Sep 3, 2020 | Non categorizzato
Solidarity projects initiated by the “Goccia dopo goccia” (drop by drop) Association in collaboration with other organizations operating in Southeast Asia. 
The number of victims of coronavirus around the world is still very high. But even higher is the number of people who, whilst not having contracted the virus, find themselves in conditions of extreme poverty due to the economic and social situation created by the virus; deprived, in some cases, of even the basic necessities to live. Yet even in these situations, initiatives of solidarity are multiplying which are the result of networks that are sometimes crossing national borders. In Vietnam, for example, the Long An area, south of Ho Chi Minh city, has large pockets of poverty. Here, the most vulnerable members of society have been indirectly affected by the pandemic. Many, especially among the elderly, who were living off lottery ticket sales, have had to stay in their homes, very often facing starvation. This is precisely the area where the Swiss-based association “Goccia dopo goccia” operates, coordinated by an Italian focolarino, Luigi Butori, who has lived in Asia for many years. Included amongst those who volunteer and support the project in different countries around the world are many friends of the Focolare Movement. “Goccia dopo Goaccia” has been working for some years now to implement more than 20 solidarity projects in Thailand, Myanmar and Vietnam. In Long An the association distributes about 40 rations of milk and food every month which helps many people including the elderly, those who are disabled, adults on their own, abandoned children living with grandparents and people suffering as a result of serious accidents, such as An, 14 years old, who is paralyzed and forced to live in a bed. The association has someone who intervenes at a local level whenever necessary. Thanks to these local volunteers, it tries to reach the “least of the least” bringing not only material help but also moral support that makes them feel that they are not alone in facing this dramatic period of history. For those responsible for “Goccia dopo goccia” this is a very important element of their activity: making people feel that they have not been abandoned but that there is someone who is taking care of them, starting with a smile. The Long An project has been going on for about two years and is supported with the help of schoolchildren and families in different countries around the world. They are people who send small amounts of money and who, as the name of the association says, as numerous small drops enable large quantities of help to be provided. “Goccia dopo goccia” also operates along the border between Thailand and Myanmar, with another project that supports Karen children in different villages in Mae Sot, the Mae La refugee camp and the Heavenly Home orphanage, even though during these times of pandemic, “Goccia dopo goccia” volunteers recently had to face a long journey to visit them and deliver material aid. “Three beautiful days,” they say, “during which we received much more than we gave. And finally, when Covid-19 was rapidly spreading, “Goccia dopo goccia” managed to collaborate with Caritas Singapore, Caritas Vietnam and other Associations that operate in Southeast Asia on a project aimed at distributing 1,200 food packages to families in the Binh Thanh area, in Ho Chi Minh City.
Anna Lisa Innocenti
Click here for a video about the initiative
Sep 2, 2020 | Non categorizzato
Combining fatherhood and professional life according to Gospel values: here’s the testimony of a Peruvian doctor at the forefront of the fight against COVID-19. I have been a doctor for 25 years and a father for 17, but I realise that I have not yet learned to be both and keep to the values I believe in. These pandemic times are proving to be a real lesson for me to grow in both roles, especially in parts of it that have so far been underestimated not only by me but by most people. Since the beginning of this pandemic I have worked in a Covid field hospital for patients in the city of Piura in northern Peru, the first in the city. I look after those who are hospitalised and have seen more patients die in the last 3 months than in all my 25 years of medical practice. I trained in one of the best medical schools in the country, with its academic prestige and scientific rigor. Yet this terrible disease has uncovered the limits, impotence and frustration of medical science in the face of this previously unknown virus. In spite of administering oxygen massively and the therapies provided by science, I have seen my patients suffer quite a lot and die of asphyxia. Every day we are faced with the lack of staff and equipment in a hospital like ours, in a poor country. How many times have I felt powerless and frustrated facing my patients, when the disease became aggressive! In the midst of general bewilderment, you could hear them shouting: “I am thirsty! Water please! Give me some water! Water!” Other times people would complain and, only when approaching them, asking if they wanted