United Nations GIFTBOX Project

Volunteers wearing bright canary yellow T shirts with blue lettering “Unwrap the Truth” walked the perimeter of St. James Anglican Cathedral’s green lawns in Toronto on busy St James Street.  Indeed, “unwrap the truth” about human trafficking in order to SPOT human trafficking and to STOP human trafficking.

The “GIFT BOX Project“ is a creative United Nations brain child which has been used at a variety of large sports events in a number of countries since 2012 to promote education about human trafficking.  The organization Faith Alliance was instrumental in bringing it to Toronto for the Pan Am and Para Pan Games. 

The acronym GIFT stands for Global Initiative to Fight Trafficking.  The Box has been designed to reflect the reality of a trafficked person.  Initially, one sees a much larger than usual “gift box”.  It is attractively decorated in colourful paint and artificial bows.  It invites, lures and entices one to become interested, to know more, to recognize the possible potential that exists within it. The words on the outside of the box are filled with tempting promises, “we can live happy ever after” … “earn easy money” … “support your family”.  However, stepping inside the box, one immediately feels and senses the cold, the aloneness, the emptiness of no support and unfulfilled promises. There is nothing inside except the stark, blatant truth.  Sad personal stories about human trafficking are emblazoned on its four walls.  The cold hard facts, faced by so many persons who have been lured into human trafficking with false promises, are prominently displayed.

In so many ways, this truly is a “gift box” of information to all of us as we learn to SPOT human trafficking in order to STOP and AVOID the allurement of human trafficking.  Let us just remember that human trafficking can happen in a wide range of industries including agriculture, construction, temporary foreign workers programs, domestic work, commercial sex work, hospitality and begging rings.

To SPOT human trafficking be alert and ask yourself:

• Does someone else have the person’s legal documents or ID?
• Does the person have little or no access to their earnings?
• Does the person lack self-esteem or seem anxious?
• Does the person have injuries that appear to be the result of the application of control measures or assault?

To learn more visit www.stopthetraffck.org/spot www.faithalliance.ca

Mabel St. Louis CSJ

Emotional Make Up 101

Have you ever caught yourself wondering what was going on in someone else’s head? Pixar Animation Studios motion picture,’ Inside Out’ released by Walt Disney Pictures, offers the movie goer its version of emotional mindscape in 94 minutes of carefully, crafted, creative animation.

Inside Out, premiered at the Cannes Film Festival in May. The movie was the brainchild of Pete Doctor in collaboration with Ronnie del Carmen. This movie allows the audience to gain a privileged entrance into the lead character, Riley’s mind, where we meet the five, animated, personified, prime emotions of Anger, Disgust, Fear, Joy, and Sadness. The five emotions which dramatically surface in the movie, mirror those Pete Doctor witnessed in his pre-teen daughter and those he personally experienced in his own life resulting from his relocation from Denmark to the United States.

On the surface Inside Out is a kid’s movie but it takes an adult mind to grasp the complexity of our emotional make up. Younger members watching Inside Out will follow Riley’s attempt to return home, whereas older members will find themselves reminiscing on their own emotional journeys. Adults will grasp the reality that the five prime emotions are seldom experienced in isolation. The more mature moviegoer catches the deeper reality that emotions blend together. Our emotional intelligence helps to support our understanding of others and the developing of relationships with others. www.helpguide.org/articles/emotional.../emotional-intelligence-eq.htm

 

Christopher Haubursin, www.vox.com/2015/6/29/8860247/inside-out-emotions-graphic, has graphically illustrated the way in which the overlap of emotions creates a fuller pallet which broadens our emotional makeup. For example, joy coupled with sadness produces a feeling of melancholy and sadness and fear gives rise to anxiety as illustrated in the chart below.

For me, Christopher Haubursin chart broadens the concepts presented in the movie and stresses the mix of emotions release in encountering any situation. Hopefully, summertime will offer you and yours the leisure to enjoy Inside Out in what promises to be a thought provoking treat at the movie theatre.

Nancy Wales CSJ

Taking a Stand for Justice

Seetha, a rural poor and illiterate woman standing up for widows rights

Allow me to introduce Seetha Mahalakshmi: her name might not be familiar but what she represents is priceless – social justice for widows in India. Seetha is part of a network of 200 000 women in rural south-east India supported by SOPAR (www.sopar-balavikasa.org/ - a Canadian international development organization helped by many generous Canadian donors including the Sisters of St. Joseph in Canada.

The misery of Seetha’s daughter and millions of other widows in India - Seetha’s daughter was treated as a bad omen the day she became a widow. Considered to be the cause of her husband’s death, villagers wished to exclude her of all religious and community gatherings. Villagers who would see her face first thing in the morning said it would bring bad luck upon them for the day. People were trying to persuade her not to wear good clothes or jewellery like other women. Many widows, like Seetha’s daughter, feel totally excluded and either commit suicide or seriously think about it. 

Derogatory beliefs, superstitions and taboos around widows persist in rural Indian communities. A change in attitude is essential in order to bring about change.  

