The Scalabrini International Migration Network held a fundraising reception celebrating its tenth anniversary with many generous supporters and friends at the headquarters office in New York City.
New York, USA, July 18, 2017 – The Scalabrini International Migration Network (SIMN) celebrated its tenth anniversary of incorporation, on July 12th, 2017, in a reception that took place in its Headquarters with the participation of Leadership Council Members, friends and supporters of the institution.
After the opening prayers of Archbishop Bernardito Auza, Permanent Observer Mission of the Holy See to the United Nations, SIMN’s Executive Director, Fr. Leonir Chiarello CS, gave a short speech summarizing the ten years SIMN has been working with migrants, refugees and seafarers with three key words: gratitude, challenges and partnership. He expressed SIMN’s heartfelt gratitude to God for inspiring our Founder, Blessed Bishop John Baptist Scalabrini, to promote the specific commitment of the Catholic Church and our Congregation with migrants, refugees and seafarers. In addition, Fr. Chiarello expressed his gratitude to the Scalabrinian Congregation, the Permanent Representation of the Holy See to the United Nations, the members of the SIMN Leadership Council, the Center for Migration Studies, the NGO Committee on Migration, the NGO Committee to Stop Human Trafficking, foundations, private donors, universities, scholars, friends, supporters and staff members. He brought up the challenges that migrants and refugees are facing currently in a society more complex and globalized than ever and the partnership SIMN has with the United Nations agencies and International Organizations committed to migration and refugee policies and programs, as well as SIMN’s collaboration with governments and civil society organizations at the national, regional, and international levels. Fr. Leonir concluded his speech underlining the following words of the speech that Pope Francis addressed to the participants of the Sixth International Forum on Migration and Peace, that SIMN organized in coordination with the new Dicastery for the Promotion of Human Integral Development and Konrad Adenauer Stiftung, in Rome, on February 21, 2017: “Our shared response to migration and refugee challenges may be articulated by four verbs: to welcome, to protect, to promote and to integrate… I believe that conjugating these four verbs, in the first person singular and in the first person plural, is today a responsibility, a duty we have towards our brothers and sisters who, for various reasons, have been forced to leave their homeland: a duty of justice, of civility and of solidarity.”
“Inspired by our Catholic values, our Scalabrinian heritage, and this invitation of Pope Francis, celebrating our 10thanniversary, we renew our commitment to providing services that save peoples’ lives and partnering with international organizations, governments, civil society organizations, private sector, companies, foundations and individuals to promote and implement programs and policies to safeguard the dignity of migrants, refugees and seafarers worldwide. In this framework we are launching today the “Four Pillars Campaign on Integration and Development” to strengthen our commitment to welcome, to protect, to promote and to integrate migrants, refugees and seafarers worldwide,” said Fr. Leonir Chiarello, Executive Director of SIMN.
The Scalabrini International Migration Network would like to thank all the participants of this event as well as all the supporters who help us in carrying out our mission worldwide for the past ten years and invite you to join SIMN in this significant campaign.
About SIMN – SIMN is supporting more than 250 Scalabrinian centers, shelters and programs that are providing lodging, food, training and employment programs; psychological and religious services; protection to victims of human trafficking and support in the integration process to migrants, refugees and seafarers in five continents. In 2016, for example, Scalabrinian Centers has supported 120,738 migrants and refugees and 172,790 seafarers around the world. SIMN is also supporting a network of schools providing education, school supplies, and food, (possibly their only meal of the day) to thousands of needy children. In addition, SIMN is an accredited Non-Governmental Organization at the United Nations, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) and the Organization of American States (OAS) and from this perspective is providing research and support for regional and global policies to protect and promote the dignity and the rights of migrants and their families.