October 2004 Update

Successful Session at St. Cabrini Shrine
More than thirty members of four UNANIMA International communities spent the day in an educational and strategy session on October 1, 2004. Members of the Cabrini Sisters, the Congregation of the Sisters of St. Agnes, the Society of the Holy Child and the Religious of Jesus and Mary, along with board members Stella Storch, Jean O'Meara, Roselle Santivasi spent the morning with Catherine Ferguson and Leslie Wolfe. Catherine presented introductory information about UNANIMA International and some international aspects of trafficking. Leslie gave a very informative presentation discussing the work of the Center for Women Policy Studies to develop state legislation against trafficking in human beings. (I am attaching a copy of her paper to this update.) Participants came from as far away as Arizona and Mississippi.

During the afternoon each community developed some elements of a community strategy to work against trafficking. If you wish more information on the strategies, please contact Catherine.

Leslie Wolfe, Center for Women Policy Studies, discusses
possible strategies involving state legislators in the fight against
trafficking in human persons.

January Session - CEDAW
Plans continue to be developed for an extended January board meeting to include invited guests who work against trafficking in some direct way. We will have at least one panel and perhaps two open to the general public in which our invited experts will share their experiences related to working against trafficking. If you will be in the New York are or know of others who are interested, the panels will be 1:15-2:45 pm on Monday and Tuesday, 17-18 January at the Church Center, 777 United Nations Plaza across from the United Nations.

Information needed
If you participated in the International Peace Vigil, please notify Catherine so we can include your participation on our web site. fergcf@earthlink.net

New Inquiries for Membership The Bon Secours Sisters recently voted at their General Chapter to apply for membership in UNANIMA International. This is how they describe themselves on their international web site:

The Sisters of Bon Secours were founded in Paris in 1824, amidst the devastation following the French Revolution. The Sisters proposed nursing the sick in their homes, serving wherever a need was present. Today, with the Congregation's headquarters in Paris, the Sisters of Bon Secours' health care ministry has grown to include the countries of France, Ireland, Ecuador, England, Scotland, the United States, and Peru..

Since 1824, Bon Secours has brought the message of compassionate healing, hope and reconciliation. From health care to education to housing, hospital and clinic to parish, urban to rural, Bon Secours responds to a universal need: To provide to all who suffer a reason to live and a reason to hope.

The Congregation of the Sisters of Notre Dame (CND whose motherhouse is in Montreal is also in a process of determining whether to make a formal application to become a member of UI. They are located in 9 countries: Canada, USA, Japan, Honduras, Guatemala, France, El Salvador, Cameroon, and Paraguay. On the website they describe their mission in the following words:

Following Jesus in the footsteps of Marguerite Bourgeoys to live our mission of liberating education in today's world, we commit ourselves to live close to the reality of the impoverished, the excluded and the oppressed. In solidarity with them, we commit ourselves to participate actively in the transformation of society for a more just world.