Oct 26, 2017 | Focolare Worldwide
It is currently one of the biggest rural banks of the Philippines. But when Francis Ganzon (67 years old) took the helm in 1989, it only had one branch. Since then, the Institute has engaged in the support and empowering of the small and medium enterprises (SME), through the offer of quality financial systems “with a workforce united with God,” as the Bank site describes its “mission”. After obtaining his law degree, Ganzon dedicated himself to saving an institute, the Ibaan Rural Bank, Inc. (IRB), which was involved in cases of fraud. “I promoted a different work style, focusing on compliance with the laws, professionalism and centrality of the people, and promoted new practices in line with Christian values.” Ganzon embraced the spirit of the Economy of Communion, the international network of entrepreneurs engaged in putting the Social Doctrine of the Church into practice. “Subsequently, we created the Ibaan Rural Bank Foundation, with the objective of extending the microcredit programme also to deserving students with economic difficulties, through scholarships. The Asian financial crisis of 1997 also struck our bank, but we did not close down also thanks to the trust of our clients. That same year, the Bank celebrated its 40th Anniversary, and we changed its name to Bangko Kabayan (fraternity bank) as a further effort to supply people in need with the possibility to access microcredits in order to elevate their own standard of living.” “Many clients – continued Ganzon – did not have collaterals, but we considered them as worthy people. This created a rapport of mutual trust: the bank trusted people and granted loans, and the clients trusted the bank. In this way Bangko Kabayan had a strong social impact, improving the lives of many people and many small enterprises. Then it became the preferred credit provider of the SME in our region, opening 23 branches in the provinces of Batangas, Quezon and Laguna.” In the near future, Bangko Kabayan will be committed to building a balanced portfolio of loans and capital, and in investing further in the new technologies, particularly in internet banking. Up to now Bangko Kabayan has been receiving various awards. In 2007, it received the best Capital Build-up in the PremiLandbank and was ranked among the best credit institutes at global level for microcredit. From 2008 to 2011 and again in 2013 and 2015, it was nominated in the region where it has its main office, a partner of the Land Bank of the Philippines. It moreover received Microenterprise access to the MF EAGLE award for bank service from 2003 to 2007 and again in 2010 and 2011. «Determination and integrity will always be compensated,” concluded Ganzon. “I am anxiously waiting for the day in which bank transactions can be done with a handshake instead of on paper.”
Oct 19, 2017 | Focolare Worldwide
The clashes have started again and the tension is high. On 22 September and 1 October the army suppressed the peaceful demonstrations, killing and wounding some of the protesters who were asking for the independence of the British-speaking regions. That same day in the Northwest and Southwest Regions (inhabited by an English minority, 20 % of Cameroon’s population), once again internet was cut off. The “English-speaking issue” is well rooted in the past. In October 2016, the English-speaking population had started to hold organized protests against its progressive marginalisation. After months of tensions and accusations of discrimination, violent repressions followed, with real guerilla actions. Fr. Antonio Mascia writes from Fontem: “This is a delicate and uncertain time from the socio-political point of view, and we do not know where it will lead to. In various cities, soldiers of the army shot at the crowd that was peacefully demonstrating and many people were arrested. We are counting on your prayers.”
Oct 16, 2017 | Focolare Worldwide
Once again this year the Youth Fest that coincides with the start of spring in the southern hemisphere, has made its mark. On September 23 and 24 more than a thousand young people from Uruguay, Paraguay and several regions of Argentina took over the permanent Mariapolis immersed in the Argentinian Pampas, to have an experience of brotherhood. But this year they’re looking farther – to Manila where the 2018 Genfest will be held with young people from around the world. 
