RENATE Core Group member Patricia Mulhall, CSB, teaching computer skills at Caritas Bakhita House, London, UK- Oct. 2020.

What can I do?

The importance of sharing one’s gifts and talents can make the world of difference to the lives of those who have been victimised by traffickers.

RENATE Core Group member, Patricia Mulhall, CSB, shares with us some correspondence acknowledging the assistance provided to Human Trafficking survivors at Caritas Bakhita House, London, UK, where Patricia volunteers to teach computer skills.

‘’I write to thank you for the recent donation of Office windows packages and a stand-alone computer to the guests at Caritas Bakhita House.

We support the women here to move forward in a safe way to find an independence without control and exploitation. Many of the routes to that life involve technology. They want to attend counselling, schooling, make contact with family members, meet new groups of friends, the list is endless but the common factor is they all need to be able to access technology to do any of this, especially now with COVID-19.

Some things in life can be taken for granted like the internet and lap tops but actually they are crucial to many peoples continuing wellbeing.

We thank you from the bottom of our hearts for helping provide the technology that our guests need in their continued fight for better lives! It means so much to them.

Best Wishes Guests and Staff at Caritas Bakhita House.’’

‘Mission not Community is at the heart of  our Charism.’ Imelda Poole, IBVM, President RENATE Europe.

In the first in a series that explores the extraordinary richness and diversity of ways in which women live out their vocation as members of religious institutes and communities, Sr Imelda Poole reflects on her work combatting human trafficking of women, men, girls and boys- Interview Blanche Girouard, The Tablet, 3 September 2020.

I was the tenth of 12 children in a very loving, caring and close Catholic family. My parents were models for caring for others: they counselled, in our front room, young couples who were having marital difficulties; my father took us to sing carols in the maternity hospital at Christmas; and we’d go out snow sweeping to raise money to donate on Good Shepherd Sunday.

I fell in love with God when I was studying for my A levels at the Loreto Convent in Nottingham. I was praying each day using a little book of meditations on God’s love and I suddenly experienced a love that was more intense than any other loving I had experienced before: even though I had had a boyfriend since the previous year. It was a really extraordinary experience: I felt it deep, deep, deep in my gut, drawing me in, and it stayed and got bigger and more passionate and wider so that after a school day I just wanted to drop into church and pray!

Full article at: https://www.thetablet.co.uk/features/2/18648/-mission-not-community-is-at-the-heart-of-our-charism-

There is a universal message in this month’s issue of Contre la Traite des Etres HUmains – ENCOURAGE FRENCH SOCIETY TO MOBILIZE AGAINST TRAFFICKING IN HUMAN BEINGS FOR THE PURPOSE OF LABOR EXPloitation.

currently recognised as an invisible and poorly recognised phenomenon in France, the content of the newsletter covers various preemptive steps towards addressing the phenomenon, such as:

1. Promoting the detection of expxloitative situations;

2. Train judicial personnel;

3. raising public awareness.

Together with excerpts from recent trials in France and information on the committee against Modern Slavery (CCEM), the newsletter is packed with information.

Access the Newsletter at:  http://www.contrelatraite.org/lutte_exploitation_travail

Pope’s message for the World day of Prayer for the Season of Creation, 1 September 2020.

                                                                                                       Photo: Egor Kamelev.

RENATE welcomes Pope Francis’ call for just and sustainable societies, able to take care of one another and the environment. His message is of particular relevance at this time, when we are seeing the extended reach of human traffickers and exploiters by means of the Internet and social media, capturing an increasingly younger audience, housebound during the time of COVID-19.

In his message for the World Day of Prayer for the Season of Creation, Pope Francis urges all of us to make sure the world’s poorest people are not forgotten as countries begin to rebuild, despite the ongoing presence of COVID-19.

Below is an excerpt from Pope Francis’ opening statement, followed by a link to the entire text.

Source: Vatican News

‘You will declare the fiftieth year holy and you will proclaim the liberation in the earth for all its inhabitants. It will be a jubilee for you’ (Lv 25,10)

Dear brothers and sisters,

Every year, particularly since the publication of the Encyclical Letter Laudato si ‘ ( LS , 24 May 2015), the first day of September marks the World Day of Prayer for the Care of Creation for the Christian family, with which the Time of Creation begins, which ends on 4 October, in memory of St Francis of Assisi. In this period, Christians throughout the world renew their faith in God the Creator and unite in a special way in prayer and action for the safeguard of the common home.

I am pleased that the theme chosen by the ecumenical family for the celebration of the Time of Creation 2020 is “Jubilee for the Earth”, precisely in the year in which the fiftieth anniversary of Earth Day occurs.

In Sacred Scripture, the Jubilee is a sacred time to remember, return, rest, repair and rejoice.

1. A time to remember

We are invited to remember above all that the ultimate destiny of creation is to enter into God’s eternal Sabbath. It is a journey that takes place in time, embracing the rhythm of the seven days of the week, the cycle of seven years and the great Jubilee Year that comes to the end of seven sabbatical years.

