First Day

Hello, everybody... Just a few lines to tell you that on Friday we were once again back to Africa. The humid heat of Bujumbura made us forget the cold of Madrid and in a few hours we were already immersed in the last days of summer in the surroundings of Lake Tanganyika.

The first days of our work are focused in the capital of Burundi, with interviews and visits to projects with different counterparts, many of them of the Society of Jesus and mainly the Jesuit Refugee Service, JRS. As always, we are warmly greeted by the JRS team who immediately make us feel at home. I wan to tell you about the experience of Tenga village, one of the rebel sites more harshly punished with bombs and military incursions.

The population has suffered deeply and today we celebrated a Mass full of joy, which is very hard to understand. In the two hours of the celebration, not understanding a word, my mind wondered to Loa, South Sudan, to Kangemi in Nairobi, to Kakuma... all of them different situations but with so much in common: the mysterious hope above all reason that life will find a place after the war and will rise above injustice and suffering.

After the Mass, they proudly showed us a piece of land full of vegetation and remains of buildings "The school will be here, primary classrooms will be here etc."We hope that as in Burundi, Sudan, Uganda or Kenya, we can make this hope come true, a hope that changes reality, rebuilds dignities and allows to dream about the future.

We will continue reporting

Lorena y Dani

Fourth Day

Dear Entreculturas colleagues,

From Uvira, we took tour hours to reach Bukavu( I recommend to look at a map) from Uvira, East of the country and one hour away from Bujumbura, the capital of Burundi. The Peace and Justice Commission offered to come and pick us up, since we had no means of getting here and the situation is not suitable for local bus rides.

Alter all the news you hear about the war in the East of the D.R. of Congo, this is difficult to believe when travelling through magic surroundings full of cliffs, rivers, nature, life, smiling peasants (although very poor) where peace should reign above all. The sad point is that this war has been going on for 13 years and although it is slow it is very harmful. In a short while will take the boat to Goma, going through Lake Kivu, another beauty and from there we will continue for another week going through Rwanda.

I want to express, yet again, that we can see how the efforts of each one of us at Entreculturas and all those who support us, reach the population here. This is why we want to tell you about their smiles, the smiles of the people we support and accompany.

Amani (Peace in Suahili),

Lorena

We crossed one of the most beautiful parts of Congo,with dreamlike mountains and cascades that after four hours ended in the North at lake Kivi, surrounded at the South by never ending kilometres of slums, which looked at from the air, I suppose looks like the big city called Bukavu. In the middle of this chaos, the Jesuit Alfajiri School lies in the highest hill of the city.

The school is an impressive colonial building from the Belgian times and there we found the smiling Juanjo Aguado, who had travelled from Goma to greet us. It is difficult to describe the pleasure of seeing a familiar face in this context.

Dani

Second Week

We finally reached Goma, the highlight of our journey. It is the main site in North Kivu, where the MONUC (United Nations Congo Mission in the D.R. of Congo) is set up, and main area of tension with General Nkunda´s forces. We arrived here after crossing from South to North Lake Kivu in a lovely three hour cruise over the imaginary division line between Rwanda and Congo.

This is a paradise amidst a land full of volcanoes. Once again, a paradise cursed by its richness and human fight for power. One can see that Goma was once an important city for trade and tourism. Totally open towards the lake, it has some high standard houses and many buildings are being reconstructed which indicates that the economic power is not slowed down by the war but maybe all the contrary. 

Just after setting foot in the city, I saw the Guatemalan Parachute Brigade, part of the UN peacekeeping forces, celebrating Mass. It was very moving to talk about Advent and hope to the frightened Latin American soldiers, miles away from their homes, in the middle of a war they don't understand. I think that we have seldom said with such faith, "peace be with all of us".

Amen.

A big hug for everyone.

Lorena y Dani

Last Days

"It is hard to believe. General Nkunda's troops are less than 15 Kilometres away from the city. This is why Goma is full of people who don't want to be in the rural areas at the mercy of the troops. Those who don't have family or friends in the city are crammed in four camps for displaced persons, seven Kilometres to the East with around 65.000 people. This is where the Jesuit Refugee Service, JRS, works.

I'm familiar with the refugee camps in Liberia, Kenya and Uganda... and I had never seen anything like this before. Here the volcanic land makes living hardly possible. Everything is covered by rocks and the displaced build small refuges with branches that they then cover with the plastics provided by UNHCR. The agencies guarantee drinking water and minimal sanitary services, but they don't build better for fear that they will not want to return to their places of origin. The consequence is that all these displaced people are living crammed in inhospitable moon scenery. Their so called tents are very small and life conditions are near the unacceptable. The first reaction is anger.

There, in the middle of it all, the JRS is levelling the land and building simple hangars in which to give basic education for the displaced. Everything is ready. Next week the bakery, hairdressing and sewing lessons will begin and what I like best: bicycle mechanic. A curious way to accompany and serve which brings back everyday life and gives value to the terrible waiting time. At the same time, schools near the camps are being identified and negotiations are starting with the head masters in order to welcome the displaced children.

We are talking bout increasing many times, more than 100% of the students which is presently attending class. To integrate 9.000 primary displaced students was the goal for this semester. This is why the JRS is building extra classrooms, motivating the teachers, handing over food and materials and making sure that this group of children have where to go to continue education. All of this with the big question mark of what will happen if Nkunda decides to take Goma, as word goes around that he will do so after the Christmas Truce. As of now, they are still there, only 15 Kilometres away....

Our best to you all

Lorena y Dani

La República Democrática del Congo (RDC) se encuentra inmersa en una guerra que involucra a varios países de la región. Desde 1998, el conflicto ha causado más de 5 millones de muertos y ha afectado a cientos de miles de personas víctimas de enfermedades y del hambre. Hay más de un millón de desplazados en el este del país. Las violaciones tienen lugar de manera sistemática, hasta el punto de que, cada mes, más de 1.000 mujeres denuncian haber sido forzadas sexualmente.

Entre las múltiples causas del conflicto se encuentran los intereses económicos derivados de la riqueza mineral que tiene esta zona (coltán) y que se disputan entre los distintos grupos armados. Esto, a su vez, es alimentado por las tensiones étnicas históricas ya que en la RDC conviven unas 200 etnias diferentes.

This first Ignatian Advocacy Workshop, promoted among others by Entreculturas, was held due to the conviction that it is necessary to impact on power structures in order to promote development among the most impoverished populations.

