Daughters of Charity of St. Vincent de Paul West Central Province
Daughters of Charity of St. Vincent de Paul West Central Province
Daughters of Charity of St. Vincent de Paul West Central Province
Learn about slavery in our world today.
The acronym DREAM signifies “Drug Resource Enhancement against AIDS and Malnutrition”...full story
The Daughters and Vincentians open website for their advocacy efforts via their NGO status at the UN...visit the website
In 2009 people documented cases of human trafficking around the globe on SlaveryMap.org , passing the 1000 mark before 2010!!
This is a valuable tool showcasing real incidents of modern-day slavery around the globe. A resource which can now impact legislation, persuading the public and lawmakers alike of the prevalence of this issue in our world.
Visit SlaveryMap.org to view or contribute cases of human trafficking!
A new exhibit titled "Who Knows Tomorrow?" tells the stories of extremely neglected and rejected people from seven countries and how the Daughters of Charity work to assist them...full story
World hunger continues to escalate...full story can be found on pg.3 of June 2009 ASJ Newsletter
According to the United Nations Development Program (UNDP), more than 1 billion people—about one in six people in this world—have no access to clean and safe drinking water…full story can be found on pg. 6 of June 2009 ASJ Newsletter
The Advocating for Social Justice Committee, with approval of the five US Visitatrixes, has endorsed the Interfaith Platform on Humane Immigration Reform...full story can be found on pg. 6 of June 2009 ASJ Newsletter
“Building new life out of fragility” is one of the themes of the Superior General’s Lenten letter. What can Vincentians do?
No one can doubt the fragility of life in Haiti. But followers of Vincent and Louise ask what are the next steps, “long term solutions”?
Here are some next steps – big and little, for the followers of Vincent and Louise. How might Debt-forgiveness and Micro-finance fit in our Lenten program?
A major step forward in rebuilding Haiti would be forgiveness of its crushing international debt. Some good news… “G7 nations pledge debt relief for quake-hit Haiti“. But there is an additional $900 million that Haiti still owes to donor countries and institutions. Support the efforts of our NGO’s at the UN to encourage writing off this remaining debt. (CM-DC, Federation NGO,) The AIC-NGO (aka Ladies of Charity in the US) the SVDP is also quite active in advocacy on the international scene.
Even if that occurred today there would still be need for aid in rebuilding not just structures but an economy one business at a time.
The ordinary Vincentian will be able to do that at the grassroots level through the Vincentian Family Microfinance project to be unveiled April 1. Together we can bolster the Haitian economy, create new jobs, and improve the lives of those living in some of the poorest conditions in the world – another form of systemic change.
The Daughters of Charity houses situated in Port-au-Prince have been severely damaged and the Sisters have become homeless having to sleep outside in tents. They are trying to give basic services (nursing care, nutrition and accompaniment) in the middle of the general chaos. As soon as the disaster struck Sisters from Santo Domingo and from Porto Rico left for Port-au- Prince to be available for the wounded. They also sent provisions, medical supplies and other aid by trucks from Santo Domingo and by small planes from Miami.
One of our Sisters - Sister Brigitte Pierre - died as a result of the earthquake and two other Haitian Sisters lost close members of their families. Moreover all the Sisters of the Province feel the sadness at the disappearance of so many people, the poor, friends, and benefactors, members of the Vincentian Family, Clergy, and Religious... The situation is heart-breaking.
In response to a call from the Company, several Provincials have offered Sisters who are nurses to go to Haiti as part of a DC Assistance Team. Each team will remain about three months and be replaced by others. The generosity of the Provinces has been extraordinary. On the 20th of January four Sisters (from the Provinces of Albany and Great Britain) arrived in Port-au-Prince, via Santo Domingo, to help the people. At the beginning of February, ten other Sisters (from the Provinces of Argentine, Bogota, Cuba, Mexico, Paraguay, Madrid St Vincent, Pamplona and Seville) will join this team.
The first Sisters came to Port au Prince in January 1973 from Porto Rico. Currently, there are thirty one Sisters of ten nationalities – 14 of whom are Haitians – living in five local DC community houses. Four of these are situated in and around Port-au-Prince and the fifth is in Gonaives. The Sisters serve in schools, dispensaries, Social Centres and are engaged in Pastoral work.
by Sr. Carol Keehan, DC
President and CEO, Catholic Health Association of the USA
In health care, the voice of faith in the public square is more important now than ever before. Catholics and others must continue to insist that we use our collective experience, wisdom and sense of the common good to create a health care system that safeguards human dignity for everyone—from conception to natural death.
read full article: page 1 November 2009 Advocating for Social Justice Newsletter
by Sr. Elizabeth Greim, DC
Macon is a small city between Atlanta and Savannah. It is a very quiet southern town. The demographics are typical of the area, with a 36% poverty rate and issues with race relations. Macon has some wonderful features and some that are not so pleasant. But Macon would never have thought of itself as a haven for sex trafficking…until recently!
read part 1 on page 1 in the June 2009 Advocating for Social Justice Newsletter.
read part 2 on page 3 in the November 2008 Advocating for Social Justice Newsletter.
Daughter of Charity, Sr. Mary Jo Swift, presents information as part of her work with the South Texas Coalition on Human Trafficking.
Federal, state and local governments spend approximately 1.1 billion dollars annually on healthcare costs for undocumented immigrants, aged 18-64, or approximately $11 in taxes for each U.S. household. This compares to 88 billion dollars spent on all health care for non-elderly adults in the U.S. in 2000. Foreign born individuals tend to use fewer health care services because they are relatively healthier than their native born counterparts. For example, in Los Angeles County, “total medical spending on undocumented immigrants was $887 million in 2000 – 6 percent of total costs, although undocumented immigrants comprise 12 percent of the region's residents.”
(Source: The Rand Corporation, “RAND Study Shows Relatively Little Public Money Spent Providing Healthcare to Undocumented Immigrants,” November 14, 2006, http://www.rand.org/news/press.06/11.14.html; Dana P. Goldman, James P. Smith and Neeraj Sood, “Immigrants and the Cost of Medical Care,” Health Affairs 25, no. 6 (2006): 1700-1711)