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Global Day of Parents – 1st June 2022

Appreciate All Parents Throughout the World

Since the 1980s, the important role of the family has increasingly come to the attention of the international community. The General Assembly adopted a number of resolutions and proclaimed the International Year of the Family and the International Day of Families.

Emphasizing the critical role of parents in the rearing of children, the Global Day of Parents recognizes that the family has the primary responsibility for the nurturing and protection of children. For the full and harmonious development of their personality, children should grow up in a family environment and in an atmosphere of happiness, love and understanding.

Designated by the General Assembly in 2012, Global Day of Parents provides an opportunity to appreciate all parents for their « selfless commitment to children and their lifelong sacrifice towards nurturing this relationship. »

Greater support needed for working parents as COVID-19 takes hold

Families bear the brunt of the COVID-19 pandemic. As the anchors of the family and the foundation of our communities and societies, parents have the responsibility of sheltering their families from harm, caring for out-of-school children and, at the same time, continuing their work responsibilities. Without support from parents, children’s health, education and emotional well-being is at risk. By introducing family-friendly workplace policies and practices, companies and organizations will be in a better position to promote children’s safety and wellbeing and provide systematic support to employees.

As the COVID-19 pandemic continues its exponential growth, a technical note from UNICEF, ILO and UN Women on family-friendly policies and other good workplace practices in the context of COVID-19 shows that it is essential to support working families to minimize negative consequences for children.

 

Source: Text: un.org   Image: The Nonstop News

Holy Family of Jesus, Mary, and Joseph, Year C – 2021

A family… the word evokes people, different people of course –
each with his/her own character, likes and dislikes, weaknesses and strengths.
Every single member has a personal history and… a personal DNA, of course!

This description brings to my mind the picture of… a quilt!
Yes, a piece of patch-work serving as a colourful blanket to some of us.

Looking at a quilt what is most striking is that it includes so many different pieces of various sizes and colours.
When starting to put them together, one may think that they will not match, or fit together.
One may fear that the final look may be unpleasant, even jarring.
And yet… the finished piece is so pleasant to the eye – a masterpiece, really.

And so is a family – or… so it should be!
People, different, yes, but accepting one another.
Perhaps strongly autonomous and original, but valued for what each contributes to the group.

Thinking about it… it was somehow the same with the Holy Family!
Mary, a young woman pregnant, not by the man she is promised to, but by God’s own Spirit!
Joseph, a decent young man, dreaming of soon bringing home his beloved; but he suddenly thinks he must make another plan…
A baby born like others, it seems, but is he only an ordinary child?…

When he grows up, his mother and adoptive father will have cause to wonder… (Luke 2:41-52). 
The birth had taken place during a journey  imposed by a political leader –
not in some cozy surrounding with a nice crib to welcome this new-born.
A shelter from the rain for shepherds, a ‘grotto’ people would call it nowadays.
But, in spite of this…

One, really only one, thing matters to that Family – and, in fact, to all our own families:
God is present to all that happens, to all that these people live –
a real patchwork of experiences,
each one blessed by the One who has made himself ‘God-with-us’.

Note: Another reflection is available on a different theme in French at: https://image-i-nations.com/sainte-famille-de-jesus-marie-joseph-annee-c-2021/

 

Source: Images: Wallpaper Access   Free Bible Images   Church of Jesus Christ

International Day of Innocent Children Victims of Aggression – 4 June

The United Nations’ (UN) International Day of Innocent Children Victims of Aggression is observed on June 4 each year. The purpose of the day is to acknowledge the pain suffered by children throughout the world who are the victims of physical, mental and emotional abuse. This day affirms the UN’s commitment to protect the rights of children.

On 19 August 1982, at its emergency special session on the question of Palestine, the General Assembly, appalled at the great number of innocent Palestinian and Lebanese children victims of Israel’s acts of aggression, decided to commemorate June 4 of each year as the International Day of Innocent Children Victims of Aggression. According to the United Nations in China, the statistics of child abuse include:

  • More than two million children killed in conflict in the last two decades.
  • About 10 million child refugees cared for by the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR).
  • In the Latin America and in the Caribbean region about 80 thousand children die annually from violence that breaks out within the family.

Child abuse is now in the spotlight of global attention and the UN is working hard to help protect children around the world. One key factor is the process of international negotiation and action centered around the Convention on the Rights of the Child.

Source: Text: www.timeanddate.com  Image: Upcoming cars

International Day of Invisible Work – 5 April

Day of Invisible Work: « Let’s make it visible! »

Things change. No more than 50-70 years ago, being a good mother meant to stay with your children at home, look after them, help your husband – the breadwinner – to live a peaceful life after a hard day’s work: ladies were supposed to be the « angels of the house », caring for the family.

Today if you say you are a housewife you certainly get as a comment: « Oh, so you don’t work! » And this is not only a sexist remark, good for ladies alone. Unpaid work is held in very low esteem in our society, at home and outside.

There is no sign of home caring work in GDP anywhere in Europe, although recently GDP includes prostitution and drug trade, and no sign either of the silent work of volunteers that take care of the poor, the ill, the refugees, those that help our children practice sports, or help sustaining the environment and the treasures of art in our countries. Still, if it is unpaid, if it is done just because you care, if it is invisible – it seems not to exist. And it can be ignored by the politics, by social security and administration.

In order to make the caring work of millions of people visible and appreciated, an initiative was started in Canada and then brought to Europe by FEFAF, the European Federation of Parents and Carers at Home, to celebrate the first Tuesday of April as the International Day of Invisible Work.

Source: Text: elfac   Image: bimcal.com

World Day of War Orphans – January 6

Civilians bear the brunt of the suffering in war. Of the big number of war victims, the most often neglected are children. Orphans throughout the world face many challenges: Malnutrition, starvation, disease, and decreased social attention. As the most vulnerable population on planet Earth, they have no one to protect them and are most likely to suffer from hunger, disease, and many other problems. In recent decades, the proportion of civilian casualties in armed conflicts has increased dramatically and is now estimated at more than 90 per cent. About half of the victims are children.

An estimated 20 million children have been forced to flee their homes because of conflict and human rights violations and are living as refugees in neighbouring countries or are internally displaced within their own national borders. More than 2 million children have died as a direct result of armed conflict over the last decade.
More than three times that number, at least 6 million children, have been permanently disabled or seriously injured.

war orphans b. ABSFreePic.com

More than 1 million have been orphaned or separated from their families.
Between 8,000 and 10,000 children are killed or maimed by landmines every year.
An estimated 300,000 child soldiers – boys and girls under the age of 18 – are involved in more than 30 conflicts worldwide. Child soldiers are used as combatants, messengers, porters, cooks and to provide sexual services. Some are forcibly recruited or abducted, others are driven to join by poverty, abuse and discrimination, or to seek revenge for violence enacted against themselves and their families.

Sadly, however, they rarely receive the time, attention, and love for optimal social and personal development. Research reveals that children growing up in an orphanage experience emotional, social, and physical handicaps. Without a doubt, the best place for a child to grow up is in a stable family with a loving father and mother.

Source: Text http://buchionline.blogspot.hu/2011/01/world-day-for-war-orphans.html
http://www.mb.com.ph/articles/296766/world-day-war-orphans-january-6-2011-highlighting-plight-150-million-children#.UM5YRuSIX-0

Pic: ABSFreePic.com