Region Worldwide Affiliations Jesuit, Catholic Staff 17 | Main organ JesuitenWeltweit Budget € 12,000,000 | |
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Location Königstraße 64, Nuremberg | ||
Jesuitenmission, the mission arm of the Society of Jesus in Germany, directs its assistance to the German Jesuit foreign missions, mainly in India, East Timor, China, and Zimbabwe. Pursuing the service of faith and promotion of justice, its works include combating poverty, refugee assistance, education, health, ecology, human rights and pastoral work, while fostering dialogue between cultures and religions. The work extends to posting of volunteers and political advocacy, as in its campaign "Tax against poverty: FTT". A sampling of projects it has fostered and subsidized is given below.
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Zimbabwe
The Diocese of Chinhoyi, founded by German Jesuits and regularly under Jesuit Bishops, provides education, health care, and social assistance for a destitute rural population. In every parish there are different groups, guilds, and small Christian communities that make up the pastoral and social network of neighborhood assistance for the sick, as well as for AIDS orphans, widows, and elderly who lack basic foodstuffs. Wells and storage tanks are also built to serve the people in this arid area of Zimbabwe.
Current projects include a Tariro daycare and after-school care center for AIDS orphans, opened in 2003, now accommodating about 235 orphans.
The Jesuit Fr. Joe Arimoso founded the "Bright Stars Soccer Academy" in the small town of Norton near Harare to help young people who have family and school problems, giving them a sense of values such as fairness, teamwork, mutual responsibility, and duty. So far, 50 boys and 25 girls are registered in the Academy, and many receive support for school fees. For long-term viability, Arimoso launched a chicken farm; and a hair salon opened in which the girls can learn the craft and earn some income.
China
in 2006 Jesuitenmission was instrumental in the building of Casa Ricci Social Services in Maowangdong, a leprosy rehabilitation center, which today houses over 40 lepers. Extension services from Casa Ricci assist over 4,000 leprosy patients, including infrastructural improvements in their villages: water and electricity, roads, and schools. Casa Ricci also began a low-interest loan program for replacing mud huts with new homes. Homes for orphans, with access to education, have also been provided.
East Timor
Since the end of the independence struggle in 2002, East Timor needs to see its educational infrastructure rebuilt with schools and well-trained teachers. Jesuiten assisted with the school in Kasait that opened in 2013. Since 2012, a facility for teacher training has been provided, with classrooms, library, and sports grounds.
India
The Irulars are the second largest indigenous tribe in the northern part of the state of Tamil Nadu with 210,000 members. Eighty-one percent of Irulars live below the poverty line and are in debt. Sixty-six percent are illiterate and often see no need in sending their children to school. But the Jesuits see education as the path to independence and human betterment. Evening schools have been set up in 25 villages to enhance the chances of success for schoolchildren. Also self-help groups have been founded for women to keep them out of the clutches of money-lenders.
Jesuitenmission also supports a number of Village Reconstruction Organization projects in India: six kindergartens (Community Child Care Program) in Lova Ponnavolu, Gunti, M. Gadaburu, Pedapachili, Kondavedi, and Chamalavaka; two vocational schools for older teens in Rajupalem and Puthur; four health programs in Chilakavanipalem, Mahatmajipuram, Madagam, and Yercaud; and a tailoring course as a special program to help women in Kothapatnam.
Kosovo
In Loyola-Gymnasium in Prizren, Kosovo boys and girls learn collaborative and responsible cooperation in the young, crisis-ridden country. Young people of diverse race and religion meet, shed prejudices, and develop friendships. The promotion of girls in this predominantly Muslim country is a special focus. In 2005 Loyola-Gymnasium was opened under the direction of Jesuit Fr. Walter Happel, S.J.
Cambodia
The new Xavier Jesuit School in Sisophon, Cambodia, is incorporating kindergarten, primary and secondary schools, teacher training, and a kind of folk high school for residents of the surrounding villages, plus tutoring and special courses for school dropouts.
Syria
The Syrian Jesuits are supported in their local networks of assistance. Christians and Muslims visit families together, and distribute blankets, mattresses, cooking utensils, and food, while locating accommodations and teaching games to the children. Two field kitchens in Aleppo and Damascus cook daily with 16,000 meals for the families living in shelters. Due to the escalating violence some of the programs are interrupted.