Two Good Shepherd mission partners, Sr. Catherine Mutindi from Democratic Republic of Congo and Theresa Symons from GSIF Asia Pacific Regional Office participated in the OIEC International Congress Educatio Sì, organized by the International Office of Catholic Education, which took place in Fordham University New York from 5 – 8 June, 2019.
The congress has been a time of strong commitments towards the achievement of education for all and an opportunity of great exchanges of practices to educate to solidarity and fraternal humanism to build a civilization of love. Over 1,000 participants in the Congress worked in themed labs, focused on the global message of “Laudato Si” and the UN SDGs, that presented methods and approaches to be used to create innovation in Catholic education.
Sr. Catherine Mutindi brought into the Congress Good Shepherd’s experiences on the topic “For a better synergy between formal and non formal education.” She spoke on the community development project in DR Congowhich focuses on an integrated approach which includes education of children and stakeholders engagement as a means of poverty alleviation and overcoming the cycle of violence.
Theresa Symons shared on “Protecting the Human Rights of Myanmar Migrant Children to Education in Phuket, Thailand” which is a project of Good Shepherd Phuket, Thailand. Emphasis was made on the right of migrant children to inclusive mainstream education especially those from transient migrant families involved in 3D jobs (dirty, dangerous and difficult).
Both presentations emphasized on the Good Shepherd Congregation’s thrust on social justice through human rights based approach in programming were well received by other participants who were also involved in formal and non-formal education.