Seetha takes the floor:

“The awareness sessions made me realize that we treat widows unfairly. When my daughter became a widow at the age of 22, I refused that she be excluded. She came to live with us and I told all my neighbours that we did not care about their superstitious beliefs and that my daughter would continue her life like other women. I encouraged her to remarry in spite of resistance from villagers in my community. Six months ago, I became a widow. I will not let people put me aside and impose their way of thinking on me. I have become a strong woman and will continue to be even though my husband has passed away and I will encourage other widows to be strong as well”.

SOPAR is bringing attitude change in the society regarding widows- SOPAR’s sister organization in India named Bala Vikasa, is acting as a leader to address the many injustices faced by Indian widows. Bala Vikasa developed its Justice for Widows Program in 2006 in order to alleviate widows’ suffering and social exclusion. The program strengthens widows’ capacities and leadership so that they regain dignity confidence and autonomy. It creates opportunity so that they can meet their own needs and those of their children. It also brings awareness to the whole society on superstitious beliefs related to widows.

70000+ women like Seetha have participated in SOPAR’s awareness sessions to stop superstitious beliefs related to widows and 10 000 are part of the Widows Program.  The actions of these women are creating ripple effects in rural Indian communities. People are starting to question traditional beliefs and to fight for justice for widows.

This year on International Widows day - June 23 – Seetha along with 1000 widows joined in a rally organized by Bala Vikasa in the main streets of Warangal (southern India) standing together for widows’ rights and for a better world.  

Guest Blogger: Janice Aubry, Program Officer

Going beyond one’s comfort zone

I am not a particularly adventurous person so I surprised even myself by going zip lining this weekend at Harbourfront in Toronto. Mind you, it was a short zip of about 15 seconds but still I was zipping through the air with the greatest of ease like the flying young man on the flying trapeze.

My sister Jane lives in a condo overlooking Harbourfront so for a day and a half I watched people zipping. Going zip lining was something that was on my bucket list but as with most things on my bucket list, I never expected to actually do it. Funny eh how one may even go to all the trouble of actually writing down what one wants to do -aka bucket list- without making any real effort to move forward, to take that step. It is as if one believes just by writing something down that it will somehow miraculously come to pass.

Anyway, after watching so many people zip lining, I gathered my courage and mentioned to my sister that this is something I would like to try. As I expected she said, ‘OK, let’s go right now’ and we did. I was unrealistically hoping that we could get on right away before my courage ebbed but our appointment time was for 6 pm-oh no, 4 hours away. The 4 hours passed with a sense of anticipation mixed with dread. At 5 pm, high winds arose and we could see that no one was zipping. Ah, saved by the bell I thought. However, when the winds died down, the people started zipping again.

At 6 pm we showed up, were harnessed up and we put our helmets on. If this was as safe as the young staff constantly pointed out to me, why would I need a helmet? Up the stairs we climbed. We had a great view of Harbourfront from the top of the scaffolding.

The attendant hooked me up to the line but even at that point, I knew that I would have to turn around and walk down the steps again if it was necessary that I walk to the edge of the platform and step off. Alas, I did not. I sat down in the air with the harness holding me up and somehow that was OK. The attendant let go and away I sailed. Even from the first second, it was fun. And I am saying that truthfully, not just with relief because it is over.

It struck me how this experience relates to anything we are afraid of, anything out of our comfort zone. It seems farfetched, seems perhaps impossible to step outside of what we are comfortable with but when we actually do it, actually take the steps (in this case literally steps) to do something that stretches us, it feels great afterwards. This comes not only from the satisfaction of having stepped through the discomfort but also because it may actually turn out to be fun. It even made me wonder why it was ever scary to begin with. I hope to remember this lesson when next I am inclined to step out of my comfort zone.

By the way, if anyone feels the need to go beyond their comfort zone by zip lining, it is free at Harbourfront Toronto through to the end of the Para Pan Am games on August 15th.

Nancy Sullivan CSJ

What is your Medal Count?

“I have run the race, I have kept the faith.” (St. Paul)

The last two weeks we have enjoyed the activities of the Pan Am Games. As the games progressed things heated up in more ways than one.

Last Saturday, while sitting outdoors I was entertained by Heaven’s version of the games. There must have been a bowling tournament – slow rumbles – obviously no strikes just balls rolling along. It was like experiencing the natural and supernatural at the same time.

In the Pan Am Games thousands took part as athletes, volunteers and spectators. Each had their own role to play, having their own specialties – one person cannot do everything.

This rings true for us also, we are all gifted differently – thank God. It is this variety which makes life interesting. Sometimes we are medal winners, be it gold, silver or bronze. We might even finish last. It is not how many and what colour – but how we play the game!

With St. Paul let us run the race and keep the faith. 

What are your Golden strengths, Silver strengths (needing some work), Bronze strengths (room for improvement). Over all what is your total? 

Run on and by all means Keep the Faith!

Barbara Vaughan CSJ