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. . .
In the light of our option in favour of the environment and with full awareness of the new opportunities offered by the digital world, the Social Justice Secretariat has decided that its journal, Promotio Iustitiae, will be published only in an electronic format, starting with the next issue. Thus, the most recent issue, number 101 (2009/1), is the last one you will receive printed on paper.
TAHEN, Cambodia (UCAN) — The Church here is the driving force behind an irrigation project aimed at giving villagers access to water all year round, improving agricultural productivity and giving better access to drinking water.
The project, called "A Drop of Hope," is being coordinated by Pablo Figaredo, a Spaniard and the nephew of Jesuit Monsignor Enrique Figaredo, the apostolic prefect of Battambang. Read more. . .
Fr Adrianus Suyadi, Country Director, Jesuit Refugee Service (JRS) Indonesia, writes on the IDP’s and refugees in Indonesia and the government’s policy and behavior towards them.
Walking around Dili city, one can no longer see the IDP camps. But for those who lost their homes during the crises of 2006 and 2007, their wait for “safe return and reintegration” is far from over.
Though reintegration of the IDPs into their communities started since 2008, there are still around three thousand people living in transitional houses. They are not able to return to their original homes for several reasons: concerns regarding their security, ongoing land disputes over ownership, illegal occupation of their houses, and some don’t have any place to stay.
During the time I was working with displaced persons in Japan we would come up against a number of unforeseen legal obstacles and long trials. Our success, such as it was, in drawing the attention of the National Diet and the mass media seemed inadequate. Supporters would get tired of confronting immigration violations “case by case” and would drop out. Why did I continue with this work despite my tiredness and frustration? Despondent, I prayed often to God, and miracles happened. One such miracle was obtaining refugee status for five Vietnamese brothers.
All Jesuits and partners in mission are welcome to utilize this new site, www.jesuitsocialapostolate.org, which seeks to profile the breadth and range of Jesuit social action, analysis and advocacy across the world. Using data from the Universal Catalogue of the Social Apostolate (2008) as a primary source, the website arranges centres by their thematic focus. You may select from among 35 languages and then navigate the data by interactive mapping, keyword search or alphabetical/thematic listing.
Fr Xavier Alpasa(PHI), social entrepreneur; pastor; director, Loyola College Culion; founder, Rags2Riches, a business bridging the marginalized and fashion worlds was chosen as one of the TED Global Fellows for 2009.
May 2nd marked the anniversary of the Cyclone Nargis which devastated the Delta in Myanmar, leaving around 150,000 dead and 2.4 million affected.