As a starting point for reflection, were the current advocacy examples carried out by Institutions of the Society of Jesus, such as mineral exploitation in Congo, the displaced persons in the Colombian conflict, popular mobilization in South East Asia, carried out by the South Asian People's Initiative, the international campaign against anti people mines in which the JRS participates, fundamentalist conflict in India and the reality of asylum petitions in Malta.

"We don't want to get into politics, we want to influence them, this is why we think that training leaders is important so they may bring community voices to political levels" says Xavier. This Jesuit is confident in the power of civil society. "It is very hopeful to see how in the past 10 years, many civil society groups have arisen. They fight to defend human rights, to develop society. This is a sign of hope. If people manage to wait, change will come about" he says.

At present, Xavier is fully involved in the conflict of the Orissa region. Last August, the murder of a Hindu spiritual leader, started an outburst of violence against the Christian community. This conflict hides much more than religious fundamentalism. According to an analysis in which Xavier has taken part, the basic reasons behind these attacks are the power relations that have been challenged by the church's interventions and work with the most marginalized. Of late, enlightened local people have started questioning land alienation, poor development indicators, exploitation by the dominant caste traders (from outside the district).

After attending the Ignatian Advocay Workshop, Mauricio García toured León, Asturias, Salamanca and Málaga where he denounced the violation of human rights in Colombia.

The CINEP is a centre for reflection on conflicts, violence, human rights, politics and State, public services and popular education with a documented base.

Parallel to this work of reflection, it seeks that communities may participate in decision making to influence regional development and enable them to control their own political development. "Our goal is to issue brief reports on different issues with our recommendations. These reports are directed to grass root communities training in order to impact in public policies".

The Democratic Republic of Congo is a very rich country in minerals, but its exploitation, far from benefiting the communities, has a very negative impact on them and is the cause of the war that is afflicting this country for many years. According to Congolese law, the activity of the mining industry has to have a responsible impact on environment, be in line with social justice, giving an adequate salary to its hand workers and benefit the population on issues such as education, health and infrastructure improvements. Far from honouring its commitments, the mining business firms contaminate water wells and rivers, destroy trees, offer miserable salaries to their employees, 20 dollars per month, destroy roads because of heavy lorry traffic and do not invest on social improvements.

In addition to this, there are other dramatic impacts on the population such as the increase of food prices, since the population does not work in agriculture because they think that mining will give them greater earnings; the family break up since the father and sons go to richer mining regions; teachers leave their schools looking for more money for their families as well as the students over 10; the spreading of AIDS, prostitution and alcoholism in places near the mining sites. This impact is so great because the mineral extraction is carried out by a great part of the population manually since the exploitation of resources in Congo is totally liberalized.

Civil society is capable of contributing to good governance of the country

In face of this situation, the Centre for Investigation of Social Work (CEPAS) sees necessary the revision of the exploitation of natural resources, demanding to reduce negative impacts, the revision of the percentages allotted to the State for an adequate distribution among the population, all of this carried out with transparency.

For this purpose, CEPAS carries out grass root investigations since as Ferdinand tells us "we are close to the poorest, the suffering and the personal stories of exploitation". These investigations are reported in publications directed to national and international power institutions (through the Jesuit offices in Brussels and New York). But they consider that it is also important to reach grass root organizations so that they may know and learn to demand their rights. "If people had formation, it would make a big difference", says Ferdinand.

"I was very impressed by the degree of implication of the JRS teams and the great influence they have in the places where they work, up to the point that they have become references in political affairs. For example, the government of South Sudan, when deciding which teachers should become civil servants, in the education sector, asked the JRS directly for help" says Alberto. "Another interesting thing is that the JRS works with a regional focus, which means they accompany the return of the people they assisted when they were refugees. I think that this regional perspective is most important" he adds.

"I very much agree with Alberto and I think it is a perfect example of the JRS motto: to accompany, serve and defend. The example of the work they carry out between Adjumani (North of Uganda) and Nimule (South Sudan) is excellent; how they accompanied the Sudanese refugees in Uganda and how now, when they have decided to return to their country and the camps at Adjumani are closing down, the JRS is waiting for them in South Sudan with open arms" Dani points out. The slow return of peace to South Sudan is allowing thousands of Sudanese refugees who fled to Uganda in order to save their lives, to return to their homes or what is left of them, to rebuild their lives and to contribute to a new development of their country. The JRS project in South Sudan is one of the most important ones that Entreculturas is currently supporting in Africa.

For this purpose, 10 boys and girls from various schools of Galicia, Granada, Madrid, País Vasco and Valladolid met with her on November 6 in the Foreign Affairs and Cooperation Office Madrid, where they built a puzzle in three dimensions to demand the right of all people to education. Each couple of students placed a piece of the puzzle as a symbol of the demands of the Global Campaign for Education. The Secretary finished the puzzle placing the last piece with the commitment to allocate 8% of the Spanish Official Aid for Development budget to primary education.

Parliamentary representatives of the cooperation commissions in the Senate and Congress were also present.

Link of interest: www.cme-espana.org

The Democratic Republic of Congo is immersed in a war involving several countries of the region. Since 1998, the conflict has caused more than 5 million dead and has affected thousands of people, victims of sickness and hunger. There are more than 1 million displaced persons in the East of the country. Women are denouncing rapes and sexual abuse at the rate of 1.000 per month.

Economic interests due to the mineral richness of the area (coltan) are among the many causes of conflict, since the different armed groups fight for their control. This is aggravated by the historic ethnic tensions since 200 different ethnic groups live in the country.

Entreculturas has started an emergency plan to help the population that is going through an extremely vulnerable situation.

At the end of October, the IberoAmerican Heads of State Summit was held with the theme "Youth and Development". At the same time and since the last four years, in the framework of the summit, the Civic Forum is held with the attendance of social organizations from all IberoAmerica.

This year, in the city of San Salvador, more then 50 NGO delegates, youth networks, youth councils and trade unions met in order to impact on the agendas of the politicians taking part in the Summit and to promote activities that will benefit the current and future generations of the region. Our colleague from Entreculturas, Lucía Rodríguez Donate, took part in the opening session as Executive Coordinator of the Public Action Programme of the International Fe y Alegría Federation.

The decision process to focus on these issues has been taken by the different regional assemblies in the last few months. Andalucía, Galicia, La Rioja, Madrid, Comunidad Valenciana, Murcia, Castilla-León and Asturias have held these meetings in which boys and girls have shared days of thinking and discussion and have planned the solidarity agendas to be carried out in the different schools of the network.

