JPIC_en – Page 4 – Comboni Lay Missionaries

Janett, an active Comboni lay missionary

17 February, 2023 by Alberto de la Portilla

Janett Rocio Escobar Angulo, born in Tumaco Colombia in 1974, like many other people, arrived displaced to the city of Bogotá, only burdened with the hope of finding better opportunities that would give her and her family the security and stability that was taken away from them in their homeland.

The arrival to the city was not the most difficult thing, what really required temperance and resilience, was to learn and unlearn new trades that would allow her to earn enough income to be able to send it to her family in Tumaco; not to mention what she had always heard on television, but had never had to live … “DISCRIMINATION“; being treated in the most offensive, grotesque, demeaning and humiliating way in every daily situation, from taking public transportation to the offensive orders in each of her jobs. But “Defeat is only defeat if you don’t learn something from it”, today she thanks God for each of those moments, because those sad situations have opened the doors to live opportunities of joy and prosperity, besides finding people who helped her to be formed, to be today leading her beloved Afro processes.

The lack of opportunities for the Afro population and the issue of discrimination and violation of rights, made Janet, Carlina, Maria Angelica and Angela Preciado, in 2016, as part of the association Renacer Afrocolombiana, give life to the training program on rights, self-recognition and empowerment for Afro children, youth and adults. On their first opening Saturday, Janett and her three musketeers decided to occupy the Villa Gladys park with their first 10 children and begin the task that no one had wanted to take on; that of teaching the Afro community the voice, the mechanisms and the strength to shout, claim and assert their rights. With the passing of time and being part of the Afro pastoral, they found an ally in the process and the cause, the International Comboni Brothers Formation Center (CIFH), they began to support training in English and French since they had foreign brothers who were in the country, teaching their native language to children and young people who were part of the program.

In this way Janett and the Comboni Missionaries began to know each other and it was not long before they decided to strengthen this bond and become Comboni Lay Missionaries. Her knowledge, her personality and her dedication to the mission made her a valuable member of the lay team.

Currently the program is made up of more than 100 children, youth and adults in the Engativá district; the Comboni Lay Missionaries support the activities that are carried out with a monthly contribution to sustain the program; every Saturday they meet at the Antonio Villavicencio school from 10 am to 3 pm, where they receive training from different professionals; as part of the strategies taken to achieve its objectives, the trainings have been opened to mestizo children; this so that they can socialize the Afro traditions, their culture and their stories, generating empathy to reduce prejudice and discrimination from these early stages of life. This program also includes a snack and lunch.

After working in restaurants and family homes, Janett is now a member of the Afro pastoral, leader of the district and national programs on empowerment and promotion of the rights of Afro-descendant communities.

Janett and the Comboni Lay Comboni Missionaries of Colombia have an active mission process, thanks to the presence and the need to support a project that every day becomes more visible and benefits a more significant population of a sector of Bogota.

Prepared By Alexandra García

Stopping inequality is in your hands

10 February, 2023 by Alberto de la Portilla

With this slogan, Manos Unidas (NGO of the Spanish Church), begins its annual campaign.

Manos Unidas has been known for supporting development projects around the world.

As Comboni Lay Missionaries, we collaborate in the campaign when we are asked to do so and we share our experience of the support received.

This year, Monsignor Jesus Ruiz, Comboni missionary and bishop of our diocese in Central African Republic, participated in a special way.

We leave you the video interview made for the campaign where we can hear the situation in the country.

Dário Bossi, an Italian Comboni missionary who has been working for years in Brazil with our CLM community, told us in the opening press conference of this year’s campaign about the situation in Brazil where our CLM are also present (his intervention from minute 25).

We also leave you the interview that Fr. Dário was given on television on the occasion of the presentation of this campaign.

Comboni Lay Missionaries in the Radio program Women of Religious Diversity and the Feminist Struggle

9 February, 2023 by Alberto de la Portilla

A small house, a large patio, a small living room and a blue booth were the spaces for the meeting between a lay woman who acted as host, an Anglican woman, two representatives of the Hare Krishna community, an agnostic online teacher, two CLM women, a Comboni priest and the State Coordinator of Religious Affairs. The topic? To discuss whether it was possible to talk about feminism from a religious point of view. Crisol de la Alegría, Radio y Televisión was the host thanks to the invitation of Father Mario Escalera, Coordinator of Interreligious Dialogue in Monterrey.

They talked about the history of feminism, the main representatives, the struggles that women of yesteryear had to fight in order to obtain achievements that today are a normality for those of us who live in this era.

Is it possible to speak of a feminism based on religious diversity? Throughout history there has been, yes, a patriarchy that oppresses, however, religious organizations have been opening the way to talk more and more about the rights and responsibilities that women have not only in the field of associations that promote different forms of faith, but also in the daily life that sees women increasingly as important pillars of the dynamics of societies.

Is there a Secretariat for Equality and Inclusion? Yes, there are efforts in the current government such as the creation of the Secretariat for Inclusion and the Women’s Secretariat in order to promote education in the respect of women’s rights and the promotion of their powers as creative citizens, agents of change and people responsible for productive life.

