. We sat in front of his office for seven days until the sub-collector came to meet us. He agreed to build a new village, where the government would take care of building the road, a drinking water facility, electricity and a new school. Since the government was only going to rebuild the same number of houses that had been destroyed by the fire, and which had been shared by three families each, I found a private sponsor from Austria who agreed to finance the remaining new houses, so each family would have their own space. With the help of the Jesuit province, the community built temporary huts on the ground that had been identified five kilometres from the original village. Together, we then built the 250 houses.

We named the village ‘Agnipuri' (A village of Fire) and blessed the new colony in July 1996. That day was also the day of reconciliation with the high caste farmers who came for the inauguration of the new village and made peace with the Dalits. I felt about this whole experience like Moses leading the people of Israel from Egypt to the Promised Land. Each of us had a role to play in this modern exodus and we all experienced God walking along with us.

Narrative: Aldo Michelis, Kino Border Initiative, Nogales, Arizona, USA: �The Coldest Day, The Warmest Day�

31 Mar 2011 GMT

They arrived: the Girl, her brother and their mother. "Take blankets out for them three", said Sister Lorena. They had all been given out in the morning, but I still looked in the closet and I only found a baby blanket.

When I saw the Girl sitting on the bench, shivering uncontrollably under her thin sweater, with a huge sense of urgency I tore the blanket out of the plastic bag and put it on the girl, wrapping her from back to front and hugging her for an instant as brief as it took the blanket to fall into place, but as perennial as gestures of love last from the heart.

I learned it that way as soon as she turned and "shot" me with that smile: a flame that melted all thermometers and, for the first time since I left the house in the morning, made me stop feeling cold. She sheltered me. That, in her face, was the expression of someone who knows well her dear friend God and suddenly comes across Him. "Oh! God took cold away from me" I could read. And she didn't need to know about my journey of faith and my personal relationship with Jesus because of whom I have found this path that brought me to Nogales; she didn't have to know about the story of Sister Lorena and the Missionary Sisters of the Eucharist that started the activities to support migrants here three years ago. She didn't know anything about Ignatius of Loyola and the Society of Jesus that with the Sisters and so many other people gave shape to the Kino Border Initiative that was now being her host. Yet less did she know about the person or for what reason that person donated the blanket that she was now wearing.

She only knew the essential fact, she had been freezing and that God warmed her up with a little blanket. That's what the smile on her face said. What an astonishing POWER! Another girl in the same girl! I have a feeling that this is the power of God Himself, that He makes available to us through love, to transform the environment, to literally change lives, starting by one's own.

The entire kitchen again had the fragrance of the Kingdom. Something felt different inside me. Something was making me behave differently. I imagine those who have children know well and are familiar with this occurrence: the love for the little ones. What I am certain about is that I know a bit better (and it has seduced me) the potency of this love without reasons or motives, without conditions, without expecting anything in return (even without knowing each other at all), which loves beyond the organic link and the bonds that life naturally places between parents and children.

How many "little ones" is God inviting me to love like this, on this path! I feel I know now a little bit better the loving ways of Jesus, that are God's ways, and it fascinates me. "There you go, my friend: now you are like a little wrap!", I said smiling back at her, and so even her mother smiled. From then on, everything proceeded as normal. They ate, Erin (one of the volunteers) gave them clothes, we chatted and joked, they thanked us and left.

It was literally, "The Coldest Day...": The night from the 2nd to the 3rd of February was the coldest ever in Nogales history (11°F/-12°C with wind chill sensation of -2°F/-19°C), beating the record set back in 1975.

Aldo Michelis is a Mexican pre-novice who is discerning entrance into the Mexican Province's Jesuit Novitiate this July. He currently volunteers with KBI. http://www.kinoborderinitiative.org/en/

Narrative: József Hofher SJ, Budapest, Hungary

28 Feb 2011 GMT

A Hungarian folk tale tells the story of the friendship of a young Hungarian, Dani, with a Gypsy of his own age. The godfather of the young Hungarian asks the boy's parents to explain to him why they allow their son's friendship with the "no-good" Gypsy Lajos.

Fortunately, the connection between the boys remains intact. Once Dani asks Grandma Krabi - the grandmother of Lajos - why the Hungarians say that the Gypsies are "no good". Grandma Krabi says nothing, but gives him a magic whistle. She asks the boy to blow the whistle when the uncle speaks again of Gypsies as "no good". During the next visit, the sound of the whistle can be heard. Immediately, the walls start talking: "Do you know that we have been made of clay by the grandfather of Lajos?" After that, also the oven speaks, and then the dishes, the spoons and forks, the harnesses of the horses, the wallpaper and so on. And finally, the tomato says from the table, "and we have been grown by the mother of Lajos." After this, nobody ever said again in Dani's family that Gypsies are "no good".

After ten years in the Jesuit pastoral ministry among the Gypsies, I can say that this story expresses for me the essence and spirit of our work. The most important element of this service is that we seek to build the self-esteem of the Gypsies, to reveal the personal dignity of the human being. For the Gypsies, the greatest burden is not poverty, but that they become second, third or fourth class citizens marked with the stamp of "worthlessness".

Our service among Gypsies is primarily teaching and education. I believe that the Gypsies can only assert themselves in the world today if their knowledge is relevant for the market. The decades-long unhealthy education policy and economic order meant that thousands of Hungarians and Gypsies are now unemployed because of their outdated know-how.

For this reason, we are doing our utmost to fight pure as well as functional illiteracy. Only those who can read and write are able to live with dignity in today's world. We are aiming to contribute to this through the "School of Love" that we have founded.

We consider it extremely important to enter into contact with intellectual groups in order to support them in taking the leadership of their people into their own hands. For years, we have been in contact with a group of Gypsy intellectuals. As a fruit this collaboration, later in 2011, a Jesuit Roma College will be opened, where the boarders can live and learn, not just languages but all about leading a dignified life today.

We often think that having a decent life is only a problem for Gypsies who live in deep poverty. But discrimination has the same impact on every human being and on every Gypsy. One can be a learned Gypsy or a Roma with several diplomas, but if in the crowded tram the seat next to him or her remains empty for a long time - and this happens often - it leaves deep wounds.

