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Edition April 2000

Upcoming activities

• Euroforum, 1-4 June, Switzerland
• European Bureau, 17-18 June, Norway
• World Camp, 9-25 July, Paraguay
• World Youth Days, 14-19 August, Rome

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Meeting of the Intercontinental Bureau, March 2000

The semi-annual meeting of the Intercontinental Bureau took place from Thursday, 16 March to Sunday morning, 19 March 2000. This time, we were hosted in the well-known house of the Carmel in Bruges (Belgium). The presidium (Olivier, Zeger, Erik and Johan) welcomed the newly elected people: Kurt Van der Herten, the president of European Organisations of Fimcap (EOF), and Zénon Manikariza, the vice-president of the Afroconference. Judy Figland, who has started her second term as president of the Afroconference, was also present. Sebastiaan Van Dijck, vice-president of EOF had to cancel his participation for personal reasons at the last minute.
As usual, we started with the information from the different regions. As we have practically no news from the Asian organisations we had to set up a communication strategy. The numerous reports from the different organisations were examined and we investigated again into contacts with possible new member organisations.

Thereafter, we worked hard on the projects which are in preparation. We gave a lot of attention to the preparation of the World Camp (planned for July 2000 in Paraguay) and we talked about our involvement in the World Youth Days in Rome in August 2000. We also worked on projects for the year 2001 (General Assembly and the international meeting of chaplains from the different member organisations).
The Jubilee LINK, the different representations, the promotion material, our website and various smaller points were also on the agenda.
I would like to thank everyone for his/her engagement and personal commitment during these days of intense work. Our next appointment might be in Ghana!

Johan Cottyn
International chaplain

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Chiro Burundi

National camp of regional leaders
Gitega, 24 to 29 April 2000

Preparations have already begun for the National Camp for regional CHIRO leaders. It is a big gathering where important decisions will be taken for the movement. Section chiefs from secondary schools, parishes, the university and large Seminaries from the 7 dioceses of Burundi will spend a whole week of reflection on the movement and Christian formation.

This National Camp will be held at a crucial moment. Peace talks are proceeding well in Arusha (Tanzania) as well as in the country. And the Burundians, especially the youth, hope to renew the ideals of justice and peace that the crisis had been erased out of people’s memory by the crisis.

Since 1993, when the crisis burst out, the Catholic youth strongly opposed the separatist forces, making a clear cut with the habits of that part of the youth which chose violence. Now, the CHIRO movement is doing very well in all dioceses, even though some villages experience sporadic attacks. It is important to say that contrarily to the widespread opinion the Burundians don't live in perennial insecurity. The activities of the Catholic Action movements are being held all over the country and encourage pacific cohabitation to a large extent.

The National Camp will therefore reinforce the present capacities. We want to come out of this Camp with a global intervention strategy on all levels, both considering the new challenges accompanied by the repatriation of refugees after the peace agreements, and those generated by the transitional regime. During this camp the CHIRO leaders will be initiated into reading the Bible; various and enriching speeches will be offered about methods of conflict prevention and pacific conflict resolution, as well as the movement’s technique, the philosophy of the human rights and the active non-violent spirituality. We would like to invite all our friends to pray and to support us, as to make a success of this camp, for the well-being of the Burundi youth.

Zénon Manirakiza

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Xaveri Burundi

Activities in 1999

In 1999 the mandate of the present National Committee of the Movement XAVERI Burundi came to an end. For this reason, a lot of activities were realised on structural level as well as on the level of human and Christian education in spite of the problems met.

On structural level, we were busy with organising two national councils, several ordinary and extraordinary meetings, national work and training camps and recording a cassette with Xaveri songs.

In the field of training, we took care of the distribution of produced and published booklets, we had a quite remarkable participation at feasts, a seminary -workshop about DELTA training, a cultural day organised in Bujumbura, pilgrimages, seminaries, marches for peace, etc. and produced programmes on the national television and via radio.

On the external level, we went on a mission to Northern Ireland (March 1999), participated in the Afroconference in Windhoek (November 1999), the opening of the jubilee year in Rome (December 1999) and the organisation of the first Catholic Action Movements Day in Gitega, etc.

In our work we encountered following problems: communication between members is insufficient, we lack a working budget and means and uncertainty is present all around.