The Solidarity Youth Network is initiated by Entreculturas and seeks to promote development values and pro-social conducts (cooperation, mutual aid, solidarity, empathy, implication on collective issues, etc) among the youth. Likewise, the activities carried out in the schools seek to promote student participation, encouraging their ability for dialogue, joint decision making, the peaceful solution of conflicts and respect for other ways of thinking. The network shows the youth the richness of sharing.

The lack of education is an injustice that goes against the fundamental rights of children. More than half way towards the target of the Millennium Development Goals, MDGs, there are still 70 million children in the world with no schooling.

In many African countries, teachers report that they have no books or syllabus guides. In others, the schools buildings are in ruins and the great amount of children crammed in the classrooms, make lessons extremely difficult. The lack of drinking water and sanitary facilities are causing absence, especially among girls... All this shows the urgency to guarantee a quality education for all.

This video shows a sample of the messages and photographs sent in the framework of this campaign.

Mauricio García, Director del Centro de Investigación y Educación Popular (CINEP) y especialista en procesos de paz y de reconciliación entre facciones enfrentadas en conflicto, ha impartido una conferencia sobre la situación de los derechos humanos en Colombia y el trabajo de incidencia pública de la institución de la que es responsable.

El acto, que tuvo lugar en la Sede Oficial del Patronato de Turismo de la Costa del Sol, contó con una elevada asistencia de público y fue respaldado por Ruth Sarabia, Directora del Área de Participación Ciudadana, Inmigración y Cooperación al Desarrollo del Ayuntamiento de Málaga.

La Sala Mergelina de la Facultad de Derecho de Valladolid acogió a mediados de noviembre una conferencia del jesuita congoleño Ferdinand Muhijirwa. La charla, que tuvo por título "Dar voz a las voces silenciadas", se centró en el tema de la negociación y venta de los numerosos y valiosos recursos naturales de la R.D.Congo (coltán, diamantes, wolframita, etc) a grandes multinacionales extranjeras como una de las principales causas del conflicto que atraviesa hoy este país.

Ferdinand explicó cómo es y cómo debe de ser la influencia y participación de la sociedad civil en las políticas públicas a fin de revertir esta realidad. Asimismo, ofreció una panorámica de África y de la visión que se tiene en Occidente de este continente. Como consecuencia de la situación actual que se está viviendo en la R.D.Congo, Muhijirwa quiso dar a conocer cómo están las cosas desde el recrudecimiento de la guerra, con las constantes violaciones de los derechos humanos, la emigración a campos de refugiados de miles de personas y el papel que están teniendo los cascos azules de las Naciones Unidas.

"La ciudad también enseña", nombre con el que Burgos ha bautizado su oferta educativa municipal, se presentó el 21 de noviembre a través de una rueda de prensa que contó con la presencia de los Concejales de Cultura y Asuntos Sociales del Ayuntamiento de Burgos, así como del delegado de Entreculturas en esta ciudad, Jaime, quien trasladó a los presentes la apuesta de Entreculturas por la educación como instrumento de cambio social.

Entreculturas se ha sumado a esta campaña con la puesta en marcha de tres talleres formativos: "Educación para la Solidaridad", "Menores Soldado" y "Refugiados: una realidad que duele". Estos cursos se calcula que lleguen a más de 2.600 chicos y chicas de 50 centros educativos diferentes de la capital burgalesa. 

En el 60 aniversario de la Declaración Universal de los Derechos Humanos (1948), el Servicio Jesuita a Refugiados -socio local de Entreculturas- insta a la comunidad internacional a poner el foco sobre la realidad de los niños y niñas refugiados y desplazados.

<<La educación es la clave de un futuro estable. Sesenta años después de la adopción de la Declaración Universal de los Derechos Humanos, se siguen negando los derechos humanos más fundamentales - entre estos el de unas oportunidades educativas adecuadas - a millones de niños y niñas refugiados y desplazados por la fuerza. 

<<Todos hemos oído alguna vez que los chinos utilizan la misma palabra para designar los conceptos de crisis y oportunidad. Según parece, a la hora de escribirla, el último ideograma de "crisis" es el primero para "oportunidad" y viceversa. Lo que quieren decir, en el fondo, es que en toda crisis hay una oportunidad; depende de cómo se mire. Crisis, además, etimológicamente, viene del griego "separar", "cribar", o sea de someter a juicio, de pasar por el cedazo las cosas y quedarse solamente con lo que merece la pena. En cada crisis hay una oportunidad y, mientras más profunda sea la crisis, más importante y mejor puede resultar la oportunidad. Sólo que algunos no lo ven.

Esta crisis gigantesca, calificada paradójicamente por algunos de "tormenta perfecta", nos debería servir, al menos, para ver mejor, para ver más claro; para descentralizar nuestra mirada de nuestros problemas estrictamente individuales y nacionales; para tener una mirada global; para darnos cuenta de que nuestras crisis locales (por ejemplo, el desempleo que crece peligrosamente) no se entienden si no se sitúan en una perspectiva mundial.

Pero hay más; sin hacer demagogia, ni caer en simplificaciones porque esta crisis nos afecta a todos, y a nadie conviene, a nadie beneficia; tampoco a los pobres. La crisis nos está proporcionando un "curso intensivo" de lucidez. Nos permite descubrir, con asombro, hasta qué punto la codicia, la avaricia y el egoísmo de los ricos causan estragos provocando este enorme crack financiero. Nos permite también ver cuán rápidamente reaccionan "los mercados globales" al pánico de perder ganancias, pero también a las medidas mancomunadas y extraordinariamente generosas de los gobiernos del mundo.

Esta crisis nos deja estupefactos al constatar cuán eficaz sea el "miedo global" a la bancarrota financiera para movilizar un caudal ingente de recursos y de esfuerzos políticos de concertación; son tantos los millones que se movilizan (¿o son billones?) que no podemos menos que comparar con las exiguas cantidades dedicadas a las políticas -urgentes donde las haya- para luchar contra la pobreza que atenaza a los millones de desheredados del planeta y alcanzar el cumplimiento de los modestos Objetivos del Milenio. También la pobreza da miedo, miedo global, pero los pobres están acostumbrados; su crisis es la de siempre, un "tsunami silencioso" al que estamos habituados. Y las reacciones de solidaridad que provocan son tan lentas...

Seamos positivos. No hay mal que por bien no venga. Soñemos con que esta crisis nos hará abrir un poco los ojos haciendo estas inevitables comparaciones. Soñemos con que también habrá abierto muchos ojos a la necesidad de introducir un poco más de ética y un poco más de responsabilidad social en el comportamiento de la economía mundial.