to drink, would they nod their heads. That’s how, in addition to my medical work, I started to give drinks to everyone who asked me, fix their pillows, hold their hands between mine, caress their foreheads, massage their backs when they asked me, or pass them the bucket to urinate. Or I would simply help them walk, pray with them or for them and, in the end, try to comfort them in their last moments. I understood that there are two dimensions to the medical profession: an authority supported by science which often heals, as well as the human dimension, based on mercy and love, which come from God and can be expressed in simple, everyday acts which often heal the soul. Science and humanity, knowledge and mercy, body and soul, man and God, reason and faith: it is a two-faced coin that makes our giving and living full. It is a delicate balance to be achieved. Between the exhausting work in the hospital, the overload of intense emotions and my weaknesses, I went home for dinner just hoping to rest and let off steam. My eldest son, in the midst of adolescence, frustrated by the lockdown and with all the energy of youth, started arguing with everyone, especially with me. He treated me like an adversary or an enemy, and at the table it was like being on a battlefield. Initially, falling victim to my passions and impulsiveness, we clashed in bitter fights with offensive tones. For the umpteenth time I saw my authority compromised. My attempts to impose it by force made things worse. I rediscovered other aspects of being a father, such as mercy and humility, and so I began to remain silent and offer God my forgiveness in the face of the offenses, as well as express it and ask forgiveness when I realized I had gone too far. I tried to read in my son’s aggressive attitude a cry for help and affection, keep silent more often and tone down the discussion, and continue praying alone and at home even when it all seemed useless. Little by little our relationship has been normalising and returning to the usual father-son dynamics. Once again, there are these two main pillars: authority and mercy. Are they not expressions of divine life?
Edited by Gustavo E. Clariá
Sep 1, 2020 | Non categorizzato
The “World Day of Prayer for the Care of Creation”. The Focolare Movement supports this in two different ways – with the initiative “Time of Creation” and with a meeting in October 2020. 
1st September is the “World Day of Prayer for the Care of Creation”. It was established by Pope Francis in 2015, the year that he launched his encyclical Laudato si. In this document, the Pope invites everyone to commit themselves to care for creation because this is our home and our most precious good. He also asks that we go beyond the current socio-economic system: we can no longer exploit planet earth as if there were unlimited natural resources. We must act quickly and find a different model of development. What can we do to be more concrete? Laudato si opens up the notion of “ecological conversion”: it speaks of change in lifestyle and trying to practise integral ecology. Therefore, the text refers not only to the environment but also to politics, economy and society. We need to start with ourselves and think about what we consume: we should choose politicians who show concern for the care of nature and who promote the production of renewable energy and decrease the use of fossil fuels. This year, the Focolare Movement is continuing to promote “Time of Creation” the annual celebration of prayer and action for our common home that begins on 1st September and ends on 4th October, the feast of St. Francis of Assisi, patron saint of ecology, greatly loved by many Christian denominations. The focolare’s global network is encouraging everyone to organize events and register them on the website. This ecumenical initiative began thirty years ago: in 1989, Dimitrios, Patriarch of the Orthodox Church of Constantinople, was instrumental in encouraging the different Christian Churches to jointly declare 1st September as “World Day of Prayer for the Care of Creation”. This year, the suggested theme is “Jubilee for the earth: new rhythms, new hope”. This theme is helpful in considering the integral relationship between the earth’s rest and ecological, economic, social and political life, particularly in the light of the far-reaching effects caused by Covid-19 pandemic. Later, from 23rd to 25th October in Castel Gandolfo, Italy, there will also be a meeting organized by EcoOne – the ecological network of the Focolare. Participants will include experts in ecology, politicians, university lecturers and representatives of organizations and associations. This meeting will examine the impact of Laudato si’ on the contemporary world and new pathways towards an integral ecology. The event aims to showcase the role that individuals and social entities can play in the care of our common home. In addition, this is also a special year because on 24th May, the fifth anniversary of the encyclical, Pope Francis announced that the coming year will be dedicated to. Laudato si . The urgency of the situation is such that it requires a concrete and immediate response involving all levels – local and regional, national and international. We need to create “a popular movement” that engages at grassroots level, an alliance between all people of good will. This is why it is important to participate in initiatives such as “Time of Creation” or the EcoOne meeting in October. As Pope Francis reminds us, “All of us can cooperate as instruments of God for the care of creation, each according to his or her own culture, experience, involvements and talents.” (LS, 14)