What can women do from their trenches to achieve nonviolence against women? Sorority is definitely an important response. This empathy and accompaniment in the pain of a woman who has in other women a support that will lead her to discover new ways to overcome the barriers that, because of gender inequalities, are still experienced today, will help us to overcome not only violence, but also the different forms of discrimination and disadvantage.

How can we educate children to see the father-mother God without religious patriarchalism? Begin to promote the image of a God who is not only father but also mother, that is, a God who, as he presents himself, just “is,” without distinction of gender or race.

As a Christian community, how can we join the feminist struggle? It is not absurd to think of women of faith fighting from their trenches for a change that benefits not only themselves, but society in general; that seeks the integration of feminine and masculine efforts for the construction of a peaceful, supportive, inclusive world that defends dignified life and cooperation to achieve technological, social, scientific, educational, economic, political advances and, of course, a growth in our religious institutions that share a liberating faith that promotes love.

Definitely, a feminism from the faith is possible, understanding our doctrines as a source of wisdom for living together in harmony and having as a premise that it is people and not genders who should matter, because in the eyes of God, the dignity of each and every one is the same.

By: Silvia Tapia Jiménez (CLM of Monterrey, N.L., Mexico)

The APAC Project and the promises of prisoner reintegration

7 February, 2023 by Alberto de la Portilla

We leave you here a very interesting interview with Valdeci Ferreira, Brazilian CLM who has 39 years dedicated to recovering people who have failed in their lives and have been imprisoned.

He explains to us the APAC method where the recuperandos (prisoners) themselves hold the keys to the prison, help each other and where the person is recovered for society. “No one is impossible to recover” is one of the slogans of APACs and that make possible this dream of giving a new possibility to those who one day made a mistake.

PS. It is in Portuguese but subtitles can be added.

On the rails of love and friendship our train travels through life. (2/3)

31 January, 2023 by Alberto de la Portilla

The perfume takes over our entire train. They are the ones who come to take us by the hand and guide us, as the conductors of this train. They are the ones who smile at us, as a gesture of their welcome. They are the ones who feed us and toast us. Yes, all women. Joyful, marked by the years of life and struggle, beautiful and smiling. Young and experienced. Short, long, and gray hair. The women who have passed us on this journey have shown that they are capable of embracing and fighting. To face great dragons and to stroke our heads when we turn on our feet. Eunice is one of these women. The first to welcome us to the priests’ home. Always attentive and welcoming. She marks our first contact with the women of that place. Also Dina and Maynara were in our wagon during this whole itinerary. They were the ones who prepared our way, organizing and cleaning the house of the CLM. They are the ones who welcomed us, taught us about the things of that place. They are the continuators of the struggles and celebrations of such a welcoming people. Suddenly, we were all together. The girls run among us in a game of getting closer, the young women who stare at the strangers are curious about those who come from afar, the women who open their arms and hearts to welcome us, and the ladies, the leaders who have already done, are doing, and, if necessary, will be able to do it all again.

Knowledge is something that only grows when we share it. And so it was on our mornings, sipping coffee or a mug of juice, many juices, that we shared our knowledge with Marcelo, Father Carlos, João Carlos, Valdênia, Renato, Yonná, Morgana and Father Joseph. And everything ends with a taste of wanting more, of staying in that station for a few more hours, days, lives. Learning is something unique and contagious. Those who learn begin to live with the desire to teach, to transmit, to share what they have received. But there is also teaching without words. With gestures, conversations, but mainly with attitudes. Father Silvério is one of these. He looks at the smallest, the little ones, with a sparkle in his eyes, stories to tell and a whole life to dedicate to them.

We arrived at the highest station, the “Piquiá da Conquista” station. When I saw in the distance, hidden among the açaí palm trees, mango trees and babaçu trees, those little white houses, all well organized, a distant story of a place known as the Promised Land came to mind. It was while talking to Dona Tida, in the facilities of the restaurant Sabor da Conquista, that we learned about the history and the conquest that was taking place there, in front of us, present in the lives of the people of Piquiá de Baixo. Just like the Promised Land, this story has its Moses. One of the leaders of the community who was present in all the moments and struggles of this people. But it was on the day the first brick was laid, the day Piquiá da Conquista was sighted, that Mr. Edvar passed away from respiratory complications. Yes, he was one of those who died from the pollution brought by the steel mills to Piquiá de Baixo. Dona Tida (Francisca), like Josué, leads the people through the Piquiá River, promotes meetings, discusses, listens, and organizes the people. There are 312 houses. There will be 312 families with a new place to live, far from the dragons, but not far from their flames and smoke.

Perhaps you ask why this journey. Maybe these are not your tracks. Maybe none of it makes sense to you. But I can assure you of one thing, you have a way that is uniquely yours. But I have met a man, frail in appearance, intense in look, with a life well lived. To summarize this man, Ms. Tida revealed to us a secret that only experienced people, able to hear the whisper of God, are able to tell us. She asked us: Do you know that man who has the way of God? Our glances met as if asking: we still don’t know the way of God and how will we recognize such a person. She then asks us: do you know Father Dario? Our eyes open and everyone confirms: Yes, we know Father Dario. Each one with his or her own story about the one who has “God’s way”.

To be continued…