Recordamos estas cosas en vísperas de la celebración de la Navidad, cuyo verdadero protagonista no debería ser el consumo y el derroche, sino el recuerdo vivo de Aquel que -entre otras cosas provocadoras- dijo: "no se puede servir a Dios y al dinero">>.

José Luis Presedo, delegado en A Coruña explicó que, "aunque Entreculturas lleva ya más de un lustro trabajando en Galicia con delegaciones en A Coruña y Vigo, sabíamos que Santiago no podía quedar al margen de nuestra labor, por ser la capital de Galicia, cabecera administrativa y especialmente ciudad universitaria. Si Entreculturas trabaja por la educación, y cree que con ella se puede conseguir un mundo más justo, ningún lugar puede entender mejor este mensaje que Compostela".

En su intervención, Jorge Cela hizo un alegato a favor de la educación como instrumento de transformación social. Con esta idea, Cela pretende realizar un llamamiento a tener otra mirada, a poseer ojos que sí ven y que nos hacen entender que a través e la escuela se puede mejorar al conjunto de la sociedad, sea cual sea, el lugar en el que se ubica, mundo rico o mundo pobre. América Latina, donde trabaja principalmente Fe y Alegría, es lugar principal de transformación, puesto que, según Cela, "no es el más pobre del planeta, pero sí el que posee las mayores desigualdades".

Primer día

Hola a todos y todas... así rápidamente contaros que el viernes comenzamos con buen pie nuestro viaje... De nuevo en África. El calor húmedo de Bujumbura nos hizo olvidar los fríos madrileños y en pocas horas estamos ya metidos de lleno en esta especie de final de temporada de verano que se respira continuamente en los alrededores del lago Tanganika.

Estos primeros días nuestro trabajo se centra en la capital de Burundi, con entrevistas y visitas a proyectos de distintas contrapartes, muchas obras de la Compañía de Jesús y principalmente el Servicio Jesuita a Refugiados (JRS). Como siempre, la primera alegría es el recibimiento del equipo del JRS que nos hace sentir en casa a los pocos minutos.

"Un tren de valores para un mundo mejor" es la principal campaña de Responsabilidad Social Corporativa de RENFE con la que esta empresa quiere trasladar a la sociedad la necesidad de movilizarse de cara a lograr los Objetivos de Desarrollo del Milenio. Para ello, RENFE, en colaboración con 12 ONG y agencias internacionales, ha puesto en marcha un tren solidario con el que impulsar doce proyectos de cooperación en 2009.

Las formas de colaborar son muy diversas: comprar un tren eléctrico de 12 vagones solidarios, comprar entradas para la fila cero en partidos de fútbol, baloncesto, balonmano o rugby, enviar un SMS con la palabra VALORES al 5354 o realizar un donativo. Este dinero, unido a los 10.000 euros aportados por RENFE, se repartirá equitativamente entre las doce ONG que integramos esta iniciativa que lo destinaremos a financiar los correspondientes proyectos de desarrollo.

En lo que respecta a Entreculturas, el dinero recaudado lo destinaremos a promocionar el acceso a la educación de los niños y niñas de los campos de refugiados en África. Desde Entreculturas, a través del Servicio Jesuita a Refugiados -nuestro principal socio local en este continente- trabajamos para que el derecho a la educación esté garantizado y para que los más pequeños que viven en situación de refugio tengan la oportunidad de desarrollar todas sus potencialidades y de gozar de una vida digna.

Este galardón se enmarca en los reconocimientos que cada año otorga el Municipio del Distrito Metropolitano de Quito a diferentes organizaciones o personas destacadas en diversos ámbitos. En concreto, los aspectos que se tomaron en cuenta para distinguir al SJRM Ecuador con este galardón fueron, entre otros, su participación en el diseño de la Ordenanza Metropolitana de Movilidad Humana y del Sistema Distrital de Movilidad Humana (Mesa, Red, Casa, Observatorio), el continuo trabajo en defensa de los derechos de las personas que viven en contextos de desplazamiento y los aportes en este ámbito para la elaboración de la Nueva Constitución.

"Seguiremos comprometidos con el trabajo que realizamos a diario, desde una visión crítica y manteniéndonos en la defensa constante de los derechos de las personas en situación de movilidad humana independientemente de su nacionalidad", afirman desde esta organización.

Para los jesuitas, el Pacto europeo y la directiva citados, "priman la seguridad en detrimento de la libertad y la justicia (...) por más que proclamen el respeto a todos los instrumentos internacionales que garantizan los derechos humanos; y aunque pretenden la integración social de inmigrantes legales y refugiados, garantizando el disfrute de sus derechos y el cumplimiento de sus deberes". En concreto, denuncian:

• "La regulación de la salida obligatoria y de la expulsión de migrantes en situación irregular (...) no considera las amenazas a los derechos humanos en sus países de origen, ni obliga a los Estados miembros de la UE a garantizar asistencia letrada efectiva".
• "Los plazos fijados para el ‘retorno voluntario' (entre 7 y 30 días) lo vuelven inviable en condiciones de seguridad jurídica (...) y permite el internamiento de migrantes en proceso de expulsión sin suficiente control judicial, y con un plazo (6 meses, prorrogables hasta 18) desproporcionado para las necesidades de identificación y aseguramiento del proceso".
• "Las prohibiciones de reingreso (hasta 5 años) impiden (...) que la persona pida asilo en la UE por causas sobrevenidas tras su retorno al país de origen".
• "La regulación de los retornos en frontera excluye cualquier garantía jurisdiccional y bloquea de hecho la petición de asilo".
• "Tal como se regula la repatriación de menores de 18 años a sus países de origen (para entregarlos a sus padres o tutores, o a instituciones de acogida de menores) no garantiza el interés superior del menor".

Como no hay margen político para modificar los términos de la Directiva de Retorno, "los jesuitas confiamos en que se pida justicia ante el Tribunal de Justicia de la Unión Europea (TJUE) para hacer prevalecer el Derecho internacional público, el Derecho Internacional de los Derechos Humanos y el Derecho Humanitario cuando se apliquen las normas de los Estados miembros que traspongan la Directiva". Y piden a los países de la UE que tomen distancia de las exigencias coyunturales del mercado de trabajo, tengan presentes las necesidades estructurales de las sociedades europeas en términos demográficos y centren su mirada en los más vulnerables y sus derechos.