Using a video game format, the young people gradually confront some of the issues they have to face in their daily lives: appearance, individualism, choices and consumerism. These are the four levels that the four actors on stage have to pass through to overcome and reach the last level with each other’s help. The keys that get them through each level are: values such as self-acceptance, solidarity, effort with regard to what the conscience suggests to every one of us, and sharing. But often you need to take into account the past that draws you back and the future that can paralyse you. Only one option is left: to live the present and, in that moment, take control and reset your history. The inventor of the game leaves the actors and the Youth Fest participants with a question: Reset, yes or no? The answer is left open. The video game ends and becomes a metaphor for life that places the players in front of the possibility of going through the daily situations of life in order to grow and reach their personal goals. The game becomes real life. Reset your life, you’re in control is the slogan of the event which, with the help of songs that had been composed for the event, planted the message of the 2017 Youth Fest in the hearts of all the participants.
Oct 13, 2017 | Focolare Worldwide
The untamed fires that are devastating parts of California, strengthened by the strong winds and unseasonable temperatures, have left dozens of victims, the largest number in the recorded history of California, along with hundreds of people who are missing. The number of volunteers and equipment is quite striking: more than 8 thousand fire-fighters and volunteers, 550 ground equipment, 73 helicopters and more than 30 air-planes. Images of the fires that are destroying more than 80,000 hectares are spreading around the world. Countless homes have been burnt down. The most devastated counties include Sonoma, Mendocino, Yuba and Napa. Thousands of people have already been evacuated, especially in Napa County, which is known for its wine vineyards. One of the most hit areas is Sonoma County where Santa Rosa is located, which is head location for more than 200 thousand inhabitants. Entire regions of the city have been reduced to ashes. From Santa Rosa, Cindy Fitzmaurice, from the Focolare community was able to send news through Facebook, concerning the difficult conditions that many are living in now that they’ve had to abandon their houses. “We’re ready to flee,” she writes, posting a photo taken around three o’clock in the morning, in which the sky appears orange. “My heart is in pieces for my friends who have lost everything. We’re learning what really matters, and it’s certainly not material things.” It’s been a hard experience for Cindy and her neighbours, fleeing the fires in the middle of the night, looking for shelter in the homes of friends. Some had to escape with nothing but their pyjamas, leaving everything else behind. Fortunately, she writes again: “Evacuated, but safe and sound. May God bless Santa Rosa. Leaving my house after 25 years was hard. But at least we had enough time to do it and, for this, we are eternally grateful. Other’s can’t say the same. We’ll see what tomorrow will bring.” Following a night of fear and praying, last Wednesday Cindy was able to tell her friends about the good news: “Feeling extremely grateful. We are back home this morning. “Feeling extremely grateful. We are back home this morning. For now. the winds shifted east overnight toward Napa. Good for us, but so bad for others. I can’t even imagine their loss. Cindy thanks her friends who take care of them, especially her elderly mother-in-law. “All we can do is be grateful and see how we can help others. Thank you all for your prayers.” Cindy’s 18 year old niece works at a nursing home: “All the residents were evacuated to anther city. I’m proud of how she’s taking care of all of them.” Many others have posted photos on Facebook of their houses devoured by the flames and reduced to ashes. But they’re grateful to be alive. This is what matters most.
Oct 13, 2017 | Focolare Worldwide
Curitiba, capital of the state of Paraná (Southern Brazil), is a city that holds many records: it has the highest educational index rates of the country, the lowest illiteracy rates and a high quality of education (The Federal University is the first in Brazil). It is considered the most eco-sustainable Brazilian city, thanks to innovative plans that have reconciled urban growth with care for the environment. In this “primacy city”, an important step was taken in the long and fruitful ecumenical journey between Catholics and Lutherans. The Commission for ecumenism and interreligious dialogue of the National Conference of Bishops of Brazil (CNBB) and the Commission for bilateral Catholic-Lutheran dialogue, in collaboration with Catholic University of Paraná (PUCPR), chose the “green city” as the venue of the Ecumenical Marian Symposium, from 1 to 3 September. 
