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International Year of Biodiversity - 2010

Main messages from UN

·         Humans are part of nature’s rich diversity and have the power to protect or destroy it.

·         Biodiversity, the variety of life on Earth, is essential to sustaining the living networks and systems that provide us all with health, wealth, food, fuel and the vital services our lives depend on.

·         Human activity is causing the diversity of life on Earth to be lost at a greatly accelerated rate.  These losses are irreversible, impoverish us all and damage the life support systems we rely on every day.  But we can prevent them.

At a recent Principals’ Retreat we were asked to read 1 Kings 19 verse 1-5.   Verse 4 spoke to me.  “While Elijah went on a day’s journey into the desert he came to the broom tree, sat down under it and prayed that he might die. ‘I have had enough Lord’ he said.”

In 2001 I felt these exact words spoken by Elijah.  I too had had enough.  I was ready to sacrifice a profession that I so dearly love… and then I saw an advertisement in the local newspaper, advertising the post of Principal for Loreto School Queenswood.

I was shortlisted and invited to the interview.  The interview, however, fell in the week of my family’s holiday in Jeffreys Bay.  Initially I was going to forfeit the interview, but my wife knew that I would regret that decision and insisted I fly to Johannesburg for the interview.  I came to the interview knowing very little about the school and the Institute of the Blessed Virgin Mary.  Through God’s providence I was offered the post. 

My first impression of the school was idyllic.  The staff, learners and parents seemed happy and content.  I was made to feel at home from the onset.

Despite my limited knowledge of our foundress Mary Ward, I was never pressurised by the then Provincial Superior Sister Marian or the Loreto Sisters to familiarise myself with the history of Loreto.  I found this rather strange and puzzling until I attended the Educational Conference in Kolkata.

The Mary Ward Charism and values have such a solid foundation within all Loreto Schools that the history of our foundress is experienced in the day-to-day curriculum and the extra-curricular activities.  The common thread of justice, peace, integrity, love and care is found among all Loreto Schools worldwide, from the wealthiest to the poorest.

You see, there was no need to give me a crash course on Mary Ward’s Charism because it is something you need to

experience not learn.  The daily prayers, meditations, the contact with the learners, parents and staff, retreat days, daily lesson preparation, outreach and recycling projects, Loreto Day, Masses and relationships all contribute to the JPIC and Loreto values.

In my eight years as principal at Loreto School Queenswood there have been various events that I have experienced both directly and indirectly that have influenced my life.

Our Outreach Project in Winderveldt which started in 2004 has now been sustained for 6 years.  Each month parents and staff contribute grocery items for our Winterveldt orphans who have lost one or both parents to AIDS.  This generosity by our Loreto community is overwhelming. 

The Parents Association contribute 10 percent of all monies they raise to the Winterveldt project.  Toilets have been built, school fees paid and stationery and textbooks have been purchased.

Our Grade Workdays have also had an influence on my life.  Before the work days I believed outreach was a give and receive situation, whereby Loreto was giving and the families were merely receiving.  By attending the workdays I was taught how to establish a vegetable garden by one of the workers from the community.  The joy displayed in this community member’s face was remarkable as he had contributed in a small way to the project and felt that his contribution was worthy in that he had taught me his skill.  Seeing this made me realise that we have the tendency to believe that less fortunate people cannot contribute to our society. This has left a lasting impression on me.

The interaction I have had at Lerato Kopano Day has been wonderful.  During the fun activities of the day my music teachers taught a group of children with no known music skills to drum and play

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marimbas in 30 minutes.  These learners if stimulated properly, could achieve great heights.  All they need is an opportunity, which is what Mary Ward provided when she started establishing schools for girls during the 17^th century.

I have noted that our learners view their grocery contributions as something small, but to the families this is their livelihood.  Lerato Kopano Day makes Loreto’s Outreach Program mean so much more than just a donation of goodwill.  It helps establish relationships with our Winterveldt families. 

Our Outreach Program forced me to look beyond my current situation.  I am so used to having basic facilities at my disposal e.g. drinking fresh water that when I visited the Winterveldt area and I wanted a drink of water I had to walk 500m to the communal tap, making me realise how fortunate I am to be able to walk to my kitchen, turn on a tap and enjoy one of God’s precious, life sustaining gifts – water.

Furthermore our outreach project reminds me of Mary Ward’s driven passion to work among the disadvantaged and make a profound difference.

I believe that God had a special plan for me when he afforded me the opportunity to be Principal at Loreto.  I hope that the Mary Ward morals and values that have been instilled in our learners will continue beyond their school careers and that our learners will keep their eyes on the marginalised and the poor.

It is also my hope that all the learners who have received a Loreto Education will never lose sight that they have made a difference and can still make a difference in the future.  Our Foundress Mary Ward is still making a difference 400 years later.

Ad Majorum Deo Gloria

J & P CONSULTATION WITH REPRESENTATIVES OF RELIGIOUS CONGREGATIONS.

Fr. Mike Deeb O.P. coordinator for South African Catholic Bishops Conference, J & P Dept invited representatives from Religious Congregations of South Africa, Botswana and Swaziland to a consultation in Koinonia on 8 March 2010. 

