6 Dec 2017 | Non categorizzato
The summer school will take place at Igarassu – Pernambuco, Brazil and is promoted by the Social-One international research network, a team of sociologists and social services experts which is inherently inspired by Chiara Lubich’s charisma of unity. Our scientific reflection has always been enriched by occasions of meeting and dialogue among researcher, scholars and social service professionals. The summer school, organized in partnership with the Department of Sociology of the Universidade Federal de Pernambuco and the Centro Universitário Tabosa de Almeida ASCES – UNITA, represents a special occasion of deep confrontation and scientific exchange. Aim of the summer school is to fathom the perspectives of analysis and actions aroused by the category of agapic love in the framework of the social sciences and humanities, believing that the concept could provide new interpretations and perspectives of interventions for the promotion of a society based on equity, inclusiveness and dialogue. In order to support the participation of young scholars, 18 scholarships are available for covering travel, accommodation and participation expenses. pdf School Programme pdf Call for scholarships pdf Presentation, application form and call for abstract Email contact: info@social-one.org
6 Dec 2017 | Non categorizzato
Not a rival, but a daughter For quite some time, my relationship with my husband became difficult due to my mother-in-law. She could not detach herself from her son and considered me as the person who had robbed her of his affection. I was considering leaving my husband, the house and the children, when the Word of Life for that month arrived. That comment was regularly sent by my friends, but I never read it, even though I considered myself a Christian. But at the time I was devastated and God felt so far away. This time, however, I read it, and from the very first line I felt it spoke to my heart. In tears, I begged for God’s help. Days later, my husband and I participated in a meeting for families, as a last resort. In that atmosphere of openness, we found the strength to repeat our ”Yes”. It was the turning point of my life. Always with the help of the other couples, I managed to conquer my mother-in-law’s affection. With time she started to consider me no longer as a rival but as a daughter. When she fell ill, I assisted her with love and devotion, preparing her for her encounter with the Father. (Lucero – Columbia) Providence On the morning of 24 December I had gone to the market to buy food for Christmas Eve dinner. But I still had not thought of the drinks. On arriving home I received a letter from some acquaintances, asking for a loan. It corresponded to the sum of the drinks. I consulted Giselle and we replied: ”We are sending you the sum as a gift, don’t worry about repaying us!” Even if only with fresh water we passed a wonderful evening with songs and music. Days later, unexpectedly, we received a bigger sum than what we had given. (G.P. – Kenya) At the station I was about to go to my daughter who lives in another city, but on arriving in the station I realised that because I had stopped to welcome a person, the possiblity to have a discount for the elderly had expired. However, upon thinking that it was more worthwhile to have made an act of love than having a discounted ticket, I managed to stay serene. But then, while I was at the teller’s the clerk told me that for that day, and not only that???, they had programmed a sole discounted price for all destinations. The discount was more than double the price of what my pass would have allowed. (G.M. – Italy) The risk Sometimes one of our sons would invite a friend to sleep over at our place, one who was a bit unreliable. In the face of this situation, my husband and I decided to get to know him more. We discovered that he had left his family, and was suffering from a depression. Besides drinking, he also consumed drugs which he had also offered to our son. Despite our fear of this risk, we tried to love him the way the Gospel teaches us to do. One day he confided that he had stopped taking drugs and now wanted to live like us. ”Your life has a meaning,” he said. With time, besides helping him to go to rehab, we contacted his parents who started to take care of him. (C.A. – Brazil)
4 Dec 2017 | Focolare Worldwide
Masaka, Kampala, Entebbe and great Lake Victoria – this is the wide territory that Henry has covered in his country, Uganda, the “pearl of Africa.” He’s gone from the village where he was born, to his economic studies at university in the capitol, to the shores of the largest lake on the continent. It is so large that it counts more than 3,000 islands. This is where the White Nile begins, which then flows into the longest river in Africa, the Nile. Everything is big in Uganda: the parks, the impenetrable forests, the nature reserves. Henry dreams big too. “At Masaka, where I went to university, I noticed how people didn’t have time to cook anymore,” he says. To resolve the problem, Henry started a business to produce meat and fish products. At just 24, together with two others his age, he started the Sseruh Food Processing Company Ltd. in Entebbe. On the other side of the world, in Argentina, another entrepreneur, Gonzalo Perrin, had already started a company some years ago: Pasticcino, which produces cookies for a number of cafeteria chains and coffee roasters. Urged on by the spirit of the Economy of Communion, Perrin moved to the Soladaridad industrial park at Mariapolis Lia, a little city of the Focolare. There he promotes a culture marked by the values of reciprocity, care for the disadvantaged and the environment.
Henry Sserugo and Gonzalo Perrin
Henry shows the fish products of the Sseruh Food Processing Company Ltd
3 Dec 2017 | Non categorizzato
Established in 1981, the International Day of Persons with Disabilities is celebrated every year on 3 December, with the aim of encouraging and promoting a more widespread and in-depth knowledge on issues concerning differently-abled people, supporting full integration in all areas of life and removing all forms of discrimination and violence. Since July 1993, December 3 has also become the European Day for Persons with Disabilities, on the initiative of the European Commission and in agreement with the United Nations. To celebrate this Day, many countries will organise events in different areas of social life: in the field of education and work, urban planning and the development of new technologies geared towards differently-abled persons, as well as tourism accessible to the elderly.
