The path to hope
Jesuit Refugee Service staff deliver humanitarian assistance to Wayúu Indigenous people in Zulia state, Venezuela. Photo: JRS Venezuela
An overview of CJI’s international programs
Hope is built on solidarity. The work of CJI and our Jesuit partners in the Global South is a testament to how solidarity can contribute to a just world. In its international work, CJI prioritizes Jesuit partners who are guided and inspired by the four Universal Apostolic Preferences (UAPs) of the Society of Jesus: showing the way to God through the Spiritual Exercises and discernment; walking with the poor and excluded; journeying with youth; and caring for our common home.
The defence of human rights is essential to build a just world. CJI supports ERIC-Radio Progreso in Honduras, CEDIAC in Mexico, HLDRC in Darjeeling and Lok Manch in India as they defend marginalized communities, including Indigenous people, women, and children whose rights are violated by powerful sectors of society, multinational corporations, and their own governments.
Building a just future also involves building just economic and social alternatives. Partners such as COMPARTE in Latin America, or Kasisi Agricultural Training Centre in Zambia, set the building blocks of alternative economic productive activities that provide a just livelihood while respecting the earth, our common home.
Quality education for all is a priority for our partners in Darjeeling, Jamaica and for Fe y Alegría in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and the Pan-Amazon region.
Forced migration is the challenge of our times and we support Jesuit Refugee Service in South Sudan, Colombia, Mexico, and Syria, and the Jesuit Migration Network in Latin America to respond to the needs of people forcibly displaced by war, sociopolitical violence, and climate change.
We also support our international partners by responding to their request for advocacy. We have participated in the Ecojesuit’s online delegation to COP26 and represent the Jesuit Conference of Canada and the US on Justice in Mining, a Global Ignatian Advocacy Network.
As members of the Xavier Network, we have increased our impact by supporting international projects jointly, developing and implementing safeguarding policies in all our work and by responding effectively to emergencies such as the COVID-19 pandemic, the Beirut explosion, the Haiti earthquake, and the war in Ukraine. CJI is the lead agency among various Jesuit institution partners for the 2021 Haiti earthquake recovery project.
As we look towards the future, we take inspiration from our partners in Africa, Asia and Latin America and affirm a greater commitment to justice and peace, and a bolder response to the cry of the earth and its people.