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9th National Congress Xaveri Burundi

The 9th ordinary National Congress of Xaveri Burundi will be held 15 and 16 April 2000 in Gitega (centre of Burundi) with following items on the agenda:

• Activities report 1996 to 2000
• Triennial programme 2000-2002
• Revision and amendment of statutes; organisational audit of the Movement
• Election of a new National Chief.

The National Congress is the supreme organ of the Movement and gathers representatives from all groups and sections (more than 200) from all over the country (article 18 of the Statutes).The congress couldn’t take place as planned in July 1999 for security reasons. It will also be the opportunity to give ourselves some clear guidelines on our behaviour in these delicate moments, waiting for the results of the Arusha negotiations (Tanzania).Even the year theme has been chosen in this spirit: "Xaveri members, let's overcome everything that divides us and let us actively rebuild our country and our Church".

May all Fimcap members pray for us and support us in our work.

Térence Mbonabuca
National Chief of the Xaveri Movement Burundi

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The seminar
The nurse-midwife Mrs Augustina Abbey reminded Ghanaian youth that the apparent small number of Aids-related deaths should not deceive them; Aids is not a myth. "With the lifestyle of sexual promiscuity, in our society today there might be thousands of HIV/AIDS patients whose symptoms are yet to become manifest" Mrs Abbey urged the youth to live pure and chaste lives and not to give in to peer pressure to indulge in illicit sex or adopt lifestyles that will not help build a healthy family in the future.

She said a visit to some Eastern and Southern African countries had shown how the adult population of whole villages had been wiped out due to AIDS, leaving thousands of orphans who go about looking for food. She said youth should learn much about sexuality so that they are not misinformed by hear-say or incorrect ideas learnt from Peers.

Opening the seminar, the National CYO Chaplain, Rev. Fr Robert Hagan, told the participants to take the lessons on sexuality seriously. As possible future mothers, he said, they should ask many questions on reproductive health since the seminar was preparing them as trainers and teaching mothers. Fr Hagan deplored the moral decadence that has eaten into the fabric of the Ghanaian society and reminded the youth that many people looking quite healthy might be carrying the Aids virus. He said CYO members should remember that their organisation goes beyond entertainment, urging them to reflect on life, remembering that Christ is at the centre of their lives and to pray to him often for guidance. Welcoming the participants, Snr Crusader Victor Quaye-Foli, national organiser of the CYO, said the organisation had embarked on an educational drive as part of the ongoing formation of Catholic Youth. Another speaker, Mrs Atiemo-Bampo talked on "Peer Sexual Counselling", while Mr Quaye-Foli led the crusaders in "leadership techniques". A film show on Aids filled the crusaders with horror and they vowed to educate others on the reality of the AIDS menace. Excerpts from "True colours" of Aids yet to manifest. The Standard (Ghana), December 1999

Participants suggested a similar workshop for their male counterparts in the organisation to enable them also to have a better understanding and appreciation of the issues associated with late teenage and early adulthood. Participants felt satisfied and happy and they resolved to show good example for others in their group/community. Many thanks to the Catholic Youth Organisation of Vienna who provided the financial support with the help of the action "Brot statt Böller" (This is an action at New Year inviting people to donate money for development aid projects instead of spending it on fireworks).

Victor Quaye-Foli

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Give a year of your life

Youth Volunteer Programme in South Africa!

A ten week residential training course for youth workers, who will work for one year on a voluntary basis, has begun on 1 February 2000 at Koinonia Conference Centre, in South Africa. After the ten week training the young people will go back to their diocese to do youth work until the end of 2000.

In November 2000, the 17 youth workers who are in training will return to Koinonia to evaluate their practical work and decide on their future plans.

While doing their practical work in the diocese, they will be visited by the National secretary of Chiro, Shaun Dunn, to follow up and discuss how their practical work is going.

This initiative of Chiro Southern Africa was started as a response to the fact that many young people in South Africa have passed the final exams (final school year) and have not decided what to do with their lives or do not have money to continue with further studies. This programme is aimed at giving them a chance to get in touch with themselves; who they are; what do they want to do with their lives and to grow as a person! They will also learn skills that will make them more confident and marketable.

The ten week course content includes the following topics:
Self-awareness, Human Relations skills, Basic Teaching skills, Basic Counselling skills, Understanding youth and their needs, how to organise and plan for youth groups, How to organise and plan for Chiro children and leaders, Career counselling, Church and our role as Laity, Inculturation - making the church truly an African church, Understanding Chiro structure and FIMCAP, Marketing youth work, Youth and sexuality, Youth and spirituality, First aid.

