The collaboration between the Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development and local churches has given rise to the project “The Presence of the Church Among Migrants,” with the desire to make their projects replicable in other places.
Through the stories of some projects for the reception and integration of migrants and refugees, the aim is to bear witness to the concrete commitment of local churches in accompanying these people in need.
At the same time, useful information is provided for those who wish to implement similar projects in their own areas, even in different parts of the world.
The format includes video tutorials consisting of interviews on two different projects, but with a common theme, told by those who work alongside migrants and refugees every day to ensure they have a dignified future.
The first video tutorial, already available in five different languages, is entitled “Good Practices in Border Areas” and presents two projects.
The first is the Casa del Migrante in Tijuana, Mexico, where for over 35 years the Scalabrinian Fathers have been welcoming migrants from the South who are trying to cross the border into the United States.
The second is the Giovanni Battista Scalabrini Center in Ressano Garcia, Mozambique. This project was launched in 1997 to welcome, support, and educate migrants heading to South Africa and returnees, especially children.
In their respective interviews, Father Patricio Murphy and Sister Rita de Cássia Luiz, who have directed their respective reception centers for many years, answer specific questions that highlight the history of the projects, from their inception to the present day, highlighting their strengths, but also the difficulties encountered and the solutions implemented to overcome them.
While Father Murphy emphasized the relevance of volunteers, calling them “the beating heart” of the Migrant House in Tijuana, Sister de Cássia Luiz highlighted the valuable support, financial and otherwise, of “people, organizations, institutions, and foundations that have helped and supported” the Ressano Garcia project.