A young Gypsy told me that he does not primarily expect social assistance from the Church. For him, it is not important if the Church is able to provide social support - this would be the duty of the state and the respective government. He wished, however, that parishes and their priests would accept Gypsies with love and affection. They ought to be perceived just like any baptised Christian, with devotion and respect. And he would expect the Church to be the voice of the humiliated, of those who are wounded in their human dignity, especially in places where even Gypsy politicians behave rather like prostitutes of party politics than like representatives of their people.

We try to be consistent with our mission and, like Dani, to stand next to Lajos, to be a brother where loving closeness and acceptance prevail, and not gestures of rejection.

József Hofher SJ
Budapest, Hungary

PS. For the Hungarian Roma, to use the name "Gypsy" is natural, many even reject the word "Roma". "Gypsy" has no negative connotations, as in many other European countries. A testimony for this is that in Hungary, one does not speak of "music of the Roma" but "Gypsy music" or "Hungarian Gypsy music", and this double identity is seen as a sign of deep self-respect.

Narrative: Luísa Fernandes, Itinerant Team, Amazonia, Brazil

31 Jan 2011 GMT

Father Christophe Six SJ travelled to the Amazon in September 2005, specifically to the Brazilian Amazon Region of the Society of Jesus, to become a member of the Itinerant Team working out of Manaus. My own arrival in the region was at the end of January 2006.

What is the Itinerant Team? We are a team of missionaries who do itinerant work in the Amazon region; we are both lay and religious and come from a variety of institutions and cultures. We share our lives with the people living along the river, with rural workers, with native peoples, and with the poor in the cities. For twelve years now the team has been working hard at forming new networks and joining hands with other Amazon projects - in a word, embracing frontiers. We work out of three central locations, one in Manaus, another in Tabatinga (where Colombia, Peru, and Brazil come together), and a third in Roraima (where Venezuela, Guyana, and Brazil come together).

"Close proximity to the most marginalized" was always the main concern of Fr. Christophe. It was for that reason that his first option was for the urban poor. His attention was focused on the challenges of the cities, where river-dwellers and native peoples intermingle and where drug addiction and crime are serious problems. There in the cities he saw reflected the violence of the larger society.

Subsequently Christophe, due to circumstances and his own generous and bold disposition, gave up his preference for the urban milieu and committed himself to learning about and working closely with the indigenous reality of Amazonia. Working with the Native Peoples Missionary Council, he dedicated himself heart and soul to the Munduruku people of the Nova Olinda region. He visited villages and lived close to the people, he promoted the women's movement and the training of women leaders, and he accepted the challenge of reaffirming the value of the native culture. He also formed part of a team that was accompanying and doing research with riverside dwellers who were reasserting their Maraguá origins. His wholehearted dedication opened up new horizons for this native people and paved the way for the recognition of the Maraguás as an ethnic group that was seeking land and better conditions as a resurgent population. They feel tremendously grateful to Christophe.

Christophe impressed me by his habit of constant prayer, his discernment, his boldness, and also his humility. He had a tremendous ability to find the sense of God in the worst of conflicts, and he also sought out ways to get around obstacles when apparently, and perhaps objectively, there were none. In this way he helped avoid ruptures which would impede the progress of a work, and he fostered more amicable relationships which produced new life.

In October 2007 he was found to have lung cancer, and from that time until 4 January 2011 he did his best to take better care of himself and stay alive. From 2008 on he lived and worked in Itaici (São Paulo) as a director of the Spiritual Exercises. When I spoke to him in September to wish him a happy birthday, he told me that he was pleased because for a year and ten months he had not received chemotherapy; it seemed the nodules were no longer a problem. In November, however, his condition took a sudden and drastic turn for the worse and was out of control.

His lack of health did not allow him to realize his greatest desire, which was to lead a more contemplative life. Only God knows!

We are immensely grateful to you, Christophe, for your magnificent witnessing to God's loving presence in the midst of us.

Luísa Fernandes

Itinerant Team, Amazonia, Brazil

www.amazoniaitinerante.blosgpot.com

Narrative: Danilo Giannese, �Centro Arrupe� staff member, Jesuit Refugee Service Italy

24 Dec 2010 GMT

I am a journalist by profession, but instead of spending my time writing and editing for a newspaper or a television channel, my days are spent preparing packets of fruit and vegetables, delivering medicines, and helping children do their homework. In other words, responding to the daily needs of fifteen political refugee and asylum seeker families living in the "Pedro Arrupe" Centre, a hostel run by the Jesuit Refugee Service (JRS) in Rome.

For at least two years I dreamed of doing a job which would allow me to be in direct contact with "humanity"; for at least two years I longed to spend the greater part of my days doing something inherent to my faith, something which lives out through concrete day to day experiences the message that speaks directly to the heart - the message of Jesus Christ,.

The ultimate aim of the Arrupe Centre, like that of JRS at the international level, is to accompany refugees in a process that makes them autonomous. To see them leave refugee centres with a job, a home and the possibility of "creating a new life for themselves" after a past of violence and persecution in their home countries, is a dream come true for all those of us who work with refugees. Certainly, in a city such as Rome it is not easy - work is hard to come by, rents are high, and in general I believe it is more difficult to be a refugee in Italy than in other countries such as Germany, the UK or Scandinavia, where governments manage to assist people in need more efficiently. Often while working my colleagues and I share the frustrations and suffering of "our" refugees who, after the agony of flight from their own homes, now have to endure the immense difficulties of finding some means of living in Italy.

Despite the constant struggle, however, the human relationship that develops with the refugees on a daily basis is a very special one. It is a relationship nurtured by small gestures, smiles, a word of comfort in a moment of pain, to say nothing of not the immeasurable joy experienced when the father of a family finally manages to win a work contract.

Since starting on this job I have learnt a great deal and come home every evening with new lessons understood and greater awareness. These people have much to teach us.

In the centre, one of the families which I have been most touched by comes from Kosovo. The father, mother and their one year-old son fled their home because the woman's family, who are Muslim, did not accept her marriage to a Catholic and threatened the young would-be parents that they would kill the child as soon as he was born. In order to protect their unborn child they escaped to Italy where their beautiful son was born safe and sound. They are still unable to pay for a place of their own, yet they are happy. The worst is over, the clouds have reached the horizon and the sun is shining before them.

Stories like these help me realise day after day that our own problems are often minimal and undeserving of the attention we give them.

