Dorothy Day

She was born in Brooklyn New York on November 8, 1897. Her family moved to the San Francisco Bay area and then to Chicago where she was baptized in the Episcopal Church. She attended the University of Illinois at Urbana and became interested in radical social causes as a way to help workers and the poor. In 1916, she left the university and moved to New York City where she worked as a journalist on socialist newspapers, participated in protest movements, and developed friendships with many artists and writers. During this time, she also experienced failed love affairs, a marriage, a suicide attempt, and an abortion. 

Dorothy had grown to admire the Catholic Church as the “Church of the poor” and her faith began to take form with the birth of her daughter Tamar in 1926. Her decision to have her daughter baptized and to embrace the Catholic faith came at great personal cost, the end of her common law marriage and the loss of many friends. Dorothy struggled to find her role as a Catholic. While covering the 1932 Hunger March in Washington, DC, for several Catholic magazines on Dec. 8, she visited the Shrine of the Immaculate Conception and prayed for guidance on how to use her special gifts in service of the hungry and the poor. The following day, back in New York, she met Peter Maurin, an immigrant from France and former Christian Brother, who had a vision for a society constructed of Gospel values. Together they founded the Catholic Worker newspaper which spawned a movement of Houses of Hospitality and farming communes that has been replicated throughout the United States and other countries.

About the Catholic Worker Movement: Click here

A Hill On The Path

In a land far away, once upon a time there was great poverty: only the rich could manage without great problems. Three of those rich men, and their servants, were travelling on the same road, in a convoy, when they came to a very poor village. Seeing this poverty provoked different reactions in all three rich men.

The first couldn't stand to see it, so he took all the gold and jewels from his wagons and shared them out among the villagers. He wished them all the best of luck, and he left. The second rich man, seeing the desperate situation, stopped for a short time, and gave the villagers all his food and drink, since he could see that money would be of little use to them. He made sure that each villager received their fair share and would have enough food to last for some time. Then, he left.

The third rich man, on seeing such poverty, speeded up and travelled straight through the village without stopping. The two other rich men saw this from a distance, and commented with each other how the third rich man lacked decency and compassion. It was good that they had been there to help the poor villagers...

Somaly Mam

Born to a tribal minority family in the Mondulkiri province of Cambodia, Somaly Mam began life in extreme poverty. With limited options as a severely marginalized ethnic group, and living in unimaginable despair, her family often resorted to desperate means to survive. This confluence of dire circumstances led to the unspeakable horrors that would mark Somaly's early years. Somaly was sold into sexual slavery by a man who posed as her grandfather. To this day, due to the passing of time and the unreliability of a wounded memory, Somaly still does not know who this man was to her. Yet his actions set her on an unimaginable path fraught with danger, desperation, and ultimately...triumph.

Forced to work in a brothel along with other children, Somaly was brutally tortured and raped on a daily basis. One night, she was made to watch as her best friend was viciously murdered. Fearing she would meet that same fate, Somaly heroically escaped her captors and set about building a new life for herself. She vowed never to forget those left behind and has since dedicated her life to saving victims and empowering survivors.

In 1996, Somaly established a Cambodian non-governmental organization called AFESIP (Agir Pour les Femmes en Situation Precaire). Under Somaly's leadership, AFESIP employs a holistic approach that ensures victims not only escape their plight, but have the emotional and economic strength to face the future with hope. With the launch of The Somaly Mam Foundation in 2007, Somaly has established a funding vehicle to support anti-trafficking organizations and to provide victims and survivors with a platform from which their voices can be heard around the world.

Peter Maurin

"Modern society calls the beggar bum and panhandler and gives him the bum's rush. But the Greeks used to say that people in need are the ambassadors of the gods"

                                                                

                                                                                    by Peter Maurin

Easter Morning

Easter Morning, by He Qi

He Qi is one of the most popular modern painters of religious themes. Here a triumphant Christ raises his hand as a signal that he has conquered the demons of darkness, who now flee from him. The women have not yet woken properly, and seem unaware of what has happened.

“Iqbal Masih” Solidarity School

Iqbal Masih Solidarity School

Young peole who dare to commit themselves...

“Iqbal Masih” Solidarity School project has been under development for the last 20 years as a result of the urgent need to promote people who can be enthusiasts of true education in freedom for a culture of solidarity. This educational experience aims to get students, educators and families involved in the promotion of free people who can lead their personal and collective lives.

The School is Christian inspired and committed to creating a community atmosphere where 12-18-year-old teenagers receive personalised counselling so that they can plan their time, studies and profession from and for a Christian life of solidarity.

On weekdays, after students come back from school, they do their homework and carry out activities such as: learning study techniques, computing, English, arts and drama. Some days they also do sports and take part in a Media workshop and radio streaming.

Apart from their everyday routine on weekdays, they also carry out activities at weekends and during the summer holiday, encouraging youth association and organising educational activities, nature outings, trips, excursions and camps intending to get children to develop friendship and experience solidarity by doing it.  