Lorenzo Russo
Aug 31, 2020 | Non categorizzato
In many countries, restrictions imposed due to the coronavirus pandemic have also put a stop to all forms of religious gatherings for worship and prayer. However, believers’ desire to spend time with God has not diminished. What can we do? This reflection by Chiara Lubich offers an innovative solution. “And behold, I am with you always, until the end of the age” (Mt 28:20). … Jesus said these words to the disciples … (but) he was also thinking of all of us who, day after day, are living somewhat complex lives. Given that Jesus is Love incarnate, he might have thought: I’d like to be with them always, to share all their worries and give them advice; I’d like to walk down their streets with them, enter their homes and rekindle their joy with my presence. That is why he wanted to stay with us so that we can feel his nearness, his strength and his love. … If we live out what he commands, especially his new commandment, we can experience his presence even outside the walls of our churches, in the midst of a crowd, wherever there is this living presence of his, everywhere. What is asked of us is mutual love, which is made up of service and understanding, of sharing in the sufferings, anxieties and joys of our brothers and sisters. This love endures everything, forgives everything and is typical of Christianity. Let’s live like this so that everyone may have the opportunity to meet him already on this earth.
Chiara Lubich
Taken from the Word of Life for May 2002
Aug 29, 2020 | Non categorizzato
The coronavirus keeps on taking away thousands of “stories” like Sher Khan’s. But his story lives on in a legacy – being one family – and in many friends like Marta and Javed. By Anita Martinez and Dalma Tímár. https://vimeo.com/430019025
Aug 27, 2020 | Non categorizzato
For over fifty years, the Focolare Movement’s little town in Argentina has provided training programmes for thousands of young people from all over the world: now the experience of living there has university recognition as a “vocational training programme”. Until just over a month ago, many people used to say that the experience of living in Mariapolis Lia was so rich and varied that it gave you a master’s degree, so to speak, in “life under the banner of the culture of unity”. Now the “experiencia” – the experience – as the annual course for young people is called really does have university certification. The new study programme has been drawn up thanks to the collaboration of educational teams from the Latin American Centre for Social Evangelization (CLAdeES) , the Mariápolis Lía School and the National North western University of the Province of Buenos Aires (Unnoba). The course will have the academic title “University extension and vocational training programme” and will be based upon four fundamental elements: anthropology-philosophy, history-culture, the community and the transcendent. It will take 11 months to complete and those who do so will have access to university extension and accreditation of vocational training in three different areas of choice: education, eco-responsibility and multicultural management; community leadership and development of community engagement; or art, communication and multimedia production. The training will be developed through specialized seminars, work placements and evaluation of the application of values deriving from Christian social teaching. There are also plans to integrate this course with the Latin American section of the Sophia University Institute. Mariápoli Lía, situated near the town of O’Higgins, Buenos Aires, offers young people an educational experience that integrates work, study, cultural and recreational activities, sports and specific interests. All activities are regarded as integral elements of formation. In fact, the notion of student coincides with that of citizen, therefore, it is assumed that all young people who live there are engaged in the life of the little town. A team of teachers and experts in a variety of disciplines – spirituality, anthropology, sociology and Christian doctrine – follows the young people in their learning. The 6000 young people who over the years have spent a period of time at the Mariapolis are proof of its formative value. In their later lives in a range of different environments – as managers, economists, educators, professionals, workers, parents, consecrated persons… the “experience” has remained a shining point, helping them to overcome personal and professional challenges.
Stefania Tanesini
