MAY 2014
HIGHLIGHTS
Lay people,
shared mission
Easter in Suesa
Workshop for
Initial Forma-
tion
Sports in our
Schools
International
Mary Ward
Network
CONECTA Nº 10
Mary Burkart, ibvm, writes about migrant’s reality (most of them from the
Sub-Saharan Africa) in Morocco, after the photograph Exposition held in our
Mission in Asilah (Morocco).
“To be honest one of the things that really kills me here, is the plight of
the migrants and refugees.
There is nothing we can do that makes a real difference. I guess I like to
feel I am working towards something. In this situation, for these people,
there is little, if any chance of progression. It is about staying alive,
day by day - and doing anything to live, or feel good. For those living
hand to mouth, the luxury of relationships is long gone. They do not see us,
LOOKING AT EMIGRATION IN ASILAH
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they see only people who have more than them.
For the majority all they can do is beg. They are a
mixture of "operators" and people at the end of
their tether. If I help someone, I feel bad,
because I do not know if they have been lying to
me. If I can't help someone. I feel bad because
they may be telling the truth and I rejected them.
We don't have a budget, we don't know them, as
they come to Asilah from other places. Often the
same people come back time after time to our
door. Looking for bus fares, food, medicine. So-
metimes, when we ask "where are you going?"
they do not have a destination, or randomly gi-
ve the name of a city. Sometimes they produce
prescriptions and say they have malaria, for ins-
tance but the script is for diabetes. They always
prefer money to food.
Women carry their babies on their backs. Every
street corner in Tangiers has at least two migrants
or refugees begging from cars as they wait for the
lights to change. Mingled with them are Moroc-
cans on crutches, or burned, or simply standing,
with hands out, or kids selling Kleenex.
We are spending taxes on building fortress Euro-
pe. Some of the lucky ones are being fed in
camps. Others are scrounging around in the hills
or dying trying to get here, to no woman/man's
land. So over 30,000 people mill about trying to
stay alive and there really is nothing we can do.
MARY BURKART
STOP DEATHS IN THE BORDER
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On Saturday, 22th March, the first great meeting of lay people linked to religious orders was hold at
Nuestra Señora del Recuedo School (Jesuits). It was a firm bet led by CONFER and mostly organised by
lay people, which was supported by 1.000 participants, religious and lay people. They hail from 84 diffe-
rent congretations. Ana Serrano and David del Cerro (Mary Ward Mission) tell us how the event was.
The meeting proceeded with a very familiar atmosphere, with different people talking and pointing out
what living as a lay person in shared mission means to them. The morning session began with some really
impressive lectures which the audience enjoyed. / ANA SERRANO & DAVID DEL CERRO
LAY PEOPLE, SHARED MISSION
One more year, a small group
of young adults, IBVM
friends, have enjoyed the tra-
ditional ‘Pascua Universita-
ria’. This time, they were six,
and it was a great opportuni-
ty to meet each other, to
stop the day-to-day timing,
to think, talk and pray.
“We had moments of total
solitude, moments to reflect,
and to think of God; but also
days to get along with the
others, to enjoy and to be
filled by God”, explains Beatriz López de Quesada, one of the participants and teacher of Cullera school.
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EASTER IN SUESA (NORTH SPAIN)
WORKSHOP FOR INITIAL FORMATION
Last 27th April, we organized the Formation Workshop led by María Teresa Vorcy, ibvm. A good number of
sisters attended to the Workshop, which goal was to “keep on working on how to de responsable in the
Initial Formation’, an aspect that will be developed in the next sessions.
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Last April, four of our schools held the ’Sports Day’, one of the most special days for teachers, students and
families. As usual, girls and boys were divided into houses –Ávila, Loyola y Javier– and they sportingly com-
peted in order to reach the victory. Besides the main event, several activities were organised, such as
raffles, solidarity market stalls, snacks sale points, face painting, fancy dresses, disco… All these initiatives
were aimed to raise money, which this time will go to scholarship funds or Mary Ward Foundation Projects.
SPORTS IN OUR SCHOOLS
Last February, members of MWI Network gathered
in Toronto during 15 days with the intention of
getting to know each other much better, create
synergy and go further together towards the com-
mon development.
The meeting was backed by the Generate. 28 peo-
ple -16 Ibvm and 12 lay people (representing all
the provinces from Australia, Canada, Spain, Unit-
ed States, India, England, Ireland, Kenia, Mauricio,
Peru and South Africa)– took part on it, apart from
Carmen Diston and Sandra Perret, representing the
Generalate, and Noelle Corscadden, now Province
Leader of Ireland and founder of the International
Mary Ward Network. There were also three partici-
pants from Spain: Elena Cerdeiras, Maria Llinás and
Monte Algarrada.
