“Climate change affects us all, but it does not affect us all equally. The poorest and most vulnerable-those who have done the least to contribute to global warming-are bearing the brunt of the impact today” – Ban Ki-Moon

Click here (or on the photo) for a list of climate change resources.

We Sisters of Charity (Halifax), called to be prophetic women in a world wounded by violence and stripped of hope, are committed to make the love of God visible in our world by serving persons who are poor, especially those who through shame conceal their necessities.

We stand together in a time when we hear the silent cries of victims of human trafficking, especially those women and children taken for the purposes of sexual exploitation and forced labor. We commit ourselves to work to eradicate this global human rights violation and to affirm the dignity of all human beings.

(adopted June 30, 2008)

• cancellation of international debts of nations which are unable to meet the basic needs of their people or to reach a level of development that ensures a decent quality of life.
• debt relief that benefits ordinary people and enables their participation in the process of determining the conditions of relief, as well as the future development of their national and local economies.
• debt relief that does not include reforms which continue or reinforce poverty or environmental deterioration.
• international mechanisms that prevent recurring, destructive cycles of indebtedness.

Over the last few years, the Global Concerns Resource Team has embarked on a series of endeavors to educate and deepen our knowledge of the intrinsic connection we have to our Earth and to each other.

Click here to read Sister Margaret Coppenrath's Ecological Footprint article (Charity Alive, Feb. 2008).

“In September 2000, at the United Nations Millennium Summit, world leaders agreed to a set of time-bound and measurable goals for combating poverty, hunger, disease, illiteracy, environmental degradation and discrimination against women.  Placed at the heart of the global agenda, they are now called the Millennium Development Goals.” -- United Nations Department of Public Information, 2000.
In Charity Alive we will highlight each of the eight goals to be achieved by 2015, as agreed by the leaders of 189 countries.

Sisters Alice Mailman, Elaine Biollo and Katie Hamm attended the Vincentian Family Gathering in New Orleans in April. The theme for this years’ gathering was Solidarity in Action.  Here are a few stories of hope from the gathering. (Charity Alive, June 2008)