Entreculturas, como miembro de la Coordinadora de ONG para el Desarrollo (CONGDE), ha participado en el Foro de la Sociedad Civil que tuvo lugar los días inmediatamente anteriores al desarrollo de la Cumbre y en el que se reflexionó bajo el lema "Invirtiendo en un desarrollo centrado en las personas".

En este foro se reunieron más de 250 organizaciones y redes de todo el mundo con el objetivo de revisar las metas que se plantearon en Monterrey (2002) y proponer nuevos mecanismos de financiación para el desarrollo a fin de alcanzar los Objetivos del Milenio. El Foro de la Sociedad Civil consideraba que esta era una ocasión perfecta para tratar los problemas estructurales que han llevado a la crisis económica mundial, que deja a los más pobres aún más desprotegidos, pero, una vez más, se ha desaprovechado la oportunidad. Muchas de las organizaciones han manifestado su desilusión, ya que los gobiernos participantes en la Cumbre no han alcanzado metas tangibles para acabar con la pobreza.

¿En qué consiste la labor de la Fundación CIAZO?
Somos una red integrada por varias organizaciones que promovemos el desarrollo de las capacidades educativas. La sede la tenemos en San Salvador desde donde coordinamos todos los programas. Desde hace 19 años, realizamos esta labor con el enfoque de la educación popular, que, como ustedes, hemos utilizado durante muchos años. Aún sigue vigente este modelo de educación transformadora.

¿Cómo llegaste a la dirección de CIAZO?
Cuando yo estaba terminando Ciencias de la Educación en la Universidad de El Salvador, en un momento de la historia del país en el que se estaba acabando la guerra, tomé la decisión de dejar mi vida normal como estudiante y meterme en el proceso revolucionario organizado. Dejé la Universidad, mi empleo y me metí en otra vida. Estuve en otra organización que trabajaba a nivel comunitario en procesos organizativos y después de graduarme, en el año 94, entré en CIAZO como formadora de un programa que tenía que ver con los maestros populares, jóvenes que, en las comunidades y en las zonas conflictivas, tuvieron que dedicarse a dar clase, porque el Ministerio de Educación cerró las escuelas y no llegaban maestros. Estos jóvenes, sin ninguna formación académica pedagógica, empezaron a dar clase. Lo que a penas sabían leer y escribir lo compartían con la gente. Y así consiguieron crear un grupo que, después de un proceso de lucha, el Ministerio reconoció y ahora ya están contratados.

A continuación, compartimos mensajes, reflexiones y felicitación que nos han ido llegando este mes de diciembre de parte de algunos de nuestros socios locales.

¡Un fuerte abrazo a todos y a todas y FELIZ NAVIDAD!

• Los alumnos y alumnas de Fe y Alegría celebran "juntos" una navidad latinoamericana. Conoce las fotografías y las canciones navideñas que han colgados en el portal Mundo Escolar niños y niñas de este Movimiento de Educación Popular.
• Carta de Navidad de Jorge Cela, coordinador de la Federación Internacional de Fe y Alegría. En esta carta, Jorge Cela hace balance del trabajo desarrollado durante el año por Fe y Alegría mostrando que la siembra da fruto y que vale la pena seguir trabajando solidariamente.
• Felicitación Navideña del Instituto Peruano de Educación en Derechos Humanos y la Paz

También te animamos a felicitar las fiestas con nuestras tarjetas navideñas aquí

El primer destino de Frido fue Adjumani, en Uganda, donde coordinó la educación de cerca de 35.000 estudiantes refugiados sudaneses. Luego, Nairobi, desde donde coordina, hoy en día, toda la acción del JRS en África del Este.

Éstas son dos de las historias de personas que apostaron por la educación para tener un futuro; historias que, como otras muchas, dan sentido al trabajo y a la vida de Frido:

"Por norma general, el JRS en Adjumani no apoyaba la educación profesional de los jóvenes, únicamente la Primaria y la Secundaria. Pero un día vino una joven a mi oficina que había terminado sus estudios en una de nuestras escuelas y me dijo `Ahora, padre, necesito su ayuda porque quiero estudiar contabilidad´. `Pero nosotros no pagamos para eso, porque es demasiado costoso y no tenemos esa cantidad de dinero´, le contesté. `Pero no tengo nadie más a quien recurrir´, continuó insistiendo. `No, no tengo ninguno´ - fue su respuesta a mi pregunta de si tenía parientes- `vivía con mi abuela, que nunca quiso decirme quiénes eran mis padres ni mis parientes. Ella ha muerto y ahora estoy sola´. Le dije que volviera la semana siguiente y así lo hizo trayendo más y más argumentos. Realmente no pude resistirme por más tiempo. La apoyamos y me dí cuenta de lo trabajadora que era y de que se podía confiar en ella plenamente. Cada semestre me traía una contabilidad precisa de todos sus gastos. Finalmente, se examinó y aprobó. Pero ese fue el momento en el que dejé Adjumani y no la volví a ver hasta tiempo después. Fue en Kajo Keji donde lleva la contabilidad del Servicio Jesuita a Refugiados. Es realmente conmovedor verla crecer y tener un futuro.

"Una de las cosas que destacaría de África es que hay mucha vida, sobre todo cuando trabajas con la gente joven, jóvenes que están esperanzados y quieren trabajar para cambiar el estado de las cosas. Esto es así incluso en los campos de refugiados como los de Uganda o de Sur Sudán. La gente ha sido expulsada hacia el Sáhara, pero resisten, se resisten a morir, continúan diciendo "nosotros sobrevivimos, pase lo que pase, sobreviviremos". Ves esta resistencia, y sabes que no se rendirán, que no se sentarán y dirán "haz conmigo lo que quieras". Luchan por la vida. Esto es algo que te da energía: la resistencia, el poder, la alegría. África es un pueblo alegre, son gentes que celebran los matrimonios, las fiestas y puedes ver lo felices que son, bailan y celebran realmente la vida. La apuesta por la vida y la felicidad son cosas que no solemos mostrar de África. Pero son cosas que están allí y más cuanto la gente tiene que luchar con más fuerza.

Durante mis años de trabajo en África también he podido ver progresos. Hemos construido escuelas, los niños están viniendo porque necesitan educarse, y las familias luchan por que así sea. Por supuesto, hay personas a las que tienes que animar, pero la mayoría realmente ve el valor de la educación y está abierta a las novedades que el mundo depara. Esto no siempre ha sido así. Cuando los misioneros llegaron a África en los tiempos de mi abuelo, había muy pocas escuelas y tenían que dar golosinas a los niños para animarles a ir a la escuela. Era algo que no se demandaba. Pero ahora ha habido un gran cambio. La gente viene a nuestras escuelas y están dispuestos, incluso, a pagar por sus hijos e hijas. Ha habido un gran cambio en menos de cincuenta años.

