A Jesuit Refugee Service project will address issues related to migration, including raising awareness of migration risks and protection, reconciliation between migrants and host communities in Venezuela. Photo: JRS Venezuela
About 2,000 Somali refugee women and girls living in Ethiopia’s Dollo Ado refugee camps will be equipped with basic literacy and numeracy skills under a new project that will be supported by Canadian Jesuits International (CJI) beginning this July.
The new program, to be administered by Jesuit Refugee Service (JRS)-Ethiopia, was one of 12 projects totaling $ 619,120.58, that were approved by the CJI Board of Trustees during a meeting on May 4
Under this program, refugees will have access to a two-year Integrated Functional Adult Literacy (IFAL) education program that will incorporate knowledge and skills in areas such as parenting/childcare, nutrition, family planning, livelihood, HIV-AIDS, the environment, and basic hygiene practices.
Students will be provided with exercise books and school supplies. The program will also offer basic subsistence assistance to IFAL students who are nursing mothers or pregnant, and daycare services for students with young children.
About 120 IFAL graduates will then have access to JRS livelihood projects and provided seed money to start individual or group businesses.
In Latin America, the Board approved a JRS Venezuela project that will address issues related to migration, including raising awareness of migration risks and protection, reconciliation between migrants and host communities, and humanitarian assistance to teachers in the states of Zulia, Táchira and the Capital District.
The project will conduct workshops on informed and safe mobility, training on how to address xenophobia and promote reconciliation in host communities. The delivery of humanitarian kits to teachers aims to reduce teacher absenteeism related to food insecurity.
The Board also approved the Climate Justice Africa Youth Fellowship Program, a new project that will train African and Canadian Catholic youth to become climate justice leaders. The International Movement of Catholic Students (IMCS) Pax Romana Africa will administer the project that will be based in Nairobi, Kenya, and have an initial cohort of 30 young people. Over a six-month period, participants will receive online sessions on climate justice awareness, leadership and advocacy, networking, social entrepreneurship, and more.
The following projects were also approved by the Board:
- Ensuring quality education for Xavier Jesuit School (Xavier Jesuit School, Cambodia)
- Reconstruction of toilets at St. Peter’s High School, Gayaganga (Darjeeling Jesuits, India)
- Financial assistance for education (Darjeeling Jesuits, India)
- Financial assistance for healthcare at Jesu Ashram (Darjeeling Jesuits, India)
- Strengthening safe educational communities through training processes that emphasize reconciliation (JRS Venezuela)
- Creating stability in Upper Nile, South Sudan, (Maban and Renk) through education and humanitarian support for refugees and host target group (JRS South Sudan)
- “It’s not just a meal” program for refugees and migrants (Centro Astalli, Italy)
- Livelihood support and capacity building programs for tea plantation community of North Bengal, India (Human Life Research and Development Centre, India)
- Pan-Amazonian Apostolic Plan (Servicio Jesuita Panamazónico)