The main goal was to evaluate, learn and explore
the history and the current tasks of MWI Network
in the different countries all over the world where
it is present, as well as to go further for making up
new ways of collaboration, voluntary works and
fundraising.
MWI started in 2001 and was introduced in differ-
ent ways in every province. In the same way, it has
made different progress due to the realities of
each country.
MWI was born in Mauritius GC 1998. There was an
office in Ireland, led by Noelle Eileen Randles and
Lucy Byrne. Since the 2006 GC, in Peru, all provinc-
es were invited to set up a MWI office, which in
Spain is known as Mary Ward Foundation, since
2009.
Over the meeting we also dealt with the strategic
issues which MWI Network wants to deal with fac-
ing the future.
We began our work by a session given by Jeanne
Cove (Canadian Ibvm), who talked to us about how
to interpret our MWI mission from the point of
view of the Just Person.
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MAKING STRONG THE INTERNATIONAL
MARY WARD NETWORK
In the evening, Noelle went over the history of
MWI and explained how we have achieved the cur-
rent moment.
The gathering had also a special guest, Jenny Ca-
fiso, International Canadian Jesuits’ directress, who
shared her thoughts and learning about develop-
ment.
She emphasized the Church’s evolution from chari-
ty and paternalism to solidarity and Human Rights.
We worked in groups about what criteria we have
to bear in mind in our development working in a
global and local con-
text. .
Then we analyzed the
meaning and the rela-
tionship between
MWI, JPIC and our
NGO in United Na-
tions.
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In these lines, I’d like to highlight
what the multicultural meeting
was, the richness of the shared Mis-
sion and the need of keeping on,
becoming aware that the only pos-
sibility to optimize our ressources is
through networking.
This meeting’s vital aim was know
the reality of MWI Network and
plan together the future, in order to
be most efficient on our daily basis.
I would also emphasize the neces-
sity of living connected. The Mis-
sion of the Institute around the
world is broad and diverse. We ha-
ve to realize and be aware that we
can accelerate or paralyze our task,
only when we collaborate with each other
and establish strategies to be efficient.
Mary Ward’s family consists of thousand of
people all over the world, not only Ibvm.
How can we join our efforts? Matters for im-
plementation: the communication about
what we do, a transparent administration,
encouraging volunteers, and the coordination
between the different provinces with JPIC
and United Nations. / ELENA CERDEIRAS
In February, I visited Cecilia O’ Dywer in New
York. Just that week, we were celebrating our ten
years in United Nations as an Institute.
Our office is in a nearby building to United Na-
tions: a small space that we share with Charity’s
Sisters. There, we do a quiet work, perhaps it is
not much useful, perhaps it is necessary, perhaps
it is essential to talk about us to the world.
I visited United Nations Headquarters, a big build-
ing plenty of rooms, some full, some empty, with
people from different origins, speaking along the
corridors, gathered in different forums. I remem-
ber what I thought by then: “At least, we, human
beings, have determined a physical space where
we sit down and talk about our conflicts and what
we want and wish to do for our world”.
Throughout History, exceptional people have
been turned up and they have known how to lead
and provoke changes for Humanity. It is desirable
this kind of people still keep on emerging.
I reckon now it is time for discussions, time for
denouncing and finishing up with the impunity of
people who use power in an abusive way. It’s
time for us to get together to establish policies
which will support Human Rights and respect en-
vironment. I know that debates and agreements
are not enough; life is what matters.
There are still revolutions, civil wars, environmen-
tal degradation, genocides.. I am well aware of
that. However, they have always been there,
what makes a difference in the XX Century is that
now we can appeal to agreements, we can join
us, we can dream together, and even more, we
can do that in a ‘civilized way’, inside a room,
sitting down and listening to each other.
I know there is a long way to travel, but I keep
thinking that a better world is possible and Hu-
man Nations is part of the human ways to achieve
it.
I think the work we do there it’s important. I im-
agine it is difficult sometimes, because it is com-
plicated to connect the concrete initiatives in
different countries with the work in United Na-
tions; sometimes it is satisfactory, when you see
you are moving forward; sometime it is frus-
trating, because it seems nobody knows what you
are doing. From here, I would like to express my
gratitude to Cecilia and all the people who have
worked and are still working in this field.
ELENA CERDEIRAS
MEETING AT UNITED NATIONS