The right to education, globalization and responsible spending are some of the issues they will work on, during the next course. A total of 160 schools and more than 200 teachers from Andalucía, Galicia, La Rioja, Madrid, Comunidad Valenciana, Murcia, Castilla-León and Asturias, make up the Entreculturas Youth Solidarity Network and make this initiative a great example of working together in a voluntary commitment with justice.

The youth support, among others, the Global Campaign for Education, Zero Poverty, and the Coalition to end the Use of Child Soldiers. They carry out different activities in their schools such as gymkhanas, plays, solidarity sales, etc. Likewise they participate in local voluntary work, in charity dining rooms and hospitals or giving lessons to children in deprived areas.

With this solidarity network, Entreculturas aims to develop pro social conducts and values (cooperation, mutual help, solidarity, empathy, participation in collective matters, etc) among the youth. Also and through the activities at schools, it aims to motivate student participation and social implication, promoting their abilities for dialogue, joint decision making, peaceful resolution of conflicts and respect for different ways of thinking. The network shows the youth the richness in sharing and the advantages of working together in order to achieve a common goal.

In this international Volunteer Day, Entreculturas wishes to thank these 2.000 boys and girls for their volunteer work with which they contribute to raise awareness among the population and slowly make a more equal world possible.

Entreculturas, as a member of the DNGO Coordinator (CONGDE), has participated in the Civil Society Forum which took place on the days before the Summit and where discussion was around the slogan "Investing in people centred development".

More than 250 organizations and networks gathered in this forum to revise the goals set in Monterrey 2002 and propose new development financing mechanisms in order to reach the Millennium Goals. The Civil Society Forum considered this an ideal occasion to address the structural problems that have led to the world economic crisis, that leave the poor even more unprotected, but once again the opportunity was lost. Many organizations have showed their disappointment, since the participant governments at the summit have not reached tangible goals to end poverty.

For a solidarity and durable solution

What does the CIAZO Foundation work on?

We are a network made up of several organizations to promote the development of education capacities. We are based in San Salvador where we coordinate all our programmes. For the past 19 years we work focused, like you, on popular education which is transforming.

¿How did you reach the direction of CIAZO?

When I was finishing Education Science at the University of El Salvador, when the war was ending in the country, I made the decision of leaving my normal life as a student to join the organized revolutionary movement. I left university, my job and entered a new life. I worked at community level in organization processes and when I graduated in 94 I joined CIAZO as a trainer for popular teachers. They were young people who in the communities and conflict areas had to teach since the Ministry of Education closed the schools and there were no teachers. These young people, with no academic training, started to teach. The little they knew about reading or writing, they shared with the people. They managed to create a group that the Ministry ended up recognizing and are now hired.

The ministry pays them, but not as they would like to be paid. There are two programmes, the official school programme and the "Educo" programme. This is the one the teachers have joined in the rural communities and their conditions are limited versus the official programme, especially concerning job security: they sign their contracts on an annual base, they don't have the same allowances and do not rise in the seniority scales.

Do you work in the formal or non formal education?

We have two lines of work. Regarding community development, we work more in the non formal education, but we also have a programme for Basic Education where Entreculturas supports us with teacher training and attention to learning difficulties. This is an effort in order to help the teachers detect and see how to carry out education therapies depending on the situation of each boy or girl. There are also problems related to the situation in which the family lives, under nourishment, violence... These are issues that go beyond the programme, but we try not to leave them aside. If there are nourishment problems we try to help although they are out of school activities.

Your work is not only focused on children but also on adults and teachers. What are those projects?

One of our projects is called "Education for Community Development" and seeks to strengthen the capacities of those who live in the communities, especially the leaders or community facilitators so that they may promote development in their community.

How do the teachers respond?

In these schools, where we have a combination of popular teachers and public teachers, they show great interest, because the Ministry of Education does not give them these tools or specific attention. Nobody is there to guide them, to give them materials...For example in our visit to Spain we went to Galicia, to several schools where they had big libraries, computers... All this is a dream for El Salvador.

How does your work impact the social reality?

First of all, the families live in economic conditions that make them loose interest in education. They prefer to work rather than attend school. The parents don't send their children to school, they send them to work in order to gain some money and survive. On the other hand, parents have the limitation of not having attended school, of not knowing how to read or write, so they cannot help their children with their homework.

Regarding politics, the party polarization also affects us. If parents think that our process is going to question the system and favours a change in the country they see us as "leftists or guerrillas". This limits their participation, because the system has kept them still and quiet and for them, to do something different is difficult.

There is a feeling of the need for change, but they are afraid of this change. Because government sells the idea that if the left comes to power, poverty will increase, because there will be no more money coming from those that are working in the US. The money sent by the people living in the US is essential for the economy of our country, since more than 50% of our GNP is sustained by it. It has positive effects since it brings money, but it does not necessarily mean a better development, because when the people receive the money they invest it in electrical appliances or other goods rather than education or any other activity that may mean sustainable living. If the family member abroad stops sending money, they fall into a terrible crisis.

The young people, for example, have lost the perspective of studying since every month, their mother or father or whichever relative may be in the US, sends them money. So why would they study if they have the possibility of having a monthly income? This does not motivate them to change the situation they are living, because the system has put them in a terrible consuming process and it is complicated to fight against this. This is where education processes are important.

And why have you always had this commitment with education?

The ethical commitment I have with my people is what led me to this effort. It is rather complicated, but I like it. I don't mind working more than the 8 hours of my contract or to sacrifice other privileges I could have if I worked elsewhere, because in the end I feel that my work helps other people to have the same opportunities that I had myself..

This is also a kind of revolution...

Yes, this is the idea. I am happy to see that what I do will not only help one person, but several, to have the opportunities that others wished to have and were not able because of the system. We cannot just sit back and let this happen...

There is a slogan that says, "Another world is possible" and I also believe it, but if we do something now. I had my first child when I was 24 and I was studying and working. I had a complicated life but I was satisfied to see I was doing something for change. I could not just see that there were poor people, people with no access to education; people who are marginal, excluded and used by the system...I could not sit back. And I did not belong to the middle class but at least I had reached university and that gave me possibilities to say "what can I do?" This is where I started this effort and where I am now because there is still a lot to be done. Unfortunately, the capitalist system has drummed into us:" live well, no matter how the rest live".