The occasion arose from two important anniversaries. The first was the third centenary of the salvaging of the statue of Our Lady of Aparecida from the waters of the Paraiba do Sul river. The Brazilian people are very familiar with the story of the group of poor fishermen who in 1717, in view of the banquet organized for the imminent visit of the governor of the São Paolo Province, after an unsuccessful day of fishing, again launched their nets into the river. To their surprise, they found a small muddy statue of “Our Lady,” first the body and then the head, entangled in their nets. Upon throwing their nets once again, these were unexpectedly filled with a great amount of fish. It was the first of a long series of miracles obtained from the “Black Virgin,” who subsequently became the patron of the Brazilian people. The second anniversary was the 5th centennial of the Protestant Reformation. The celebrations were jointly carried out with the historical event of Lund in October 2016, by the Catholic and Lutheran churches, in a spirit of communion, dialogue and thanksgiving. The Curitiba Symposium is thus part of an important ecumenical path.
Fr Hubertus Blaumeiser and Bishop Dom Biasin, President of the Ecumenical Commission.
Oct 11, 2017 | Focolare Worldwide
“We just got back from three days among the Karen refugees in Mae Sot, at the border with Myanmar. It was quite an experience, like any experience that brings you into direct contact with people’s pain.” Luigi Butori has lived in south east asia for many years, in one of the focolare or “hearth” communities of that region. “We loaded up the van, more than 30 crates that had arrived from Italy and took off with Glauco and Num, a Buddhist Gen. It’s now customary for us to make this 500 km journey every three or four months.” Mae Sot is a city of west Thailand close to the Myanmar border. It’s an important link with the nearby country, a place of refuge for many refugees and immigrants in general. They live in bad social and economic conditions. “These are our people,” Luigi writes. Those of them who have a job in the agricultural plants or in local industry are at times the victims of exploitation and paid starvation wages. But multitudes of refugees have found a refuge in the many camps that have been set up by international organisations that work in the border region, on Thailand territory. Many of the persecuted come from the Karen people. Their story is largely unkown. They’re simple farming folk who were forced to fun away. This is one of the many neglected conflicts which the media, however, considers to be of low intensity. 
We had planned this trip a long time ago with Father Joachim, a Burmese priest who lives in Mae-Sot. Jim, another focolarino from Bangkok, met us in the morning, after a ten-hour overnight bus ride with a lot of checkpoints along the way. Every time you arrive in Mae Sot, it feels like you’re entering another world where values are changed. In the place of consumerism and comfort, we meet people without anything, yet they’re happy with the little they receive from us, and which we’ve recevied from many others from far and near. They know that we’re only there out of love for them: “This love that you bring to us is the reason why we carry on living and hoping,” they said to us more than once. We ate togetherw with them, which was a witness that spoke on its own. One evening we went into the midst of the camps and it was like walking into the middle of nothingness, with our van sinking into the mud and surrounded by the corn fields. It was all because we had to pick up a Catholic family and go to another location where forty Catholics were awaiting us for Mass. It was dark, rainy, and the place was full of mosquitos. We stood beneath a canopy in a large barn with a little bit of light. I suddenly started to think about the beautiful cathedrals in Rome where I lived five years ago. I thought about the paintings, the organs and the beautiful lights. That barn filled with mosquitos, with that gentle light and with all those people seated on the ground, seemed like a basilica to me. Because Jesus was there, spiritually, with us, in the midst of that crowd that didn’t have anything.” For several years Luigi has been the link between a schools twinning project that links Karen children in Mae Sot with those of Latina and with a group in Lucca, Italy and Poshiavo, Switzerland. With the funds and the materials gathered, it has been possible to build and start up a small school called “Drop by Drop”. “All of us in Class Four have met Luigi,” write the students from the C. Goldoni Elementary School in Latina. “We were happy to see him again, but mostly curious to hear the news about our Karen friends and their school. He showed us photographs and shared information about what’s going on up there. We were surprised to see how things that we consider totally normal – like a bathroom, a wooden bridge – for them is still something that is totally missing in their daily lives. Thanks to the Drop by Drop project we can build bridges of solidarity with our friends far away.”
