Resilience formation is offered to Marist and Lasallian educators

A special training to help overcome trauma among other mishaps took place in Dame Marie, Haiti, from July 30 – Aug. 3 as part of an agreement between the Marist International Solidarity Foundation (FMSI) and the International Catholic Child Bureau (BICE), who are funding the programme.

These workshops, titled Resilience for Marist educators, have already began taking place in Granada, Spain, and in Rmeileh, Lebanon, where the Fratelli Project is located.

The ‘Blue Marists’ will receive their formation in Aleppo, Syria, in the last week of September and members of the Fratelli Project will receive the second part of the workshop during the first week of October.

Veronica Hurtubia, an expert in resilience from the Catholic University of the Sacred Heart in Milan, Italy, is in charge of the Resilience for Marist educators.

Her workshop in Dame Marie – and in coming days in Port-de-Paix – aims to train Marist and Lasallian brothers as well as lay people that serve in Dame Marie, Port au Prince and in other areas.

Resilience helps children overcome the trauma of their past, build solid lives and move forward knowing how to protect themselves. It is the ability of an individual or group to overcome great difficulties and grow in life. It may concern trauma, severe poverty, serious illness, heavy mourning, or other problems.

Resilience is not simply enduring, but rather the ability to rebuild one’s life and even transform misfortunes into something positive.

This is yet another good opportunity for FMSI to help “empower those who have no voice”.