This award is given in the framework of the recognition that the Municipality of Quito gives to relevant people or organizations for their work. SJRM Ecuador was awarded for its participation in the design of the Municipality Human Mobility System, the continuous work in defense of the rights of the people who live in displaced contexts and its contribution on this issue to the elaboration of the New Constitution

"We will continue to be committed with our daily work, from a critical point of view and defending the rights of the people in a human mobility situation regardless of their nationality" says the organization.

José Luis Presedo, our A Coruña delegate explained that "although Entreculturas has been working in Galicia for more than 5 years with delegations in A Coruña and Vigo we knew that Santiago, being the capital of Galicia and a university city, was important. If Entreculturas works in favour of education in order to achieve a fairer world, there is no place that can better understand the message better".

In his conference, Jorge Cela spoke on education as a tool for social transformation. With this idea, Cela transmits the need to have a new look, to have eyes that do see and make us understand that education can improve the whole of society wherever it may be, in a rich or poor world. Latin America, where Fe y Alegría works, is the main place of transformation since according to Cela, " it is not the poorest area of the planet but it does have the biggest inequalities".

Eyes that do see

"This inequality is very visible, one can touch it" says Jorje Cela, "when one visits a Latin American city. The rapid growth of the cities has led to well off areas, with services, and others with a total lack of them, marginal, dirty, and even violent. The ease with which we can see this borderline in a city should be the same to see the unequal situation existing between North and South".

In a privatized world, it is good to remember that education is a public good. "It is clear that in this fight, education is not the only way" adds Jorge Cela, "but it is also clear that we should not understand education as the short school period where children go to school to learn the alphabet. The education we demand is something broader which involves the whole of society. In the Latin American urban world, with its strong inequalities there are violent outbursts as a result of injustice and frustration. How are they being solved? With more violence and repression in the streets, by taking military control of the city.

This can never be the answer; to stop violence with violence is useless. The only way to solve it is education, an education to provide life alternatives. There are many debates on who is to blame for the lack of a quality education in Latin America, but the important thing is that we understand that human rights are respected only when we comply with obligations. And we must all do this, governments, business corporations, public and private organizations, different religions, the NGOs".

And the Millennium Goals?

"The Millennium Goals are not sufficient for Latin America. To set primary education for all as a goal is totally insufficient. In the Ibero American Summit recently held in San Salvador, with the participation of Fe y Alegría, the demand for a secondary free education for all was put forth. We demand a quality education, not to be able to say that we have the most brilliant students but to say that we have the best public education".

"A train of values for a better world" is the main Social Responsibility campaign of RENFE with which this train business corporation wants to transmit to society the need to mobilize in order to reach the Development Millennium Goals. For this purpose, RENFE together with 12 NGOs and international agencies has started a solidarity train to promote 12 cooperation projects for 2009.

There are several ways to participate in this campaign: to buy an electric train with 12 solidarity wagons, to buy solidarity tickets for football, netball, baseball or rugby matches or to send a donation. This money, together with the 10.000 Euros donated by RENFE, will be equally distributed among the 12 NGOs for different development projects.

In celebrating this important day we seek to focus attention on the personal situation of those who migrate or seek refuge, their families and their communities, and societies in countries of origin and destination. Yet in doing so, we recognise that the personal situations of migrants and refugees are affected by political and legislative decisions that jeopardise their access to human rights.

From this perspective the Jesuit Social Apostolate is concerned by the recent negative trend that European policies on immigration and asylum have taken, as manifested with the recent adoption of the Return Directive and the European Pact on Immigration and Asylum. It reveals a worrisome intention: to strengthen security at the expense of liberty and justice, although the Pact proclaims support for human rights and the social integration of legal migrants and refugees.

In commemoration of Human Rights Day, 10 December, JRS urges the international community to take steps to ensure that all displaced children, regardless of their financial situation or legal status, are guaranteed access to quality education. Although individual governments bear the primary responsibility for meeting their educational needs, it is the responsibility of all states to support the efforts of those countries unable to meet these needs with their own resources.

"Where education is available to refugees, most often in camp settings, the quality of schooling is often poor. School buildings are usually inadequate and didactic materials are either lacking or nonexistent. Most troubling is the lack of qualified teachers. Investment in the physical infrastructure of schools and teaching quality is urgently needed" urged JRS International Director, Peter Balleis SJ.

Throughout the developing world, JRS comes across displaced parents living in poverty forced to choose between paying for their children's education and buying basic essentials. Even when education is nominally free, teachers' salaries are often not paid, so families are forced to contribute. Too often, refugee parents, unable to afford the costs of their children's education, are forced to take them out of school. Unfortunately, those in the most vulnerable circumstances suffer disproportionately, including girls and children with disabilities. In fact, an estimated 98 per cent of children with disabilities in the developing world, many of them victims of conflict and landmine incidents, do not attend school.

As JRS staff well know, the problem of access to education is not limited to developing countries. Shockingly, thousands of children are held in detention centres in industrialised nations, as well as developing states, without the possibility of going to school. While some children receive classes in closed centres, their extended confinement risks causing psychological harm and impaired cognitive development. Upon release, many children continue to be denied an education by their precarious economic circumstances. In some European countries, such as France, forcibly displaced parents are afraid to send their children to school for fear that they may be arrested and detained once again.

"The appalling lack of appropriate educational opportunities to displaced children now will adversely affect both the children and their countries in the future. A generation of children is being lost. Given educational opportunities, they have the potential to rebuild their lives, to help rebuild their communities and thus to strengthen and stabilise their countries for generations to come" added Fr Balleis.

The Jesuit Refugee Service (JRS) is an international Catholic non-governmental organisation whose mission is to serve, accompany, and advocate on behalf of refugees and other forcibly displaced persons. JRS works in 57 worldwide. It employs more than 1,400 staff including lay, Jesuits, and other religious to meet the educational, health, social and other needs of more than 500,000 refugees and other forcibly displaced persons. Its services are made available to refugees and displaced persons regardless of their race, ethnic origin, or religious beliefs. It provides primary and secondary education to approximately 170,000 children, and undertakes advocacy to ensure that all displaced children are provided with a quality education.

James Stapleton, Communications Coordinator
Jesuit Refugee Service (Int. Office)
Tel: +39-06 68977390
Fax: +39-06 6897 7380
Email: international.communications@jrs.net
www.jrs.net

<<"We have all heard that the Chinese use the same world to describe the concepts of crisis and opportunity. What they mean to say is that an every crisis lies an opportunity, depending on how it is looked at. The word crisis comes from the Greek "to separate, to sift" which means to pass judgement, to keep only what is worth while. There is an opportunity in every crisis and the deeper the crisis, the better the opportunity can be. But some people are not capable of seeing it.