One day I would probably like to go back to work in the field of communications, possibly in a humanitarian organisation. However I will do it with a greater vision of life. I will never forget the faces and eyes of "my" refugees, faces in which I can clearly make out the face of Jesus, humble among the humble, something that will accompany me through my working days far more than if I had continued to spend my days in a cold newspaper office.

Danilo Giannese
Centro Arrupe
Rome, Italy

Narrative: John Sealey, Social Apostolate Coordinator, Wisconsin Province, USA

30 Nov 2010 GMT

"With my daughter getting older and my brother's recent death, my family needs me more than ever...I don't know what to tell my daughter when she asks me if I will be with her? I wish I could tell her not to worry... that I'll take care of her and that everything will be alright. That's what hurts the most, I don't know if I will be able to protect her and guide her in the right direction."

These hand-written words are written by a detained graduate of Nativity Jesuit Middle School (Milwaukee, WIS) currently awaiting a court judgment to decide his deportation fate.

12 million other undocumented persons, many studying in Jesuit schools, worshipping at our parishes or visiting our social ministries, live in constant fear of immigration raids at work and home. Even when Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) is not threatening them, their vulnerable status renders them powerless to exploitative lenders, employers and landlords.

What is most distressing to me is the hostile rhetoric by anti-immigrant groups and politicians who distort this issue for their own political gain by using fear and misinformation to inflate phobias about economic uncertainty, crime, or "national security." This caustic rancour and brazen racism strips away the humanity of migrants and creates an abusive climate. Theologian Fr. Dan Goody observes "Despite the physical difficulties of their journey, many migrants say the hardest part are the indignities they experience when people treat them as dogs."

One of the biggest challenges is educating our own Catholic community who are themselves of immigrant origin but too often lifeless in their sympathy for newer immigrants.

In June 2010, the U.S. Jesuit provincials signed a forceful public letter to elected officials to repair our broken immigration laws by providing a pathway to legal citizenship, legal safeguards for immigrants, greater development assistance (of a non-military nature) to countries of origin. To engage the wider Ignatian Family, they subsequently invited Jesuit groups to endorse a companion letter which echoed the principles of immigration reform called for by the provincials and the US Catholic Bishops. www.jesuit.org/immigrationsignon

When I attend pro-immigrant marches, meetings and prayer services, I am invigorated by the faith and even the joy of immigrants despite difficult ongoing struggles. Their sense of community and self sacrifice for their families inspire me. Walking with them, I feel a deeper solidarity with worldwide Jesuits and Ignatian partners heroically defending displaced people. As our own advocacy efforts in the US transcend our provinces and apostolic sectors I am beginning to realize our potential to effect change. I am emboldened to join this journey in faith and add my voice to their call for a just reform of our broken immigration laws. In prayer, I can more deeply understand what the dispossessed Holy Family must have felt when they were repeatedly turned away. In hope, I pray the door will one day be opened.

Narrative: F. Gibson Munyoro SJ, Zimbabwe

31 Oct 2010 GMT

For the past year I have been studying, but I would like to go back two years to 2008 and reflect on my experiences during the period of political insanity in Zimbabwe when I was working at Silveira House (SH), the main Jesuit social apostolate centre in Zimbabwe. I was the deputy director of the centre as well as being the coordinator of the Peace Building department and assistant priest in the Chishawasha Mission parish.

On 29th March 2008 we had harmonised elections in the country, which were reasonably peaceful. The opposition party won the majority but the electoral commission declared that the opposition leader had failed to garner the stipulated majority of "50% plus 1 vote". Some ‘wounded lions' (from the defeated party) began to mobilise their followers to punish innocent citizens for ‘voting for the wrong party'.

Camps and road blocks were set up to intimidate people into voting for Mugabe in the run-off elections against the opposition party leader. The months April to June were stained with the blood of innocent citizens who were beaten and some of whom were killed. The director of the centre was then in the UK on his annual three months leave. This left me sitting in his chair as acting director. At the same time, I had just started a new project of working with the Zimbabwe Republic Police. I was also only nine months old as a priest; still a toddler!

Many unnamed people died invisible deaths, and others disappeared only to reappear with broken limbs; others had their properties destroyed. These are some of the people I encountered in my work in 2008. I visited some victims in secret private clinics and listened to accounts of their fearful experiences. I also had opportunities to talk to some political thugs whose voices were hoarse with anger. Although I went around mostly alone, I would occasionally go with a colleague from SH.

In May 2008 SH gave temporary shelter to about 88 displaced victims of political violence (50 women and their 38 children). Inevitably we became enemies of the political thugs for sheltering their enemies. At some point their leaders sent a group of youths to summon me (as acting director of SH) to attend a rally during which I was to be disciplined for accommodating the victims and mobilizing the people against ‘the party'. I was not inspired to die young, so I did not go!

Whenever I look back at my experiences I see God's hand at work in my life. Otherwise where on earth would one get the courage that I had to visit political violence victims in private clinics and hospitals and to look the political thugs straight in the eye? Some priests and lay collaborators would call me even in the middle of the night with information of organised attacks by these people. I had no magical powers to deal with such cases apart from informing the police or driving to the site to talk to the thugs themselves.

What I experienced is painful to recall, but the positive side of the story is that each time I saw people butchered, I came out full of courage to speak and preach about justice and condemn the injustices, political violence and intolerance. I feared death no more! My sermons became more of a cry for peace and justice than mere spiritual exhortations to the faithful.

What kept me going in such challenging and scary situations were the words of the victims: ‘Even if they beat us we will still vote for the man we want'. These words of freedom and courage echo in my mind as I constantly ask myself how we are to heal the social and psychological wounds of the people of Zimbabwe. Even today my prayers and reflections are saturated with such questions and concerns for healing and reconciliation.

Narrative: Jojo M. Fung SJ, Malaysia, Coordinator of Jesuit Companions in Indigenous Ministry (JCIM) of the Jesuit Conference of Asia-Pacific

30 Sep 2010 GMT

I sensed their pain and aspirations in our sharing stories about growing up in our respective ethnic communities. We were at the Jesuit Companions in Indigenous Ministry (JCIM) gathering in September at the Seven Fountains Jesuit Retreat house in Chiangmai, Thailand, along with 15 lay collaborators, the youth leaders of the indigenous peoples (IPs) from Asia Pacific.