The Jubilee is also a time of grace to commemorate the original vocation of creation to be and prosper as a community of love. We exist only through relationships: with God the creator, with brothers and sisters as members of a common family, and with all creatures who inhabit our own home. “Everything is related, and all of us human beings are united as brothers and sisters in a wonderful pilgrimage, linked by the love that God has for each of his creatures and which also unites us among us, with tender affection, to our brother sun, to sister moon, to brother river and to mother earth “( LS , 92).

The Jubilee, therefore, is a time for remembrance, where to keep the memory of our inter-relational existence. We constantly need to remember that “everything is related, and that the authentic care of our own life and of our relations with nature is inseparable from fraternity, justice and fidelity to others” ( LS , 70).

Full text at: http://www.vatican.va/content/francesco/en/messages/pont-messages/2020/documents/papa-francesco_20200901_messaggio-giornata-cura-creato.html

                                                                  September 2020.

Across the world, education is the key to the prevention of children becoming victims of human trafficking.

While this month’s issue of STOP Trafficking focuses on human trafficking education in schools in the United States, there are findings that can apply to other jurisdictions.

Covering how the State of Florida introduced mandatory education on Child Trafficking Prevention, for students from Kindergarten to 12the grade, through to consideration of themes such as  ‘’Children at risk,’’ ‘’Social Media,’’  the Newsletter covers a variety of aspects of Human Trafficking that are essential considerations for all involved in the wider education and community fields.

Click here to download the SEPTEMBER 2020 newsletter.

The Season of Creation is nearly here!

The concept of climate migrants and the nexus between climate change and human trafficking continues to gain traction as increasingly, millions of people displaced due to climate change, fall victim to human trafficking and exploitation as they strive for their very existence.

Together next week, people on six continents will mark the Season of Creation with two transformational events:- A Season of Creation Webinar + a Global prayer Service.

Launch of online Training Framework: Modern Slavery and Human Trafficking.

The Centre for the Study of Modern Slavery, St. Mary’s Twickenham, UK, invites attendance at the launch of a training framework for the identification, care and support of victims and survivors of modern slavery and human trafficking.

The exploitation of people through slavery and human trafficking is present in every facet of our work and personal lives. The training framework has been developed to establish clear standards for learning and development on modern slavery.

The framework aims to raise knowledge and skills across a wide range of practitioners and organisations. We will share the framework in this session and explore how it can be used.

This online event will be held at 11am-12:30pm on Tuesday 22nd September.

To find out further information about the event and details of how to confirm your attendance, please clink on this link :

https://elinkeu.clickdimensions.com/m/1/24742546/p1-t20211-74ecebc9ed644a2e9fa078b9fd1937ec/1/1/1

“Conversation among women of faith on human dignity, freedom and care,”

Webinar Monday 31 AUGUST at 2pm CEST.

The event will be in English with translation available in both French
and Spanish.
Keynote speakers will be Sr. Gabriella Bottani; Ven. Dhammananda
Bhikkihuni, Assoc. Professor Dr. Chatsuman Kabilsingh, Buddhist nun from
Thailand; Rev. Sr. Veronica Openibo, leader of the Society of the Holy
Child Jesus; Feride F.G. Gencaslan, President of the European Centre for
Sufism and Inter-religious encounters-Sufi; Hedva Goldschmidt, Film
distributor, Co-founder of WOMEN of FAITH for Peace; Fatima Madaki
Abubakar, Founder, Educational and Sustainable Livelihood Youth
Initiative North Nigeria,
with greeting from H.E. Calista Gingrich, US Ambassador to the Holy See
and final remarks from Sr. Patricia Murray, IBVM, UISG Executive
Secretary.

The link to participate:https://bit.ly/3aSPfd6
Meeting ID: 891 1963 6828

Querida amiga, querida hermana, querido hermano,
estás invitada a participar en la “Conversación entre mujeres de fe
sobre la dignidad humana, la libertad y el cuidado” en línea.

El evento será en inglés con traducción disponible en francés y español.

Cher ami, chère sœur, cher frère,
vous êtes invitées à participer à la “Conversation entre femmes de foi
sur la dignité humaine, la liberté et l’attention” en ligne.

L’événement sera en anglais avec une traduction disponible en français
et en espagnol

Pope Francis Life after the Pandemic by Fr Michael Czerny SJ pandemic_en

Presentation of Findings of the ODIHR and UN Women Policy Survey Report and Recommendations.

Many of you will have participated in the UN Women and ODIHR webinar “Presentation of Findings of the ODIHR and UN Women Policy Survey Report and Recommendations ‘Addressing Emerging Human Trafficking Trends and Consequences of the COVID-19 Pandemic” which took place on July 21^st. It was an excellent opportunity for discussion and knowledge exchange.

Please find a link to the recording of the webinar: https://unwomen.zoom.us/rec/share/18hzdoHi8zhJG7Ps7UD4W4gnB7zpT6a80yQY_PEImBtRkQkUMcjl2M1M4mRHggDt (password: n9#=mCmd).

On 30 July, on the occasion of the World Day against Trafficking in Persons, the Policy Survey Report was published on 30^th July and you may find it here: https://www.osce.org/files/f/documents/2/a/458434_1.pdf. The joint report will also be available in French, Russian and Spanish within weeks.

The report has been featured in a Fuller Project article and has also featured in a number of subsequent publications, including both the  TIME and Foreign Policy Magazine that referenced the report before its release.