The 17 participants come from different parts of southern Africa and Namibia.

Judy Figland

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Invitation to the Chiro Children's Jamboree

South Africa 12-15 December 2000

Chiro Southern Africa is inviting children between the ages 8 years to 12 years to participate in a Jamboree for children. The aim is to encourage tolerance and acceptance of children from different economic, cultural, social or ethnic groups.
The Jamboree will focus on sport, music and fun activities that will assist the children in getting to know and understand each other better and to have lots of fun. We expect at least 30 children from every Chiro group with at least one leader for every 15 children! The leaders will be responsible for the discipline and care of the children from their group. An invitation is also extended to children in other Fimcap organisations. Every person should come with their toiletries and a sleeping bag. Participants will live in tents during the time of the Jamboree.
If you are interested in participating in the Children's Jamboree, contact: Shaun Dunn, P.O. Box 11031, Mariannhill 3601, South Africa. E-mail: familylife@yebo.co.za Fax: +27-31-7006019

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Philippines

After a long silence and many attempts to get in touch with Chiro Philippines, we received an E-mail from them on 23 March. The national chaplain gave us some very good news:

"Dear friends, I have read in Link that Fimcap has an Email address, so now I can give you some news about the Philippines. We have 23 groups now and we are especially active in the greater Manila area. We have some groups in rural areas, especially in Nueva Vizcaya, in the North, and some others in the south of Manila, in the province of Bicol, which is famous because of its volcano Mayon. Chiro is very traditional here, but nevertheless quite enthusiastic and dynamic, even if we are a very small group. We meet regularly, have good training programmes and train good leaders.

Warm Chiro greetings from the Philippines
Gerry Bouckaert, Chaplain"

We were very happy to hear some news and send Chiro Philippines our best Fimcap wishes. You can contact Gerry Bouckaert by Email at the following address: gerry@smu.edu.ph.

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News from Paraguay

Among the numerous practical aspects and the latest news about the upcoming World Camp, Nippac also informed us about their new year theme: The slogan for the year 2000 is "En este Jubileo, la justicia y la alegria reinara" (In this Jubilee, justice and joy will reign). It had been difficult to chose a theme since there were many propositions. We really hope that joy and justice will be present in Nippac and in Paraguay.

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Bureau meeting in Natoye, February 2000

This Bureau meeting was the first one with the new presidium and it was an important one as we had to continue the work of the Euroconference (EC) on Malta.

At the Euroconference, we decided to continue working in working groups for the next years. These are small groups (with a minimum of 5 persons) who work on a certain topic. The moment of realisation, contents, planning, the way of working (at Bureau meetings, in between by email, ...) and so on is discussed in these groups. A system of feedback is foreseen by presenting the work and the planning at the Bureau meetings.

The different working topics for the next 3 years were gathered at the EC, and a selection had to be made at this Bureau meeting. The next working groups will be:

• Roundabout (improving the existing formula)
• New Roundabout for leaders (exchange of leaders on summer camps)
• Spirituality (how to integrate spirituality into our youth work)
• Finances (different ways of obtaining funds for our activities or to develop new channels)
• New information technology (improving the use of electronic possibilities, such as the EOF website)
• New members (continuing the work on Eastern Europe)

The main reason for this procedure is to avoid that one person or organisation is responsible for the work and that this does not reflect the meaning of all member organisations. Secondly we can use the strong points of every individual person, which also leads to a larger involvement in the work to be realised. Personal initiatives in which other people are interested can further elaborated on the basis of voluntary commitment rather than an obligation.

During a first meeting in working groups, the title, a logo and the basic content of the work (orientation) were defined. All groups started very well and I believe that we can produce good results in this manner. I wish all working groups good luck!!!

Apart from the future way of working, we also discussed the Euroforum 2000, the World Youth Days in Rome, the news from the organisations, the situation in Austria, and we looked for the host organisations of Euroforum and Eurocontact 2001. We were all very glad about the proposals for these important activities: ZAK will host the Eurocontact, and Patro is willing to take up the logistics for the Euroforum. We still have to look for an organisation willing to stand in for the content of the Euroforum. Since the Bureau had been hosted by Patro in their house in Natoye, all representatives received a fair idea of the situation "on site". Many thanks in advance to both organisations!

