Canadian Jesuits International

  • Who we are
    • Vision, mission and values
    • CJI history
    • The Society of Jesus (Jesuits)
    • Provincial’s message
    • CJI board
    • CJI staff
    • Job opportunities
    • Tributes
  • International Programs
    • Education and Health
    • Sustainable Agriculture and Livelihood Support
    • Human Rights Defence and Community Organizing
    • Forcibly Displaced People and Humanitarian Action
    • Projects we support
  • Outreach
    • Youth for Others
    • Community engagement
    • Solidarity trips
    • Advocacy
    • Prayer
    • Your voices
  • Ways to give
    • Donate online
    • Donate via phone or mail
    • Monthly donations
    • Planned giving
    • Finances
    • CJI’s Privacy policy
  • Resources
    • Publications
      • Newsletters
      • Appeals
      • News archive
    • Multimedia
      • Video archive
      • Webinars
    • Our Partners
      • Project Partners
      • Jesuit Organizations
      • Sister Organizations
Donate
  • Home
  • Your voices
  • A resilient place

A resilient place

18 July 2012 / Published in Your voices

A resilient place

Nine people travelled to Zambia for three weeks in 2008 on a Social Justice Educational Study Tour organized by CJI. The tour was designed to help Canadian educators deepen their understanding of international social justice and to enable them to use what they learned with their students and the people they work with. Tim Wild shared his impressions:

Zambia is a resilient place. Sure, at first blush, it is easy to get lost in the facts, the figures and the enormity of injustice. The low ranking of Zambia in the United Nations’ Development Index, the AIDS prevalence rate, the crushing number of orphans, the tragic impact of structural adjustment, and the decline of commodity prices can paint a pretty bleak picture of conditions in the country – and, initially at least, its prospects for the future.

But this problem-based focus fails to portray the social, economic, political and cultural vitality of Zambia. It also does not reflect what Zambians are doing to confront these undoubtedly significant challenges, develop their communities, and create a more just, humane and inclusive society. Fortunately, I was able to witness this more positive side of the equation first hand, when I visited Zambia on a CJI Study Tour.

In large part, this positive side is grounded in the notion of community and reciprocity. As we were reminded by Fr Peter Henriot SJ in Lusaka, Ubuntu, essentially the relationship of the “I” to the “we” in community, is a central principle to many dimensions of Zambian life. There remains a sense that collective action is required to meet the vast and impersonal forces of modern society. And application of this principle was plain to see in the projects and initiatives we had the opportunity to experience.

The increased availability of anti-retroviral drugs has helped in the management of HIV and AIDS. People can remain in their own communities with the necessary supports and services, which together with the provision of micro-credit schemes, are due to the work of home-based care communities. The Kasisi Agricultural Training Centre (KATC) is working with local farmers on expanding the role of organic farming and collective marketing; as a result there is higher yield, less impact on the environment, more independence from external factors and forces, and greater savings to the producer. These projects – as with many of the other initiatives we visited – reflect the undeniable benefits of community working together, and the role that international partners can play in supporting this work.

At root, the tour provided an opportunity to see effective examples of Catholic social teaching in action. For me, it was a movingly spiritual journey, and helped in my realization of the wider, global and theological dimensions of Ubuntu.

Author

  • Tim Wild

    View all posts

Tagged under: AIDS, Catholic social teaching, home-based care, KATC, ubuntu, zambia

2021 Easter Appeal

Two young students walk outside one of the classrooms at Moran Memorial School in Nepal. Photo: D. Lee/Eyrie Foundation

Bridging Borders

Subscribe to our newsletter!

Ways to give

  • Donate online
  • One-time donations
  • Monthly donations
  • Planned giving

@canadianjesuitsinternational

Follow us!
  • Who we are
  • International Programs
  • Outreach
  • Ways to give
  • Resources
Donate Now!

Follow us

Subscribe to our newsletter!


 Our Privacy Policy

Contact

Canadian Jesuits International

70 Saint Mary St
Toronto, ON
M5S 1J3
Canada

Tel: 416.465.1824
Toll Free (Canada and USA): 1.800.448.2148

Email: cji@jesuits.ca

© Canadian Jesuits International 2021

TOP
Resize font
Contrast
Accessibility by WAH