Planting Seeds of Change in the Americas

The View From Montevideo: Day Three

Today was the third and final day of the workshop – fast and furious, with debate in plenary, regional strategy sessions (Southern Cone, Andes and Central America/Mexico/Caribbean), Mass, and a final declaration before receiving a blessing from the Archbishop of Montevideo.  I was sad to say goodbye to the other participants in the workshop, who return to work for Catholic agencies throughout the Americas.  Check them out below.  (I am standing, fourth from the right.) 

 

They are experienced, intelligent, thoughtful and inspiring in their commitment to accompany some of the poorest and most marginalized communities in the Hemisphere in their efforts to create a more just economy. 

Fortunately, we at CRS have the privilege to support them in this work.  And among the agreements the group reached during the workshop was the formation of a regional working group for Solidarity Economics with representatives from each of the countries involved, which means I may have the opportunity to work with them in the future.  Meantime, our Fair Trade Program partners in the United States are already working with more than two dozen artisan and farmer organizations in Latin America and the Caribbean, including several that are supported by CRS and its Caritas partners.  That means that in a way, we already are working together – our colleagues in Latin America are accompanying artisans and farmers who create Fair Trade products, and we are working with Fair Trade Organizations in the United States to help bring their products to you.

In closing the event, Montevideo’s Archbishop commended the group for its work, which he said is necessary to narrow the yawning gap between rich and poor in the Americas, and an “effective way to globalize solidarity.”  For our part, we closed the final declaration with these lines:

“We are committed to be a Church of the poor ready to work every day to construct the Solidarity Economy that represents the hope of Latin America, as His Holiness John Paul II affirmed…We offer our shared efforts as seeds of the Kingdom we are working to build.”

This entry was posted on Friday, June 29th, 2007 and is filed under Fair Trade . You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

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