This crisis of gigantic proportions seen by some as the "perfect storm" should help us at least to see better, to see more clearly; to decentralize our look from our individual or national problems; to have a global look; to realize that our local crises (for example the dangerously growing unemployment) cannot be fully understood if we do not place them in an international perspective.

Cerca de 70.000 móviles se dejan de usar cada año en Logroño, de acuerdo a los cálculos de Cruz Roja y la Fundación Entreculturas. Ambas entidades cifran en mes y medio el tiempo que tarde un usuario en España en renovar su móvil, lo que supone que cerca de 20 millones de unidades se queden guardados en un cajón o, en el peor de los casos, se arrojen a la basura.

El Ayuntamiento de Logroño es una de las más de 2.000 instituciones españolas que participan en esta iniciativa de carácter social y medioambiental que tiene por objeto recaudar fondos para promover proyectos de cooperación al desarrollo y proteger el medio ambiente.

El 10 de diciembre a las 11 de la mañana la RSJ (Red Solidaria de Jóvenes de La Rioja) organizó un acto de conmemoración del sexagésimo aniversario de la Declaración Universal de Derechos Humanos

Inicialmente estaba previsto celebrarlo en la Pza. Primero de Mayo; pero a causa de la persistente lluvia, se llevó a cabo en el frontón semicubierto del Centro Sagrado Corazón-Jesuitas que, rápidamente, cedió sus equipos e instalaciones.

Casi un millar de jóvenes de 5 Centro Educativos (IES Tomás Mingot, Rey Pastor, Los Boscos, Agustinas y Sagrado Corazón) asistieron a la lectura de la D.U.D.H., precedida de unas palabras del Consejero de Acción Exterior, D. Emilio del Río, que estuvo presente en el acto acompañado por la Directora General de Acción Exterior, Cristina Salinas, y el Director General del Centro Sagrado Corazón, J. Ángel Apellániz.

There is a lot of live when you work with a lot of people, they are hopeful, and they are really working against the trent of things, even when you go to a refugee camp in Uganda or Sudan, they are in their own country but they have been push to the Sahara, but these people resist, they resist to die, the continue to say "we will survive", what ever happens we still survive. You see these of resilience, this kind of struggle people who are saying we are not giving up, they are not going to sit back and say "do to with me whatever you like" they are fighting for life. That gives you energy. The resilience, the power, they are really happy too. You go there and they celebrate the marriages, the mass, and you can see how happy they are, they dance, they really celebrate life. But life and happiness are things that perhaps we do not portrait very much of Africa. But they are there and you can see there is more life when people are straggling very hard.

And there are progresses we have built schools, the children are coming because they need to be educated, and the families are really struggling to achieve it. Of course there are other people you have to encourage. But the majority really can see the value of education, they are opened to the new things that are coming on.

The first Frido´s destination was Adjumani in Uganda, where he coordinated the education of around 35.000 Sudanese refugees. Later, it was Nairobi from where he is coordinating, nowadays, the action of the JRS in East Africa.

These are the stories of two persons that believed in education as the way to have a future; stories that, as many others, give meaning to Frido´s work and life.

<<Usually we do not support professional education, just primary and secondary but she came to my office and told me that she had finished her studies in one of our schools and pass all the examinations. "Now father I need your help because I want to do accountability. I told her "we didn´t pay for that because it was too expensive and we haven´t such a big amount". "But father, I don´t have anyoneelse to ask". "But you must have relatives" "No, I don´t have", she said, "I was living with my grandmother, she never told me who were my parents nor who are my relatives. She died and now I am alone". I told her to come back the next week and she did it bringing more and more arguments. Really I couldn´t resist anymore. We supported her and I realise that she was a really hard worker and she was a trustful person, every semester she gave me a precise accountability of her expenses. Finally she took her examination and pass, but that was the time I left Adjumani. When I have seen her again after a while she is managing the accountability of the JRS in Kajo Keji. It is really moving to see her grown up and having a future now.

El pasado día 18 de noviembre tuvo lugar en la sede de la delegación un taller de formación sobre educación para el desarrollo. El taller fue de carácter interno, organizado por el equipo de educación y dirigido a todas las personas de la delegación con el objetivo de dar a conocer la estructura de los talleres de Educación para el Desarrollo que se impartirán en los centros educativos a partir del nuevo año 2009. A su vez, sirvió como formación interna e introducción al tema de Educación para el Desarrollo.

Desde la Delegación nos lo describen así:

<< Y llegó el gran día. Estábamos todos ansiosos por ese 18 de noviembre. Habíamos invertido mucho tiempo en preparar el acto: enviar los sobres con las invitaciones, los mails a las distintas instituciones y personas particulares, llamar a los medios de comunicación, etc. Estábamos un poco nerviosos porque, para los integrantes de la delegación, era un acto importante la presentación oficial en la ciudad de Badajoz.

A las cinco de la tarde quedamos todos en nuestra sede de Ramón Albarrán. Desde allí nos fuimos a la Concejalía de Juventud, que era el sitio dónde se iba a celebrar el acto a las seis y media. En dicha presentación iba a hablar Gema, delegada de Entreculturas en Extremadura, Ramón Almansa, Coordinador de Cooperación de Entreculturas y Jorge Cela, Coordinador General de la Federación Internacional de Fe y Alegría.

El objetivo general de este proyecto es asistir a las necesidades educativas de las niñas y niños retornados tras la guerra civil de Liberia, país situado al oeste de África que linda con Sierra Leona, Guinea, Costa de Marfil y el Océano Atlántico. La delegación de Burgos quiere canalizar toda la ayuda hacia este pueblo y, además, cuenta con P. Alberto Plaza, jesuita burgalés que lleva trabajando en Liberia durante varios años en esta zona.

El Servicio Jesuita de Refugiados actúa a través de programas relacionados con el suministro de material escolar y la rehabilitación de la infraestructura escolar de Liberia. Los beneficiarios son retornados que fueron desplazados por la larga guerra civil de Liberia; gentes con diversos oficios que de regreso a sus lugares de origen, luchan por reconstruir de nuevo sus vidas en su Liberia natal, después de haber pasado muchos años en otras partes del país o incluso en otros países como Guinea.

El proyecto prevé la compra de una máquina para fabricar ladrillos y tejas para la construcción de aulas. En especial pretende: