Meeting of educators of Marist social works of Catalonia in Barcelona
“Who takes care of the caregiver?”. This was the motto of the Meeting of educators of the Marist social works of Catalonia, which was held on Friday, March 17 at the Maristes Anna Ravell school in Barcelona, and which wanted to emphasize the care of people and teams during a complicated time.
After the director’s acknowledgments of the Marist social works of Barcelona, Helena Bové, hostess of the event, the Marist Brothers inaugurated the encounter Lluís Serra and Gabriel Villa-Real, Provincial of L’Hermitage, and Brigida Ceballos, technician, Barcelona City Council.
Brother Lluís Serra made a historical review of Marist social works and went back to 1990 when Asociación Compartir was created. Referring to the task of social work educators, he recalled that “giving and receiving are the systole and diastole of social action. From this perspective, professionals and volunteers realize that they also need to receive attention to explore their inner selves, strengthen their actions, work better as a team, avoid unhealthy conditions, improve their training, and contribute from humility… If they do not fill the water bottle they will not be able to offer water to others “.
Brígida Ceballos, on the other hand, highlighted the work carried out by the entities of the City Council, ” a work of high technical complexity” and remarked that one of the challenges of the Barcelona City Council is “to continue to offer lines of work and support to projects “.
To conclude the speeches, Brother Gabriel Villa-Real, Provincial, recalled the path and the good work that has been done in the last 20 years and the firm and decisive commitment that has been taken as an institution for social work. He also thanked each of the educators for their daily work: “Thank you for your courage because your daily life means living in direct contact with fragility, and for that, you must have courage. And in this context, it is important not to lose sight of the fact that we must take care of those who take care of others. And to take care of oneself, to know how to express it in words, and to feel what we feel. To feel connected with others and to know how to disconnect to reconnect “.
The day continued with a dynamic talk by Oriol Julià, entitled “We accompany ourselves by feeling to accompany with meaning. Spaces for equipment care”, which shook the attendees and was followed by workshops on the care of people and equipment: healing words, laughter, emotions, common home, and laughter… After lunch, the General Director of the Champagnat Foundation, Loreto Rubio, shared a moment with the educators to talk about the strategic lines of the institution, and the day ended with a playful space for educators with the aim of networking and getting to know the people of the social works better.