Other very important issues were all matters concerning the intercontinental level of our organisation: news from the Intercontinental Secretariat, the World Camp in Paraguay, Link, representations... It was a lot of interesting information and it is good to know that Fimcap is lived world-wide (it is a true www!!!).

I’d like to wish you all good work and off course a lot of joy building this world-wide-web of Fimcap, and a final thanks to Patro for hosting this constructive Bureau meeting.

Kurt van der Herten
EOF President.

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EVS

Do you know what EVS stands for?
It is the abbreviation of European Voluntary Services, which gives young people the possibility to make experiences and increase their knowledge as a volunteer abroad.

The European Commission - who launched this initiative - grants a financial support to the voluntary candidates. To be able to benefit of this support, it is necessary to draft a project which must be introduced to the European Commission for approval. An EVS project has a sending organisation and a host organisation; it requires a precise description of the goal of the stay and the planned budget.

For me, it all started last summer. Chirojeugd Flanders (the sending organisation) and Nippac Paraguay (host organisation) did a fantastic work to set up a good project. We had the help of Jint (the National Agency for Youth Exchanges in Flanders, Belgium) which functions as an intermediate between the applicant and the European Commission.

The project was approved on December 29, and two and a half months passed by and now I am about to leave for Paraguay. I’m looking forward to the first of April when I will replace Dutch for Guarani and Spanish. I will be a volunteer for a period of 6 months in the secretariat of Nippac and in the kindergarten nearby. I will have the opportunity to visit some regional groups and as most important point of my work I will help preparing the World Camp of Fimcap.
It will certainly be an unforgettable experience, and I am looking forward to meet Heri and Ricardo again who were guests of Chirojeugd Flanders last summer.

At present I am still in Belgium busy with the preparation. I read a lot on Paraguay and collected lots of information. I have also visited Monique De Langhe. Her stories about the beginnings of Nippac and her experiences in Paraguay were very interesting.
Well, I’m really looking forward to this experience and the project. See you later at the World Camp, maybe?

Veerle Desaeger

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Childhood and youth in Focus

Brussels, 15 and 16 March 2000
I have just participated in the seminar on childhood and youth that was held at the International House in Brussels, Belgium.

This seminar was organised in the light of the Broederlijk Delen initiatives, with youth participants from the North (Flanders) and the South (Burundi, India, Peru, Democratic Republic Congo and Senegal). The general objective aimed at the definition of an intervention policy by Broederlijk Delen and its partners, while taking the visions of the North and the South into account. Various topics were discussed e.g. children’s work, the situation of children and young people in rural areas, the development of youngsters and children, the definition of an organisation based on participation, type and meaning of training for children and youngsters, consensus on the concepts "youth", "family", and on how to develop networks in the field "childhood and youth".

In exchanges participants registered the disastrous influence of globalisation, the dire economic situation, AIDS and the effects on the spiritual growth of children and youngsters. We also underlined the importance of the role of the family and of the woman in the definition of terms childhood and youth. Except for specific views of societies, it is generally agreed that a person no more a child at the age of 18 years. Conceptions can be different in the so-called traditional societies (Africa for example).

At the end the seminar following interesting conclusions were adopted:

• it is necessary to promote alliances and partnership among youngsters and children from the North and from the South;
• Organisation of the lobbying around the already quoted subjects;
• Organisation of seminars and creation of open spaces for dialogue and solidarity.
• The seminar was successful, and participants expressed and shared the wish to promote exchanges of ideas between partners from North and South for a better outline of the concepts.

Personally, I appreciated the working atmosphere and the open-minded participants. So let’s continue to help children and youngsters to become the pillars of change for a new world.

Zénon Manirakiza

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European Fellowship

Exchange Visit to Ukraine, 3 - 12 August 2000

European Fellowship, the European umbrella organisation of protestant youth work (FDF Denmark is one of its biggest members) invites young people for an exchange in the Ukraine. Fimcap people are also invited. The fee is USD 130, which covers food, lodging and travel in the Ukraine. Travel costs will be reimbursed by the European Fellowship after the event upon presented of the used travel ticket (train only). Application is urgent and should be sent immediately to Eric Hudson eric.hudson@boys-brigade.org.uk Tel/Fax++44 153 56 92 119. Participants can be between 16 and 25 years old and will attend a camp on Arts, Music and Drama on a small island 30 km north of Kiev. This event will enable you to experience multi-cultural youth work, leading camp activities and unique communication skills.

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