Social Work

Working against Discrimination on the basis of work and decent has been the one thing I have been grappling with during the 37 years of my life as a Jesuit.

My work in development cooperation began more than 20 years ago. However, previously, I was involved in volunteer projects where I had the opportunity to experience what I call "encounters" with realities and people plagued by poverty and exclusion. I remember when I spent one summer in India,

The retreat was very difficult—after being woken up by a gong at 4:30 am, and spending numerous sessions in silent meditation with only two small meals of brown rice and steamed vegetables, by the early evening most of my own meditation centred on food.

My grandparents had great hopes of seeing brighter days, when the British brought them to Assam, to work in the tea gardens. They did not really see a better life but they worked hard and did not starve. I did not see them. My father was born in Assam and never saw the birthplace of his parents in Jharkhand.

I am Elba Polanco. At some point in my life, I discovered that serving was one of my passions. I feel I have a sensitivity which allows me to enjoy, when I serve, helping other people. Moreover, my learning to serve was fostered in great measure by seeing my father passionately serving other people; the rest is history, as God has taken care of infusing me with His grace.

My first experience with migrant workers was when I was a 23 year old scholastic. I was travelling by train, in an emergency from Calcutta to Kerala, my home State in an unreserved coach.

“Try to engage our students in a social project!” says Father Axel Bödefeld SJ, the headmaster of Loyola gymnasium. He has this wish for the students of Loyola gymnasium, which is considered the best school in Kosovo. Ignatian pedagogy however aims at more than best results in comparative tests. He wants the elite students to receive an education for their hearts as well.

This is a short story of a relatively young and happy Jesuit scholar who did not plan to return to the social apostolate. After a period of joy and labor in the field of academia, education and coaching, I did not expect to receive the call to the coordination of social service and research in Europe and the Near East. The first response was a mix of interest and disquiet.

When studying to be an engineer, I was moved by the commitment of the staff of the ATD Fourth World movement, who lived alongside very poor families, struggling side-by-side to realise change for them in society.

“Progetto Scampia” was launched in the year 2001, in response to the requests of the Superiors of the Society, who greatly wanted an apostolic presence of the Jesuits in this district located in the North of Naples, renowned for its very high crime rate.