OCSJM
  • Home
    • Blog
    • OCSJM Newsletter
    • Annual Dinner/Gathering
    • Bishop Donnelly Awards
  • About
    • OCSJM Brochure
    • Ministry Teams
    • Annual Report
    • Board of Directors
    • History
    • Staff
    • Strategic Plan
  • Programs
    • Burial Assistance Fund
    • Catholic Campaign for Human Development
    • Catholic Relief Services
    • Human Trafficking >
      • Human Trafficking Prayers
      • Awareness Resources & Videos
    • Mental Health & Disability Ministry
    • Parish Social Ministry >
      • Parishes in Action
      • JustFaith
    • Open Wide Our Hearts
    • Social Justice Conference
  • Grants
  • Get Involved
    • Advocate
    • Donate
    • Ministry Teams
    • Register
  • Resources
    • Catholic Social Teaching
    • Church Documents
    • Environment >
      • Laudato Si' Resources >
        • Lifestyle Change
        • Events/Webinars
        • Recycling >
          • Textile Recycling
        • Suggested Reading
        • Suggested Videos
    • Global Solidarity
    • Immigration
    • Poverty
    • Prayer Resources
    • Racial Justice
    • Tools for Leaders
    • Youth and Young Adults
  • Donate
  • Contact
  • Human Trafficking Prayers

Thomas Awiapo:  "Education is Liberation"

4/29/2014

1 Comment

 
Picture
Thomas Awiapo made this statement in his talks with students and parishioners across the Archdiocese. Thomas works for Catholic Relief Services training community leaders throughout Ghana, where he lives with his wife and four children. OCSJM arranged for this CRS Speaker tour to bring his story of inspiration and gratitude to our local community.

Orphaned at an early age, Thomas struggled with poverty and hunger in his small African village until his search for food led him to a school started by Catholic Relief Services. His education liberated him from a life of poverty. Today he speaks regularly of his gratitude for the help that CRS offered him.

We can all be proud of the work of Catholic Relief Services. As the Catholic Church's official overseas relief and development agency, CRS works in 100 countries across the world. As Thomas explained, CRS works in the poorest areas of the world, developing community based solutions. 

In Ghana, the current work is on agriculture, health, and microfinance. Strengthening agricultural systems by supplying clean water, and establishing a sustainable supply of seed for commercially viable crops, both help to improve the community's health. By offering microfinancing, the small farmers learn more about financial management and ways to invest in their farms. 

You can learn more about Thomas Awiapo and CRS in this segment produced by ORTV and shown on Crossroads.

The Annual CRS Collection will be held in all parishes of the Archdiocese of Hartford on the weekend of May 31-June 1. Remember Thomas and others like him who grow and thrive with the help of CRS - and please be generous in supporting the critical work of CRS around the world. 

1 Comment

Work Continues on Drivers' License Preparation

4/16/2014

0 Comments

 
Picture
Parish leaders, under the guidance of OCSJM's Arturo Iriarte, have begun in earnest to develop a process to help prepare undocumented individuals to apply for a CT Drivers' License when the new legislation takes effect in January, 2015.

The teams have also lead discussions on automobile maintenance, vehicle insurance and best practices of personal behavior in the community. To date over 500 people have attended these Phase One introductory sessions. Phase Two sessions will be scheduled in the coming months, offering people individual assistance to review their documents and anticipate the actual steps in the application process.

This program is part of the work of the OCSJM Immigration team, and offers the double benefit of assisting the undocumented and developing the leadership skills and confidence of members of the local parish teams.  Check the OCSJM Event Calendar on our website for the dates, times and locations of these on-going events across the Archdiocese. 

Leadership Teams from St. Margaret Church (Waterbury), St. Patrick Church (Enfield), St. Joseph Church (Bristol), St. Louis (West Haven) and Blessed Sacrament (Hamden) have held introductory sessions this spring to assist individuals with the steps they must take before they can begin the application process.  Steps include gathering documents to prove identity and residency, reviewing personal history for any legal violations, and learning safety and driving rules and regulations that will be part of the written and road tests that they will take at the DMV. 


0 Comments

    RSS Feed

    Categories

    All
    Advocacy
    Catholic Relief Services
    CCHD
    Cooperative Parish Sharing
    Environmental Justice
    Immigration Reform
    Laudato Si
    OCSJM Events
    Organizing
    Parish Social Ministry
    Prison Reform
    Resources
    USCCB
    Young Adults
    Youth

    RSS Feed

    Blog Archives

    June 2022
    May 2021
    October 2020
    September 2020
    June 2020
    August 2019
    May 2019
    September 2018
    March 2018
    January 2018
    November 2017
    October 2017
    August 2017
    March 2017
    October 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014
    February 2014
    January 2014
    December 2013
    November 2013
    October 2013

Our Mission
To advance Catholic Social Teaching by educating and preparing parishes to work for social justice. 
​The Office for Catholic Social Justice Ministry
of the Archdiocese of Hartford

467 Bloomfield Ave. Bloomfield, CT 06002
Phone: 860-242-5573 

  info.ocsjm@aohct.org
© 2015 The Office for Catholic Social Justice Ministry
Subscribe to our Newsletter