The IP youth are pained by the government's betrayal and by the lack of moral integrity in their IP leaders. Their lusting after neo-liberal capitalism degrades the environment of their ancestral homeland with state-condoned development projects -- mega-dams, national parks, mining, large scale market-oriented mono-cropping. The IP youth want to learn their own cultures and languages, to imbibe the wisdom and knowledge of the elders for a more sustainable livelihood with greater dignity for indigenous peoples all over the world, even while they adapt to modernity in ways that serve the struggle of the IPs for self-determination.

During our visit to the Lahu Nyi (Red Lahu) community at Pang Dong Village, outside Chiangmai city, on the afternoon of September 15, 2010, we heard stories of their resilience, of suppression in Burma, 'the golden triangle' where they worked as porters for the opium industry, their current marginalization in Northern Thailand. Nothing has dampened their resilience as a Catholic Lahu community.

Fr. Niphot's talk about how the Absolute Being has communicated to the shamans (Tobo in Lahu and Hiko in Karen) the need for a pact, like a biblical covenant, to provide an alternative to the rationalistic-consumeristic logic of market-capitalism, filled me with hope. The shamans of the five tribes who gathered and prayed at the chapel of the RTRC (Research Training Religious Cultural Center) early this year gave Fr. Niphot an indelible mystical experience of hope for preserving the ancient civilizational wisdom of the indigenous shamans. Unless the cosmos (universe) and anthropos (humankind) and all forms of human and natural resources are deemed as sacred because of the indwelling spirits, and not desacralized as resources to be commodified for profit, there is no way life on earth can be sustained. This is the seed of an Asian liberation theology of sacred sustainability. It gives me hope for the future.

On the 'cultural' night, the Lahu, both young and old, performed their dance on stage. Marginalized socially, economically, and politically though the are, their spirit can never be crushed; it rises up again in dance, in music, in being together as a community, the young dancing in the footsteps of the elders, and the elders understanding the ways of the young. Such a dance in the circle of life gives the Jesuits and IP youth leaders a spirit of collaboration as we translate our theme and vision "Around the fire we shape the future" into life.

As a Jesuit initiated by the renowned IP shaman in Sabah, East Malaysia, I was enchanted by the ritual prayer to bless the white strings, offered by a Karen elder (Dr. Sunthorn Wongjomporn) at the end of the cultural mass celebrated in Thai, Karen, Lahu and English, in the Chapel of the Holy Spirit, Seven Fountains. The prayer called for the return of the spirits. I was moved to tears when Dr. Suthorn tied the white string on the wrist of my right hand. As at Pentecost, the spirits of God's Spirit came home and dwell amongst us.

The IP youth delivered a 10-point message, calling for an end to all forms of violence against the IPs and seeking empowerment and accompaniment by JCIM. We at JCIM have to discern how we can rise and respond to their youthful aspirations. I came away from the meeting hopeful, the flame in my heart aglow, brighter than when I arrived. May God be praised!

Strengthening the Social Apostolate

31 Aug 2010 GMT

Latin America: From 2 to 8 August, the annual meeting of the Social Apostolate of Latin America and the Caribbean took place in San Leopoldo, Brazil. Forty-five participants from fifteen countries discussed the status of traditionally excluded groups such as indigenous people and those of African descent, the phenomenon of migration in view of the upcoming World Social Forum on Migration in Quito, Ecuador, and the network of Jesuit Social Centres, which has now taken on a more concrete shape. Hogar de Cristo in Guayaquil, Ecuador, will host a technical secretariat for the network. The quarterly Analysis of the political situation in Latin America has also been published to coincide with the meeting.

Asia Pacific: The meeting of the Social Apostolate in Asia Pacific (formerly called East Asia and Oceania) took place from 14-20 August. The first half of the meeting comprised a reflection on a mapping of the Social Apostolate completed at the request of the President of the Conference, Fr Mark Raper SJ. This mapping provided a fascinating picture of who is doing what and was the basis for a number of recommendations that the participants discussed. The second part of the meeting dealt with one of the two priorities that the Conference of Provincials had identified: Migration. The topic of next year's meeting will be the other priority: Ecology. The Conference has asked the Social Apostolate to facilitate and prepare a plan of action on Migration in Asia Pacific. The main characteristics of the plan were agreed on during the meeting, while a working group has been put in charge of taking the tasks forward and reporting back to the Provincials at their next meeting. Among the participants at the meeting were all Social Apostolate coordinators of the Conference, representatives of Jesuit social centres and Jesuit Refugee Service, and Fernando Franco SJ from the Social Justice and Ecology Secretariat.

Africa: Seven Directors of Social Centres on the African Assistancy (JESAM) have met in Nairobi to plan for a network that will promote closer collaboration and cooperation amongst existing Social Centres in Africa. The meeting, held from 16 to 19 August, has resulted in an action plan for the next three years which will guide the work of the network. Amongst the activities envisaged by the new Jesuit Africa Social Centre (JASC) network are Capacity building, Training in Jesuit leadership and Common Research. Amongst those attending were the Directors of CEFOD (West Africa), CEPAS (Central Africa), CERAP (West Africa), JCTR (Zambia-Malawi), Arrupe Centre (Madagascar) and Silveira House (Zimbabwe). Fr Fratern Masawe, the President of JESAM, has sat through all the meetings, giving the necessary guidance and support. Other participants included Social Apostolate Coordinators from the North West Africa Province, South African Region, Mozambique Region and Rwanda-Burundi Province. They were invited by Fr Ghislain Tshikendwa SJ, the Social Apostolate Coordinator for the Assistancy.

South Asia: The 20 Province/Region Coordinators of Social Action (CSA) and the Directors of Indian Social Institutes and the Central Zone Coordination Centre, Bagaicha, came together along with the JESA Secretary for their annual Meeting from 20-23 August in Mumbai. During this annual meeting of CSAs and Directors, the members shared their experience of major works of the social apostolate in each of their Provinces/Regions after GC 35 and what they perceive as hopes, opportunities and concerns in their involvement. They also reflected on the emerging need for a 'Global Ignatian Advocacy Network' (GIAN).

Europe: The Jesuit European Social Week took place in Brussels from 24 to 28 August. For three days, representatives of the social apostolate - province delegates, social centre staff and people involved in specific works such as JRS or the Worker's Mission - listened to experiences from the ground as well as to inputs from experts on insertion communities, schools for disadvantaged pupils, social research and Ignatian advocacy. Some of the emerging focus areas of the social apostolate in Europe are: the relationship between the intellectual apostolate and social commitment, the creation of a network of European social centres, insertion communities for Jesuits in formation, and relations between the European and African social apostolate.

