Two Jesuits from OCIPE in Brussels, Frs. José Ignacio Garcia (CAS) and Jacques Haers (BSE), are present at the COP15 Climate Conference in Copenhagen as NGO observers, part of a team of Franciscans International. They keep up a blog, with posts in English and in Spanish, reflecting their personal reflections and experiences. This blog can be visited at http://ignatianeconet.wordpress.com.
Thank you for your concern, prayers and support
for the victims of the flood brought about
by Tropical Storm Ketsana (‘Ondoy’) in the Philippines.
On 04 October, Fr Heribertus Pardjijo Bratasudarma (IDO) wrote, “In Siem Reap the floods started on Wednesday morning, but it came to the church only on Wednesday evening. The Siem Reap River that divides Siem Reap town was overflowing. Over half of Siem Reap town was flooded. Most parts of Old Market were flooded. The 
church was flooded from the water from the river and from the water that kept flowing from the back of the church from villages.
After discussions with Fr Bernard Arputhasamy, JRS Regional Director, and Mr. Aden Raj, Thailand Country Director, Fr Paul Pollock, Superior of Thailand Region, is happy to announce that the JRS country office will now move to Xavier Hall, and incorporate itself with the JRS-Asia Pacific offices. There are sufficient rooms and spaces available on the first and second floors of the office building to allow this increase of personnel.
Twenty nine people, Jesuits and partners, from 17 countries in our region involved in the social apostolate met in Manila, the Philippines, from 17 – 21 August. Participants came from the Philippines, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, East Timor, Micronesia, Australia, Korea, China, Taiwan, Japan, Myanmar, Cambodia and Vietnam (only Laos and Thailand were not represented). Fernando Franco SJ, Director of the Social Justice Secretariat in Rome, was also a participant.
IRIN Films, in association with the UN Environment Programme, is pleased to announce the launch of three more short films as part of our ongoing series on the human cost of climate change.
Focusing on Asia, these high definition videos highlight the threat to Vietnam’s coastal mangrove forests, the dwindling fish stocks of Southeast Asia’s largest freshwater lake, and the innovative introduction of floating schools to flood-prone Bangladesh.
Flooding in Manila is not a surprise and the extent of it should not be surprising either if we pay any attention to what we are hearing about climate change every day. The problem is we don’t know where it will hit exactly and how and when. Though there is much local adaptation, many people still get caught unfortunately in deadly circumstances. We do not adequately know our landscape and susceptibility to flooding and we are not adequately relocating peoples’ lives and livelihoods. People in Manila might be led to believe this is the worst, but we are far from it.
This Summer of 2009, St. Aloysius Gonzaga English Language Institute (SAGELI, also known as SAG in Taunggyi) carried out an Outreach Program in the Diocese of PheKhon in collaboration with some different organizations such as Pyoe Khinn Education Center in PheKhon, and an Italian based NGO known as AVSI.
Jesuit Refugee Service-Asia Pacific will hold its Regional Meeting on 26 – 30 October 2009 in Hua Hin, Thailand. Topics may include Strategic Plans of 2007-2010, Frontiers we are missing or could do regionally, Urban Refugee Issues, Solutions to the Burmese issue (Rohingyas), Priority Advocacy issues in the region, and Human resources and pastoral care of JRS staff. Participants are advised to confirm immediately with Fr Bernard Arputhasamy, JRS-AP Regional Director.
Jesuit Social Services (JESS) says that its program of giving scholarships to Thai girls helps them avoid the fate of many who are driven by poverty into the sex industry. Read more. . .