lasallian intention

The General Chapters of 1966 and 1976 asked the Brothers to work for the promotion of Justice and Peace (Rule, §7, §14 which invites the Brothers to strive resolutely through education for the promotion of justice and human dignity). This concern also drives the activity of the Brothers when it addresses a more comfortable social class. These two Chapters also made the Brothers more aware of the situations of injustice in which the poor are often victims. So it is in §40 that we read that “the Brothers prepare their pupils for creating more just relationships and help them to commit themselves effectively to action for justice and peace”.

From the time of its last General Chapter, in 2000, the Institute of the Brothers of the Christian Schools has made the question of the rights of the child a central plank for work and reflection. It is a priority and has been put to all the districts. A document entitled “Associated to answer the challenges of the 21^st century” takes up these avenues of work and suggests directions. In the paragraph entitled “Matters of educational urgency”, can be found a certain number of proposals referring to the rights of the child:

1.        The Brothers and their Partners need to be more aware of the contents of the UNO Convention on the rights of the child of 1989;

2.        Putting them into practice should be adapted to local conditions;

3.        The lasallian educational mission should be directed towards the children whose rights are not protected;

4.        The answer of the Brothers and their Partners to the demands of the Convention should be made with an evangelical perspective.

To give these directions a specific content, the document suggests that “the rights of the child should be considered as an urgent aspect of the lasallian educational mission for the next seven years; that each District, sub-District, Delegation should include this theme in its plan of action for which at least one Brother or partner would be named who would help”

-     to collaborate with local organisations who are working for the promotion of the rights of the child;

-     to identify violations of the rights of the child in its immediate area;

-     to alert the local authorities when the rights of the child are infringed;

-     to be vigilant about the awareness and putting into practice of the rights of the child in its schools and Universities;

-     to keep in touch with the Secretariat for the Educational Mission”.

The rights of the child represent an excellent way of raising the awareness of the members of our educational communities to the lasallian educational plan, and further, to our evangelical plan. What do the rights of the child represent and what do they speak of? On reading the first part of this text, we become aware with greater or lesser definition potential situations of violation of the rights of the child such as lack of a civil state, separation from parents against their will, privation of family environment, trafficking in and selling of children, lack of freedom of expression, ill treatment, all kinds of exploitation including sexual abuse, slavery, torture, lack of medical care. So, the rights of the child, as they have been formalised by the Convention of the United Nations, represent the sum of the sufferings and lack of attention towards children, all forms of culture and levels of economic and social development. Beyond that, this Convention reveals the face of millions of children across the world who are suffering in a thousand and one ways, and always find themselves unable to act. Every member of our educational communities (teaching and non-teaching staff, pupils and parents) should be brought back to the Lasallian Educational Project by this attention to the poor re-echoed in the demands of the promotion of the rights of the child. Experience has shown that in our establishments, many teachers (to mention only them) are unaware of this Lasallian Educational Project, and know very little of the life of the Founder and his spirituality. How can this lasallian spirituality and commitment to the educational service of the poor be lived in these conditions? The rights of the child represent a sufficiently open dialogue to allow it to be heard by the greatest number with excellent reception. By calling to mind humankind (the child) and its anguish, and by laying out the outlines of a more just world and more respectful of human dignity, by speaking of equality, protection, well-being, health, safety, inviolability of the human person, solidarity, co-operation, responsibility and whole development of the child, the rights of the child will point the road which links up with the Lasallian Educational Project. What common values there are between the rights of the child and lasallian spirituality! : What team work for announcing the Word! To make our educational communities more aware of the rights of the child comes back to starting again on the path of values and sense, without in any way having to impose on the members of our communities an act of Christian faith. From this point of view, the campaign of raising awareness of the rights of the child could prove to be a real opportunity for a renewed explanation of the lasallian commitment to the service of the poorest.