Social Apostolate: We welcome the new provincial coordinators of the Social Apostolate: Vincent Crasta SJ (Karnataka, India), Jeyaseelan Arockiam SJ (Andhra Pradesh, India), Andreas Gösele SJ (Central and Eastern European Assistancy), Luis Felipe Gómez SJ (Colombia), Rodrigo Aguayo SJ (Chile), Wilfredo González SJ (Venezuela), Oscar Martin SJ (Paraguay), Fernando Ponce SJ (Ecuador), Marcos Augusto Brito Mendes SJ (Northeastern Brasil), Guillermo Cardona SJ (Brasil/Amazonia) and Ramón Rivas SJ (Cuba). Our sincere thanks to their predecessors.

Narratives: Vilaiwan Phokthavi , Prison Ministry � Jesuit Foundation Thailand

30 Aug 2010 GMT

I remember my first visit to the Klong Prem Prison Hospital with Father Olivier in April 2009 (two months before I started full time Prison Ministry that June). We approached each prisoner patient and gave him a few things such as toiletry articles and cookies. I thought we were going too fast and wondered how we could do better.

Then I saw a very sick man who looked awful, his stomach so ugly, like a big balloon that might explode any minute. I turned away immediately. I walked away fast, pretended that I hadn't seen him , and tried to avoid his bed in this large ward by going to another bed that did not look so bad.

While I was at the other bed, I saw Father Olivier make a special stop near that very ill patient. He touched him in a very kindly way, then he called me to join him. Uhmm... I really hesitated to go there, but I had to. When I reached that bed, Father Olivier took my hand firmly; he wanted me to be there with them. As I started to look attentively at the man, I began slowly to see him with the eyes of my heart. I saw tears drop from his eyes. That moment, I understood how valuable these few minutes were for me: Father Olivier, the sick prisoner and me, we were one in God's love - HE was there too!

Fr. Olivier walked to another bed but I stayed with this man a little longer. I touched him and I knew I loved him. In silence I asked his pardon for my fear. Now he didn't look ugly at all; instead I saw there a great man. Fr. Olivier has now left this mission and I will carry on.

This experience happened to me at the very beginning of my commitment to work for Prison Ministry. It is a great calling... "Be not afraid, I'm with you",... "COME FOLLOW ME"... The experience confirmed to me that I will, and can do this work with full confidence.

NOTE : Klong Prem Prison Hospital is a big prison hospital in Bangkok. We visit it twice every month. We walk from bed to bed to visit the patients on four floors, each floor with about four to five rooms, all together about 80-150 patients.

Ms.Vilaiwan Phokthavi (2009 - present)

Fr.Olivier Morin SJ (1991 - 2009)

Prison Ministry - Jesuit Foundation Thailand

Xavier Hall, 43 Phaholyothin Road,

Bangkok 10400, THAILAND

Narratives: J. Stanny SJ, SHAKTI-LAHRC, Gujarat, India

30 Jun 2010 GMT

"As he saw the crowds, his heart was filled with pity for them, because they were worried and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd." (Mt. 9:36)

When I started my legal ministry among the Adivasis/Tribals/Indigenous Peoples in Gujarat, India, as part of the SHAKTI-LAHRC Jesuit human rights centre, I had a feeling somewhat similar to that of our Master when he said "They were like sheep without a shepherd". In India the Adivasi population is 8%, in Gujarat 15% and in the area where I am working it is as high as 65 to 98%. The Adivasis have faced, and continue to face various challenges. Among these are a crisis over Adivasi identity, erosion of their culture, unity and dignity, loss of control over their natural resources, and violations of their Human Rights. One of the main causes is a lack of value-based Adivasi "shepherdship", which could lead these people to green pastures! At this juncture, the hope was that "one day, their own people could lead themselves". With this hope, we started using our legal ministry to foster Adivasi leadership. Today there are some signs that our effort is bearing fruits.

42 years ago, a major dam called the Ukai dam was built, displacing over 150 Adivasi villages without proper compensation and rehabilitation. That dam was supposed to have had two main canals: The Left canal going beyond Surat city, and the Right canal irrigating 59 Adivasi villages. The Left canal is functioning, but not the Right one. The people believed that their leaders would see to it that it would, but nothing happened. Three years ago, some awakening was brought about among the people and a few Adivasi leaders took the initiative. They blocked the roads and forced the Government to give them a promise. That promise has not been kept. So they have taken the Government to the High Court of Gujarat to fulfil its promise.

In a remote town called Songadh, 250 Adivasi men and women have been selling vegetables for many years. Now they are being pushed out by outsiders and harassed by different elements. They (the sons and daughters of the soil) have no place to sell their goods, reminding us of Jesus' saying, "The Son of man has no place to lay his head". The women took the initiative, went to different authorities but all in vain. Now they have taken the Municipal authorities to the High Court to redress their rights.

Several such struggles are on by the people to gain their dignity and restore their unity and identity. Their ongoing struggle for getting their rights over forestlands is a good example of the rising level of awareness and growing Adivasi leadership.

The celebration of Indigenous Peoples Day, the yearly Adivasi Cultural Festival at Songadh and the recently concluded Mass Weddings in which 29 couples of different Adivasi groups participated, ignoring their various sub groups, religious, political, geographical differences are all indications of the gradual transformation that is taking place.

The Mass Weddings were a particular occasion for rejoicing, since in India (and maybe everywhere in the world), people spend a lot money on weddings. This does not bother the well-to-do, but what about the poor who cannot afford it? Deep down everyone would like his or her marriage to be celebrated in grand style, as indeed every parent would like perform their children's weddings in grand style. But poverty is a very real issue and leads quite a few to elope and start living together. This causes problems for the community. Even of those who are married very few obtain legal registration of the marriage, and the couples and their children are then deprived of Government welfare schemes.

The Mass wedding was planned keeping these things in mind. It served as a platform for many to have their weddings in style with no expense and allowed them to receive gifts from others. Their marriages also get legally registered and they are then eligible for benefits from government schemes.

All these initiatives are helping to bring together all the Adivasis as one Community on one platform and to shout with confidence, joy and pride the slogan, "Jai Adivasi, Jago Adivasi" (Victory to the Adivasis, Awaken O Adivasis!).

