MADRID. Spain.
Members, partners and friends of the Teresian Association have committed to making significant "gestures of solidarity” throughout the current year in order to enable development and education projects in favor of the marginalized. In the last quarter of the year an invitation is extended to other Christians and people of good will to participate in this simple gesture. NGO InteRed is responsible for channeling resources from these donations to projects that are already underway.
Many social and educational projects in the world have seen a decline in the support from international cooperation as a result of the global economic crisis and the current inequitable system. Most projects are not viable without the help of international solidarity if they have not achieved minimum conditions of human welfare and development. The gesture of solidarity is a concrete action for those who wish to "live according to the Beatitudes and the challenge of love, justice and peace."
Towards an alternative globalization
In January, Maite Uribe, President of the Teresian Association, explained this initiative in a policy statement and said "this is an invitation to look at the world through the eyes of faith and advance toward an alternative globalization, to network with others, to build from plurality, to safeguard the earth we live in, to promote experiences of solidarity, justice and peace."
In various reports, InteRed has stated, "although poverty has decreased in recent decades, increasing inequalities in the world do not stop, thus increasing the gap between the poorest groups and those minorities that continue accumulating a large share of the resources in the world.
The realities of exclusion and poverty remain a reality in our society. This situation is more acute among women, who constitute 70 % of the world's poor.
Also Caritas Europa has recently pointed out "the international community is heading towards an important moment in the history of international cooperation. At the end of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) by 2015, a new agenda that expresses an ongoing commitment to fight poverty and ensure the dignity to every citizen of the world needs to be set."
The accumulation of wealth in the hands of a small percentage of the population in the world and the increasing exclusion of others are among the most visible consequences of the current economic system, which is marked by the greed of the individual without regard to the principles of justice, solidarity, common good and the sustainability of the planet.
Also the idea that "the sum of individual selfishness produces the most efficient allocation of resources as well as generation of goods and services for society,” which is a principle of free market, has spread not only to the economic sphere, but to the sphere of politics and other areas of people's lives such as the use of time, personal relationships as well as the care and protection of the environment.
In this situation, the Teresian Association has asked all its members, associations and organizations to make a gesture of solidarity with marginalized people and groups, by giving financial support to the social projects it sponsors and by supporting attitudes, awareness, volunteerism, and gestures that make possible an "alternative globalization."
Do your part ...
Those who wish to participate in the "solidarity gesture 2013" may do so by channeling their economic contribution through the NGO for Development, InteRed, sponsored by the Teresian Association. InteRed has just completed 20 years of work on transformative and quality education, especially among the poorest.
InteRed currently supports several projects in thirteen countries, giving priority to those who are the most affected by poverty and violation of their rights: Women, Indigenous Peoples, and street Children and Youth. Also it supports educators and Schools working in these contexts, convinced that education is the main road to dignity and development.
The International Website of the Teresian Association has opened a permanent space of information about each of the socio-educational projects, as well as data and development of the "gesture of solidarity. "
Click on Gesture of Solidarity to make your contribution. You count ... Do your part ... Add your contribution ...
{jathumbnail off} Info.IT - InteRed