The aim of the meeting was

1.       To share information about what SACBC, J & P Dept. is doing

2.       To give each congregation the opportunity to share what it is doing in the promotion of J & P and then

3.       To identify ways in which we can work together in the future.

Twenty two representatives attended, 14 from women’s congregations and 8 from men’s.  As each one shared I became aware of the value in collaborating among congregations.  As Mike shared on the goal of the Dept to establish J & P in all 29 dioceses and the 800+ parishes (including outstations) it was becoming clear how energy and effectiveness could be increased if both congregations J & P could collaborate among themselves and with SACBC J & P.  Mike expressed it as finding a way to create a synergy of all our different efforts.

After group work in regions, ways were suggested on how we could work together in the future.  Mike will report on the meeting at the LCCL meeting at the end of April.

Emer McNally IBVM represented Loreto.

The following concerns are raised about nuclear energy in ‘Stand up and Speak’ the environmental justice booklet of the SACBC J & P Department.

• The problem of radioactive waste is still an unsolved one.  A big concern related to nuclear energy production is the storage, transport and disposal of radioactive waste.  No nation has yet solved the problem of what to do with this extremely dangerous material, which must be shielded from the environment for millions of years.
• Contamination in the case of accidents at nuclear power stations can have devastating consequences for the environment and for the health and safety of human beings.
• Building, maintaining and running a Nuclear Energy plant is very costly.  The more the electricity costs to produce, the more expensive it will be for consumers and the less accessible and affordable for the poor and unemployed.
• Exposure to radiation can result in health conditions such as cancer leukemia and birth deformities.  People working in and living close to nuclear installations are the most vulnerable.
• Nuclear weapons production remains a real and constant threat.

The discussion topic in Loreto communities in South Africa for April is Nuclear Energy.

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Monica Shanley IBVM is Loreto’s representative on ‘Southern African Women Religious against Trafficking in Persons’ (SARWATIP)

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From 15^th to 19^th February a Workshop on COUNTER-HUMAN TRAFFICKING was held for religious sisters at the Carmelite Retreat Centre in Benoni.  The Workshop was a follow-up to two previous Training sessions and was co-funded by the UISG(International Union of Superiors General) and LCCL (SA) (Leadership Conference of Consecrated Life.)  The facilitators were Sr. Bernadette Sangma FMA and Stefano Volpicello IOM (International Organization for Migration) both from Rome.  At the conclusion of the previous training sessions SARWATIP was formed and is now a member of TALITHA KUM (CF Mark 5:41) an International network comprising 19 member networks worldwide.  TALITHA KUM, formed in 2009, aims ‘to share and maximize the Resources that Religious Life has on behalf of prevention, protection, assistance and awareness raising and denouncement of Trafficking in Persons.’

Seventeen sisters from as many different congregations participated in the Benoni workshop – some from as far away as Brazil, Thailand, Ireland, Nigeria as well as our neighbouring Botswana, Lesotho, Zimbabwe, Namibia and Zambia.

The aim of the workshop was to intensify Counter Human Trafficking (HT) effort especially in the light of the imminent Soccer World Cup and to Launch a Counter HT Campaign.  Each of the participants is already involved in Counter HT activities through awareness raising in schools, parishes, youth groups, and through writing articles, disseminating posters, brochures etc.

Sr. Kanlaya from Thailand spoke about the continuous stream of young women from her country, who respond to advertisements for employment in Thai massage parlours in South Africa only to end up in brothels or as sex slaves.  The government of that country is very concerned and is eager to co-operate with prevention strategies to protect their women from exploitation.  Similarly hundreds of thousands, probably millions of victims, are lured and cheated by unscrupulous criminals who promise to give them employment, into ‘Modern Day Slavery’, in every continent in the world.

GIFT TO LORETO QUEENSWOOD FROM WINTER VELDT FAMILIES

TAPESTRY ON THE THEME OF FAMILY.

See Marcello Pallozzi’s article on page 1.

The letter accompanying the gift reads as follows:-We send you with love and appreciation a gift from the Winter veldt made by our Mothers to say many, many thanks for all your wonderful, untiring and much needed support to us in the winter veldt, over the years. The theme of our embroidery is ‘The Family.’  We choose this theme because of so many happy reasons.  It is as ‘families that you help us. It is as ‘families’ that you help here.  We feel part of your School ‘family’ and you are part of our Community ‘family’.  So thank you for all you have done and meant to us and we hope our picture will remind you always that somewhere far away in a rural, dry area ‘You made a difference.’

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OFFENDERS FROM POLLSMOOR PRISON, CAPE TOWN

WITH MARIE BRADY IBVM, VOLUNTEER LEADER

In her 2009 annual report, Marie writes ‘In co-operation with the Department of Correction Services, those who minister in Prison are entrusted with the weighty task of helping offenders rediscover a sense of purpose so that, with God’s grace, they can reform their lives, be reconciled, assume the responsibilities and duties which will enable them to conduct upright and honest lives within society.’

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COUNTER HUMAN TRAFFICKING WORKSHOP

The photo below is the SARWATIP group who met in February. Monica Shanley IBVM is second from the right in the back row.

See article on page 3.

NEW IBVM NGO REPRESENTATIVE AT THE U.N.

Anne Kelly IBVM (photographed on the left) from the Australian Loreto province will take up the role of IBVM NGO representative at UN in New York next month.  After many years teaching and as a principal in Loreto secondary schools in Australia, Anne studied International Relations. Subsequently she spent a couple of years in Northern Uganda, co-ordinating secondary education for Sudanese refugees through the Jesuit Refugees Service.  Most recently she has been working as an education advisor and teaching English in East Timor.

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