Advocacy in Edmund Rice Mission Latin America
This October, Br. Tino D’Abreu from Edmund Rice International (ERI) visited the Latin America Mission Area. The purpose of his visit was to strengthen the collaboration between ERI and the Defensoría Edmundo Rice (DER) project, which promotes and defends human rights and social justice in the region. DER and ERI have been working together for several years to raise awareness about social justice, human rights and the rights of children, adolescents, and vulnerable populations across Latin America.
During his trip, Tino had a busy schedule full of activities and meetings with multiple groups of strategic partners, mainly schools associated with DER. Through interactive sessions full of questions and comments, Tino presented to schools in Latin America on ERI’s work at the United Nations and their collaboration with many projects, schools and other organisations around the globe. Tino visited 60 teachers from the Franciscan School Santa Rosa de Barranco in Lima, followed by the Christian Brothers’ School Mundo Mejor in Chimbote, where 56 teachers and administrative staff participated (pictured). Tino also visited the Alcanzando Nuevos Horizontes (Reaching for New Horizons) project, an education project in a human settlement on the outskirts of Chimbote, which is supported by ERD and Misean Cara. Tino encouraged teachers to participate in ERI’s Zoom workshops on human rights, social justice and eco-justice scheduled for 2024.
Tino met with teachers, former students, Christian Brothers, and young people from the Edmundo Rice network in Peru at the Fe y Alegría 26 school in Lima. During his stay, Tino also met the Fe y Alegría project staff that works in the school. Tino traveled to Arequipa City to meet with 48 teachers from the Franciscan School Santa Rosa de Viterbo, a newly associated school with the DER project before traveling to Pucallpa, a city in the eastern jungle of Peru.
In Pucallpa, Tino and Elmer Hurtado, Mission Coordinator of the Latin America Mission Area, met with the Asociación Regional Aidesep Ucayali (ORAU), an umbrella organisation of more than 20 indigenous peoples of the Peruvian Amazon. The visit was highly significant because an ORAU leader, James Lopez, made an oral statement at the 54th Session of the Human Rights Council through ERI in September about the assassination of indigenous leaders in the Peruvian Amazon. Four of the widows of the indigenous leaders murdered in 2014 were present at the meeting and talked about their desire to find justice for their assassinated husbands. After more than three hours of talks, it was agreed that DER, with the support of ERI, will conduct workshops on human rights during 2024 for the different member communities of ORAU. Tino also visited the Centro Hermano Manolo centre in Bolivia during his trip. He met with the staff, volunteers, and beneficiaries of the project in addition to the two Christian Brothers living in Cochabamba before returning back to Geneva.
Tino’s visit was very moving and strengthened the work of DER and Edmund Rice Mission in Latin America. The teachers, students, beneficiaries and members of the Edmund Rice network were very grateful for ERI’s work and continued support. We hope this visit will be the first of many by ERI to Latin America!