Safeguarding

Greetings from Ethiopia, the land of origins. It is good to be back in Addis Ababa after several years. The transformation of the city is truly mind-blowing.

I am here on a safeguarding mission. As the Province Safeguarding Office, we have a plan to officially visit all our apostolates and communities in the Province. This forms part of our monitoring and evaluation exercise, through which we seek to assess where companions are in their efforts to promote a consistent and healthy culture of safeguarding within our communities and apostolates.

In Ethiopia, I visited our school, Abay Mado Catholic Academy, and our community, San Pedro Jesuit Community, in Bahir Dar. I was fortunate to meet Grade 8 learners, collaborators, and members of the safeguarding team. I am grateful to Abba Michael Mungai, Mr. Tadele, and Abba Kyalo (in absentia) for their warm welcome and generous hospitality.

At the moment, I write to you from the comfort of the Pedro Paez Jesuit Community in Bonga—the land of coffee and honey. Our upcoming school, Ariyo Catholic Learning Institution, majestically sits on a hill overlooking the city. The Catholic and Orthodox churches surrounding it seem to offer a sense of quiet protection. Following a visit to the school and enriching conversations with Abbas Petros, Groum, and Ayele, I am encouraged to see that safeguarding is already being embraced as an integral part of the school culture from the very beginning. I am deeply grateful for the warm welcome, shared laughter, and the long, life-giving conversations we had.

I will be travelling to Addis and thereafter proceed to our Galilee Retreat Centre in Debre Zeit. The visit will conclude with a conversation with our companions in Addis.

I am sincerely grateful to the companions for their warm welcome and generous hospitality. We are also deeply thankful to Irish Jesuit International for their continued and steadfast support.