J. Stanny SJ (Jebamalai Stanislaus)

SHAKTI-LAHRC (Legal Aid and Human Rights Centre)

Songadh, Gujarat, India

Read a news item about the mass wedding and see pictures here.

The new director of the Secretariat has been announced

30 Jun 2010 GMT

Dear Friends,

Today, you are receiving a special issue of Headlines with some very good news from the Social Justice and Ecology Secretariat: the new director of the Secretariat has been announced! Here is the official notification of Father Fernando Franco's successor:

"Nominations: Father Francisco Javier Álvarez de los Mozos, Loyola Province, as Secretary of the Social Justice and Ecology Secretariat, replacing Father Fernando Fernández Franco; the appointment takes effect at the end of this year. Father Álvarez was born in 1967, joined the Society of Jesus in 1991 and was ordained a priest in 2000. Presently he is coordinator of the Formation program in his Province and co-director of ALBOAN, the Jesuit non-governmental organization working for cooperation with developing countries and promoting solidarity among peoples."

Patxi Álvarez, as he is known, introduces himself to you all in his own words in the text below.

Secondly, it is with great pain that we communicate to you the demise of Father Paul Locatelli SJ after a brief struggle with cancer. He has been a close collaborator of SJES as member of the Task Force on Globalization (2005), of the Support Group of SJES (2009/10) at Curia level and as co-convener of the Task Force on Ecology (2010).

We are also taking this opportunity to inform you about the new issue of Promotio Iustitiae, the Task Force on Ecology and a book promotion.

Very warm greetings from Rome,

The editorial team.

Patxi Álvarez SJ: Presentation of the new Secretary

30 Jun 2010 GMT

In 1999, after spending my regency in Cambodia, where I accompanied and assisted refugees who were disabled or elderly, I returned to the Province of Loyola, to which I belong. Those years in Cambodia were a time of grace: there was interior distress at seeing so much suffering, but there was also great consolation in witnessing the people's undying hope and their enthusiasm for life. All of us there - lay people, Jesuits, other religious - worked and lived together. We were an international team, and that was our home, a space where we could support one another and where every day we learned more about serving with generosity.

I returned to Spain with a captive heart that was full of beloved faces. Those two years left in me deep traces, which aroused a strong desire to offer myself in the service of the last and the least. I took up theological studies again and earned a licentiate in systematic theology. The final study I did was on "communities of solidarity," a concept which had appeared in General Congregation 34 and which I sensed possessed many possibilities. That work gave me the opportunity to understand better that the love of God can show itself today in a very special beautiful and complete way, in the practice of justice and solidarity.

These last few years the social sector of our province has seen significant development. The Jesuits working in the sector are few, but the provincials have given solid support, and the generous commitment of our lay collaborators has been invaluable. Today, in the province, we have several communities which take in immigrants and there are two institutions that minister to their needs. This work has been very consoling and has allowed us to become more aware that the service of faith and the promotion of justice demand one another and enrich one another mutually.

For five years I worked as coordinator of apostolic planning for the province. During that time I was able to make use of some of what I learned in the engineering studies I pursued before entering the Society. In our province there has been considerable growth in cooperation among the apostolic sectors and in collaboration between lay colleagues and Jesuits. This has led to a strengthening of that "apostolic we" which is at the service of our mission.

In the next few months I am hoping to conclude a research project on the associations of Latin American immigrants in Spain, after which I will join the Secretariat.

I ask the Lord that this new assignment, which I take on with hope but not without fear, be for his greater glory and for the greater life of his little ones. And I ask all of you for your prayers and your support. Many thanks in advance.

Patxi Álvarez SJ

Father Álvarez has published several articles in Promotio Iustitiae, the latest one in July 2009 (PJ 101).

Narratives: Danny Daly, London, United Kingdom

30 May 2010 GMT

London Jesuit Volunteers is a recent initiative of the Mount Street Jesuit Centre in London. Members commit to volunteering for 2-8 hours per week, working alongside people in prisons, hospitals, and homeless shelters; also with communities of people with learning disabilities, and with outreach agencies for refugees, asylum seekers and other marginalised people. Members also commit to monthly peer group meetings, reflecting upon and sharing with other volunteers their various experiences. This reflection is very much rooted in the Ignatian value of seeking God in all things.

When I returned to the Catholic Church in late 2006, having been "resting" for a number of years, I was determined to be not only more active in learning about my Faith, but also to follow James's call that "Faith without good works is dead" (James 2 14-18). I became a Trustee for the homeless charity Emmaus South Lambeth, in order to utilise my financial and management skills, but I was very aware that I wanted to become more involved in a practical hands-on role as well.

During 2008 I had discovered the Mount Street Jesuit Centre, which offered numerous courses and workshops to help me understand and deepen my Faith. It was through the Centre that I became aware, in September 2008, that there was going to be a meeting for those interested in becoming part of the London Jesuit Volunteer (LJV) community. To be able to volunteer and help the marginalised within society, and to have the support of a monthly Ignatian spiritual reflection within a peer group, was just the combination that I was looking for. Before beginning my volunteer placement at Urban Table, I met with Martin at Dorothy Day House in Hackney. Martin and myself are of a similar age, and over a couple of cups of coffee, we had a wide-ranging chat about the Church, politics, and football.

Urban Table is based at the Round Chapel in Hackney. On Sunday afternoons soup and sandwiches are prepared by the volunteers and fruit, cake and hot drinks are also provided to the guests. Many of the guests are from the accession EU countries (e.g. Poland, Lithuania), but there are also a number who are local to Hackney. Some sleep rough, others live in squats. Others still are simply isolated and struggling to cope.

At the end of the afternoon, the volunteers meet up to discuss how the day went, normally followed by a period of readings, reflection and prayer. There is an iconic Catholic Worker image which is set up in front of us, with two small candles, namely "Christ of the Breadlines" by Fritz Eichenberg. It depicts down-and-out men and women in line, huddling in their ill-fitting clothes for warmth. In the centre, in silhouette, stands Christ, radiating light and warmth in the darkness. It is such a stark and powerful image and never fails to resonate with me personally. It expresses visually Christ's words "I was hungry...I was thirsty....I was homeless....I was naked.....I was a stranger....I was a prisoner".

Occasionally, at the end of the check-in, a volunteer will apologise for spending too much time at the tables with the guests, and not helping out so much in the kitchen. This is a needless apology, as sharing a meal, sitting and chatting with the guests is at the heart of what the Catholic Worker offers.

LJV and Urban Table have enriched my life so much, and I see my involvement to date as just the setting out stage. I am looking forward to continuing the journey over the years ahead.

This is an edited version of an article published in January 2010 in Thinking Faith, the online journal of the British Jesuits: http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/20100129_1.htm

Narratives: Philip Amaral, Policy & Advocacy Officer, JRS-Europe, Brussels

30 Apr 2010 GMT

Most of my workdays are spent in front of a computer. This is not a complaint; merely a mere statement of fact. As a policy and advocacy officer for JRS-Europe, my tasks are more research- and policy-intensive than people-intensive. Of course, part of my job is to meet policymakers. But if I were to spend all my time doing that, then I wouldn't be able to fulfill my other tasks - and for that I must sit in front of a computer.

I am a social worker by training. Prior to JRS I treated persons with severe and chronic mental health illnesses. While I had that job I used to ask myself, "Wouldn't it be nice to have a quiet office job?" Now that I have a (relatively) quiet office job I ask myself, "Why am I sitting in a computer chair all day?"

This has led me to reflect on two important points. Firstly, everyone has a role - or roles - to play in life. Secondly, if you look for it, every role has a meaning. Two experiences put this in perspective.

Last year JRS-Europe organized an event in the European Parliament. We invited three refugees to come and mingle with MEPs. Two of these refugees - two women, in fact - volunteered to offer a five-minute testimony of their experiences as refugees in Europe. One of the women was detained for 12 months before being granted protection, and the other was left destitute for several months before she got her life going. Both spoke with a level of clarity, passion, dignity and courage that captured the attention of all who were present. They were better advocates for themselves than any NGO worker like myself could have been. My role was to put these two women in the same room as the MEPs; they did the rest.

I am currently writing a report about asylum seekers and irregular migrants in detention. It is based on 685 one-on-one interviews with detainees collected from 21 EU countries. I coordinate the project, analyze the data and write the report without having interviewed one single person. I only see their words on my computer screen. But these words speak volumes. Each "case" has a name and a story and a lifetime of heartache. My role is to put the words of these detained persons onto paper and to ensure that people who make detention policy read them; they do the rest.

Econews: Establishment of a Jesuit Mission and Ecology Task Force

30 Apr 2010 GMT

The Social Justice and Ecology Secretariat has been authorised by Father General to establish a task force to help implement Decree 3 of General Congregation 35 which encourages all Jesuits, "to appreciate more deeply our covenant with creation" (D 3, 36). The task force will take into account how the environment "touches the core of our faith in and love for God" (D 3, 32) and follow the lead of Pope Benedict XVI who devoted chapter 4 of Caritas in Veritate to this theme. The pope stressed the importance of protecting and respecting the environment in his 1st of January 2010 Peace message entitled "If you want to cultivate peace protect creation."

This is an appropriate time to have an "aggiornamento" with our Jesuit tradition. Ten years ago saw the publication of "We live in a broken world: reflections on ecology" (1999), prepared by our Secretariat in response to Decree 20 of General Congregation 34. The Secretariat is attentive to reading the "signs of the times," noting the urgency of several environmental issues, including climate change as well as the lack of good governance in dealing with the exploitation of natural and mineral resources. This calls for a response from the Society, and it needs to discern its specific contribution.

The Task Force will consist of a 5 Jesuits and one lay person: José Alejandro Aguilar SJ (Colombia), Leonard Chiti SJ (Zambia), José Ignacio García SJ (Spain), Pedro Walpole SJ (Philippines), Joseph Xavier SJ (India) and Nancy C. Tuchman (USA). The co-conveners of the Task Force are Fernando Franco SJ (Secretary for Social Justice and Ecology) and Paul Locatelli SJ (Secretary for Education).

Together, they will be entrusted with the task of quickly preparing a report with practical recommendations. There will be two levels within the report: proposed concrete ways to make the concern for ecology a "dimension" of all our ministries, and suggested concrete project/s (action plans) with an inter-disciplinary dimension. The stress will be on global and international aspects and issues and methodologies where the Society can use its distinctive strengths. Father General has encouraged the Secretariat to pursue this direction.

Narratives: José Miguel Jaramillo SJ (province of Ecuador), Chile

30 Mar 2010 GMT

My arrival in Chile, on the way to theology studies, could not have been more "earth-shaking" than it was. Two hours after I arrived, there passed from this world Renato Poblete SJ, who bore witness of the social apostolate to this province as it was meeting to reflect on the apostolic frontiers to which we are all called. Soon after that came the earthquake, so strong that that it caused damage even as far as Santiago, so that we had to suspend the province retreat on the sixth day, during the Third Week of the Exercises. Then, torn between the uncertainty of someone disoriented because his destination was not the way he expected it to be and the impotence of wanting to help out but not knowing what to do or where to go, I spent several days working at home, getting the computers ready for the start of the academic year. Finally good news arrived: the Bishop of Rancagua was requesting help for the pastor in Pumanque, a town much closer to the quake. Rodrigo Poblete SJ, the superior of my community, decided that I should go, along with Beto Michelena SJ, to help the priest out. He had no assistants, his church was in ruins, his car was crushed, and his vast community was desperately in need of basic assistance and consolation.

We set off on our journey in a rented vehicle on the afternoon of Wednesday, 10th March. As we drove I was impressed by the orderly way in which traffic was being directed, so that we were able to move along quite normally despite the nocturnal darkness and the incipient efforts at rebuilding. Arriving late that night, all we could see were the ruins in the street and the fallen church. The next morning, however, the scene was desolate. You could count the old houses in the town that were still in good shape on the fingers of one hand. When we went out into the surrounding regions - Nilahue Cornejo, Nilahue Barahona, Nilahue Santa Teresa, Camarico, Colhue - we found that there the destruction was much greater: some 60% of the houses were destroyed, 30% were uninhabitable, and the remaining 10% were to be shaken again by the earthquake at noon on Thursday the 11^th, just as the new president was being sworn in. This would necessitate still another re-calculation of damages.

