Venezuela – Jesuit Works in Venezuela Face the Crisis
The Spes Consortium was born as a need for a joint response, among the works of the Society of Jesus in Venezuela, to the crisis that the country is experiencing in order to restore and guarantee the rights of the vulnerable population.
This Consortium is made up of nine social works, eight of which are part of the Society of Jesus: Fe y Alegría, Fe y Alegría Servicios (which participates privately), Centro Gumilla, Movimiento Juvenil Huellas, Jesuit Refugee Service (JRS), Hogar Virgen de los Dolores (HVD), Universidad Católica Andrés Bellos (UCAB) and Organización Social Católica San Ignacio (OSCASI). AVESSOC (Venezuelan Association of Christian Oriented Health Services) is also an ally.
This form of working in consortiums among the works implies a series of challenges, since each organization must continue working to guarantee its own persistence over time and achieve its institutional objectives, and also partner with sister organizations to pursue higher objectives that are of significant interest to all the organizations involved.
These alliances allow for a number and diversity of initiatives aimed at improving the quality of life of the population in three areas:
- Quality education,
- Integral health,
- Strengthening citizenship in three established phases: Crisis, early recovery and route to development.
From this perspective, jointly, the Consortium represents an opportunity in the face of the crisis in Venezuela that, through joint projects and activities, proposes actions to ensure survival conditions, address the underlying causes of the crisis and promote guarantees for the full enjoyment of human rights, acting with the population of our Social Works.
In 2022, Spes intends to promote spaces for articulation among the consortium members, initiate the execution of at least two development projects in vulnerable areas, design a digital platform that will allow us to have an intranet and a web page that will help us to have a public impact. A strategy has also been developed with the Third Sector Training Center of the UCAB to strengthen the organizations, with the support of the International Center for Professional Updating - CIAP, a diploma course on management strengthening for all the works and some allies such as Unidos en la Misión, the Jesuit Curia and the Center for Reflection and Educational Planning - CERPE.
The Consortium hopes to provide support to the vulnerable population in the face of the crisis and to strengthen itself internally to improve its capacities based on collaborative management.
Source: CPAL
Related Posts:
The Jaboticaba Agricultural Family School in Brazil reuses water for sustainable food production in a semi-arid region. Since 1993, it has combined agroecology with wastewater treatment to enhance food security and educate students. The project promotes environmental sustainability and aims to influence public policies in line with Pope Francis’s call for integral ecology.
The Central American Province of the Society of Jesus marks the first anniversary of the Nicaraguan government's confiscation of the Central American University, condemning the violation of education rights and academic freedom. They call for an end to repression, the release of political prisoners, and a return to dialogue and justice.
Stan Swamy Day in Viragalur was a moving tribute to a man who devoted his life to justice and the upliftment of the marginalized.
His journey was marked by a profound sense of detachment, as he left behind his nationality, culture, security, history, and companions to embrace a completely foreign environment.
Jesuit Network with Migrants Central America and North America (RJM CANA) shared the first four months of the year report (January – April 2024): "They have been months of a lot of work to face the challenges in the migration context characterized by an increase in the migratory flow in vulnerable conditions throughout the region, however, also These have been months in which the fruits of networking have been confirmed".
From April 5 to 7, the Jesuit Radio Network in the Dominican Republic met at the facilities of the Loyola Polytechnic Institute (IPL) in San Cristóbal. During the meeting, the construction of a shared itinerary that seeks to focus on collaboration and contextualized radio communication marked by the Apostolic Preferences approved by the Society of Jesus for the coming years was highlighted.