Self-sufficient Schools

TeachAManToFish works to support schools and education programs in developing countries, in Africa, Asia and South-America, to broaden the poor’s access to a high quality education, combining vocational training and entrepreneurship to increase financial self-sufficiency.

Teach A Man To Fish’s “education that pays for itself” model is for schools to set up rural enterprises a) to generate income to provide free education to students between the ages of 14 and 21 from low income families, and b) to teach students valuable and practical entrepreneurial skills that they can use to set up their own businesses in the future.  La Bastilla Agricultural technical school, Nicaragua, runs eight businesses: eggs, dairy products, honey, pig-rearing, fruit and vegetable garden, coffee and reforestation plants, a bakery and an eco-lodge, with the objective that within the five year period till 2014 the school will become 100% financially self-sufficient.  The educational methodology is based on ‘learning-by-doing’ and ‘learning for earning’ whereby the students spend 30% of their time in theoretical classes and the remaining 70% rotating in all the business areas getting practical work experience ranging from caring for animals and planting crops, to record keeping and promoting the eco-lodge at tourism fairs.

Thousands of People Demonstrating Against Child Salvery

Last Saturday 16 April, on the sixteenth anniversary of Iqbal Masih's murder, thousands of people were demonstrating against child slavery throughout Spain, in Iberoamerica, in the United States, in Italy,...

Silent public gatherings, exhibitions, poetry reading, street drama, concerts,... and other different performances were carried out yesterday by the Christian Cultural Movement, Solidarity Youth Path Association and SAIn (Internationalist Self-Management Solidarity) Party to commemorate Iqbal Masih's murder and in solidarity with more than 400 million child slaves.

16 April was the International Day Against Child Salvery.

• A day to denounce the political, economic and socio-cultural causes of child slavery; a situation which enslaves more than 400 million children in the world.
• A day to fight non-violently and to show our solidarity with child slaves.
• A day for hope. It is possible to stop and eradicate this evil. There are organisations such as: The Christian Cultural Movement, youngsters members of the association Solidarity Youth Path and a political party: SAIn (Internationalist Self-Management Solidarity) who are determined to continue their fight against child slavery. Their work does not start or end with this commemoration. In fact, they participate in the Campaign for Justice in North-South Relations, which was launched 25 years ago by the Christian Cultural Movement and which was later joined by Solidarity Youth Path and SAIn Political Party.

The Prayer of the Children, by Kurt Bestor

Can you hear the prayer of the children

on bended knee, in the shadow of an unknown room?

Empty eyes with no more tears to cry,

turning heavenward toward the light.

Cryin' Jesus help me

to see the mornin' light of one more day,

but if I should die before I wake,

I pray my soul to take.

 

 

Can you feel the hearts of the children

aching for home, for something of their very own?

Reaching hands with nothing to hold on to,

but hope for a better day, a better day.

Cryin' Jesus help me

to feel the love again in my own land,

but if unknown roads lead away from home,

give me loving arms, away from harm.

Paper Bags Game

PAPER BAGS GAME

Aims of the activity:

• To reveal some of the pressures that force children into work.

• To understand the pressures of trying to survive in an economy with massive unemployment and no social security.

• To question our use of the world’s resources.

• To look at and debate the ways in which work is organised and the economic systems  exploit vulnerable communities.

Summary of the game:

• Participants form ‘family’ groups and imagine they are paper bag makers on the streets of Kolkata.

• Each group earns a living making paper bags from old newspapers. During the session, you will distribute chance cards among the groups, representing unexpected changes in the market, which affect their income.

• When they have finished making bags, give each group a shopping list of all the essential daily items they need to buy, and ask them to prioritise them.

• Each group needs to work out how much they earned and calculate whether they can afford all the essentials on the list.

• After the game, ask the groups how they felt during the game, and what they have learned about working together, the real-life conditions for paper bag makers in Kolkata and the economic systems that keep people poor.

Who can play:

The Paper Bag Game is designed for players aged nine and older. It can be played by six or more players (split into groups) and adapted to suit any age group.

PowerPoint Presentation to introduce the game to the students

Click here to see PP Presentation

How to play:

Preparation

1. Prepare sample paper bags for each group to refer to. You could also prepare a demonstration set showing each step in the process. See instructions: How to make a paper bag.

2. For each group make one photocopy of:

• How to make a paper bag

• Family shopping list

• Will you survive? Maths card.

3. Photocopy and cut out the chance cards (card 2b).

4. Prepare your room so that each group has paste, paper, a sample bag and photocopied sheets.

S/he will need to check each batch of ten bags to make sure they are properly made. Mark each bag clearly when checked to prevent the bag makers taking them back to resell. Pay the group one rupee for each batch of ten bags.

Preliminary discussion

1. Divide the players into groups of four or five. If possible, make sure that each group includes girls and boys.

2. Discuss the following questions (amend for adult groups):

• How can children of your age earn money?

• How many of you actually do so?

• Is the money you earn for yourself, or is it for others (for example, for your family or for solidarity?

• If you were allowed to work full time, what sort of work would you want to do? What sort of work would you not be able to do? Why?

• How many hours a day/days a week do you think it would be reasonable to work?

• How much of your pay would you keep for yourself? How much would you give to your family?

Playing the game

1. Explain that each group represents a family living in a crowded and poor shantytown in Kolkata. There is a huge demand for paper bags, which are mainly made by women and children from the poorest families. Some bag makers buy their paper from warehouses, which are called go-downs. Others collect it free from local households. The glue is made by boiling water and flour, and adding an anti-fungal chemical.

In real life, paper bags are sold in batches of 22, called gistas. On average, one child makes 200 bags a day, earning up to 1.5 rupees per gista – that’s 13 rupees (less than 18 pence) a day. For the purposes of this game, the figure has been rounded up to one rupee per batch of ten bags – meaning that however poor the players feel at the end of the game, the real-life situation for the bag makers is even worse.

2. Tell the groups that they have to survive for a day by making and selling as many paper bags as possible. They have 20 minutes.

• Show the groups how to make a bag using a sample bag so everyone can see, then ask them to start making bags.

• Each time a batch of ten bags is ready, a group member should take them to the shopkeeper to sell, while the others continue making bags for the next batch.

• The shopkeeper checks that each bag is properly made, and pays the group one rupee (one washer) for each batch.

• Hand out the chance cards randomly – they change the conditions each group is working under.

• Each group keeps its own checked bags. With younger children it is easier if the shopkeeper keeps the bags and notes down how many each group produces.

• Note how the groups organise themselves. Some will operate a production line with each member specialising in one task; in other groups individuals will make their own.

• When they have finished making bags, don’t let the children wash their hands immediately – point out that bag makers may not have the luxury of soap and water.

How to make a paper bag:

1.       Fold the sides of the paper to the middle, overlapping by about 2cm.

2.       Paste one edge. Stick down the overlapping edge.

3.       Turn up the bottom edge about one-third of the way up the bag. Crease it then unfold it. 

4.       Fold up the bottom corners to the crease. Unfold them.

5.       Tuck the corners up inside the tube. 

6.       You now have a tube with two flaps, A and B.

7.       Fold the upper flap A down on itself to the middle line.

8.       Paste the shaded edge of flap B very carefully.

9.       Fold it over flap A and stick it down.

Note: If you want to strengthen the bag, stick a strip of paper across the bottom.

Family shopping list:

This is a list of essential, desirable and other items that your family needs.

Important: prices for essentials are per person, per day.

Essential

Food stuffs:

• cooking fuel      

• vegetables            

• fruit

• rice

Cost: 15 rupees

Clothes:

• shoes

• trousers

• school uniform

Cost: 0.5 rupees

Medicine:

• antibiotics   

• painkillers

• antiseptic for a family member burned by the oil-burning stove

Cost: 60 rupees

Savings:

• to pay school fees

Cost: 8 rupees                                                 

Paper:

• for making bags

Cost: 10 rupees                                              

Repairs:

• for mending the home

Cost: 1rupee                                                                                                        

Travel:

• to visit a sick relative 100km away

Cost: 30 rupees                                         

Entertainment:

• celebrations

• festivals 

Cost: 3 rupees                                               

Rent:

• living with family

Cost: 1rupee                                                  

Click here to see the CHANCE CARDS you need for the game

Background about child slavery:

 

Most of the people in the world live on less than 1 € a day. That is all they have to support themselves and their families. Most are in developing countries.

Millions of these workers are children.

There are 400 million children aged between 4 and 14 who are forced into different forms of child slavery, which includes prostitution, bonded labour in sweatshops, military service or hazardous industries – for example, where chemicals are used, mining, wars...

Child slaves: the facts

• Around 400 million children are slaves in the developing world.

• Half of them work full-time; half combine work with school, but hardly ever attend classes.

• Asia, the world’s most populous region, has the largest share of slave children (61%), followed by Africa (32%) and Latin America and the Caribbean (7%).

• More than two-thirds of these children are involved in agriculture; the rest work in manufacturing, trade, hottels and restaurants, domestic service, transport, construction and quarrying.

• In some countries, up to 20% of economically active children in rural areas and up to 5% in urban areas are under the age of ten.

There are many reasons why children work. These include:

• poverty: the worst cases of child labour involve children from families that are poor, unskilled and illiterate.

• the demand for cheap labour, fuelled by growing competition in the global market – children are paid less than the minimum wage. 

• social position: differentiation between gender, class, ethnic background and caste can all influence which children are most vulnerable.

After the game:

It’s important to encourage players to talk about their experience after the game as it raises many issues for discussion.

The experience

How many groups managed to earn enough to stay alive? What did this experience show them about life in the shantytowns of India, being a member of a poor family, work skills, supply and demand or anything else?

The work

How did the groups organise their work? Would they have produced more bags if they had worked in a different way? Did the groups compete with each other or did any of them join forces? What were the effects of working in these ways?

Power relations

Why are the shopkeepers so powerful? Who are their equivalents in our global society? Should we allow them to hold onto their power or should we try to challenge it? Why? How? Why do prices rise and fall? Would it be fairer if the workers received weekly wages rather than being paid per batch of paper bags? What does this show about the power within an organised system?