In speaking with the people, we saw that their distress at having lost their houses was mixed with the joy of having survived without greater loss, though they shuddered with each new tremor. Given such a terrible reality, our hands felt more empty and useless than ever, but still they opened up to embrace and soothe that magnificent display of human fragility. Our words conveyed little, but our ears were expanded by the simplicity of the stories and the confessions of faith we heard. Our very presence, which at first seemed so impotent, ended up being enriched by that tragic reality, which revealed - as if God had before been hidden away - the divine power present in the profound humanity of so many simple folk. As food and clothing were being distributed, we heard people insisting, "I already got some, and there are others who need it more than I" or "I'll just take this. Why take more? Other people are in need." During those days Pumanque overflowed with a sense of shared solidarity and warm humility.

This grace of having shared these moments of crisis with the people of Pumanque has been for me a powerful ecclesial experience. It was a great blessing to accompany Fr. Manuel and to share in the work of the Church groups and so many people of good will who came to the aid of this remote town. Evident everywhere was a strong faith energizing people to rebuild their houses and give new dignity to their lives.

I give thanks to God for manifesting himself so clearly in the midst of this fragility, and I am reminded of the words of Fr. Arrupe: "Perhaps the Lord has never been so close to us as when we have felt most insecure." In this way, our experience of the Third Week of the Spiritual Exercises takes on a new reality as we accompany these many suffering people and help them to live the Paschal mystery and to build up a new Chile. May their faith give birth to a more just, coherent, and inclusive Chile, such as the one Fr. Hurtado longed for.

José Miguel Jaramillo SJ (ECU)

Narrative: John Dayal, All India Christian Council

17 Mar 2010 GMT

Kandhamal is deadly beautiful. A tropical forest, but with close mountains and deep valleys, and a climate that can get alpine in winter, without the snow. The topography of this plateau in the middle of the Indian province of Orissa may have saved the lives of tens of thousands of Christians who fled to the forests as mobs with murder, arson and rape on their minds, attacked 300 villages on 25 August 2008. At the peak of the violence, 54,000 men, women and children were hiding in these forests of tall Sal trees, where bear and big cats still abound, and wild elephants can be heard in the dark of the night. Among those 54,000 were the families of perhaps three dozen Catholic priests and twice as many nuns, and two dozen priests themselves, hiding and waiting for the moment the police would come to restore order. For some of them, it came too late. A hundred people may have died there, among them three protestant Pastors and a Catholic priest, Fr Bernard Digal, who was grievously wounded and succumbed to his injuries some time later. A nun, Sister M, as I will call her, was among at least three women raped.

The brutal tragedy however also shed light on how close are the bonds that the local priests have with their flocks. Unlike in many other parts of India where the parish priest may have come from as far as three thousand kilometres, be of a different ethnicity and with a different mother tongue, priests and nuns in Kandhamal are of the soil. The villages that were torched were where they were born, the churches destroyed were the priests too had been baptised, and where they celebrated their First Mass.

There is therefore something remarkable about the Priests and Nuns of Kandhamal, be they Dalits (the so-called 'untouchables') or Tribals (the indigenous peoples of India). Some of them, such as Fathers Vijay Naik and Vijay Pradhan, the first a Dalit and the second a Tribal, have doctorates from Roman universities. Many others chose to study social work, and were active at the grassroots. They helped galvanize a people who for centuries had suffered from a situation close to serfdom in which food was rare and education unknown, where women were vulnerable and children could barely hope to grow to adulthood. No wonder the work of the priests and nuns had angered vested interests, the local equivalent of big business, and the power brokers. When the violence broke out, the families of the priests were particular targets. The brother of Fr Mrityunjay, the secretary of the Archbishop of the region, was forcibly converted to Hinduism by a murderous gang shaving off the hair on his head and forcing cow dung and urine down his throat. The youth suffered in silence, but was back in the church in the refugee tent as soon as it was humanly possible.

As elsewhere in the world, the clergy and women religious in India too face occasional charges of financial wrongdoings, but those in Kandhamal can easily be said to be crystal clean. The family of father Bernard Digal, who was Treasurer of the Archdiocese and became its first martyr in the violence, lived in a mud and thatch hut when I visited them some years ago. After the violence, they were among thousands living in a government refigure camp. They still have to return to their village.

I salute the Priests and Nuns of Kandhamal.

John Dayal

Secretary General, All India Christian Council

Secunderabad

Andhra Pradesh, India

Narratives: Mario Serrano SJ, coordinator of Jesuit activities for Haiti in the Dominican Republic

18 Feb 2010 GMT

I have many stories to share with you, but I choose just the following one.

We left Santo Domingo for Haiti, and on the way we decided that the truckloads of donations, which were originally going to be deposited in an industrial warehouse in Barahona, should accompany us directly. When we reached Jimani, a town on the border with Haiti, we set up a team of personnel from Centro Bonó and Centro Poveda. We then crossed the border with two large truckloads of aid, having made sure we were accompanied by military security. It was almost night when we reached the Jesuit novitiate in Port-au-Prince, but we did not unload the trucks for fear of the people's reaction, since we no longer had military security. However, we managed to get two police officers to keep watch during the night.

Early the next morning we unloaded the trucks, and then we held a meeting to get organized. While we were at the meeting, a large number of people began to bang at the gate asking that the food be distributed. We stopped the meeting, expecting the worst, and called the police. The police arrived but the people still did not disperse. The commander asked us to give them some water, which we did. When the people finally left, we promised them that they would be receiving more of the aid we had brought with us. The people agreed to that, and I also promised them that I would go talk with them later.

That afternoon I met with them. Our novitiate is at the entrance of a very poor neighbourhood, one that has many people affected by the earthquake. That afternoon we had an excellent assembly of the residents there. They understood that we needed some time to organize the distribution properly, and we for our part recognized that they should be included among the beneficiaries of our aid. I shared with them our fears about the lack of security, and they told us that in that zone they themselves would guarantee security. They organized themselves to receive the aid, and they promised to help us unload the trucks.

It is hard to describe the joy I felt in this whole process, a joy flowing from a new understanding of the situation, from very concrete personal relationships, and from a new way of managing aid. It is important to integrate the people as much as possible in the process itself.

From among the crowd that gathered at our gate, I remember especially the voice and the face of Soucet, a very brave woman who was angrily and forcefully demanding food. I recall the fear on the faces of so many people. But now I see friendly faces, the smiles of people with whom we are sharing what we have and with whom we are working together for the same cause. Now we have stronger security and protection than anything the military forces could have provided. We have the companionship of the people whom we want to accompany and help.