SUPER NUNS: the fearless sisters fighting human trafficking - By Linda Bordoni and Sr. Bernadette Reis
SUPER NUNS: the fearless sisters fighting human trafficking
By Linda Bordoni and Sr. Bernadette Reis
Pope Francis has repeatedly shone the spotlight on the scourge of human trafficking and appealed for concrete and concerted action to root out its causes and protect the millions of victims of the modern slave trade.
To commemorate the International Day of Prayer and Awareness against Human Trafficking, the Pope met with members of Talitha Kum, the Galileo Foundation, Edelman and ESPO. Sr Gabriella Bottani, Talitha Kum's international coordinator, explained the new initiative to Pope Francis. Artist Stephen Powers showed the first image that will be used on the platform and asked him to autograph it.
The highlight of the private audience happened when Pope Francis activated the "Super Nuns" page on the Patreon platform with a click on the laptop.
Talitha Kum
Talitha Kum has responded to his call. For 10 years the global
network of Catholic sisters has been quietly dedicated to prevention,
rescue and rehabilitation of human trafficking survivors.
The work the sisters do is challenging and often risky. They are out
on the streets raising awareness, making contact with victims in
dangerous contexts, sheltering them from traffickers and exploitation,
providing a passage home and new skills with which to rebuild shattered
lives.
That’s why fundraising is important – and particularly complicated
because the sisters operate out of sight and don’t publicly announce
successes.
Super Nuns
The SUPER NUNS
community is an project launched by Talitha Kum (an initiative of the
International Union of Superiors General), that aims to reach a whole
new range of potential supporters.
As Sister Patricia Murray, Secretary of the UISG told Vatican Radio, thanks to a partnership between the Galileo Foundation, some popular street artists and an international communications platform, the work of the “super nuns” will be illustrated for all to see, as will the great spirit of the survivors.
SUPER NUNS, Sister Pat explained, is an exciting new initiative
geared to help the Talitha Kum sisters who are dedicated to rescuing
those who have been trapped and trafficked to different parts of the
world.
She said the project grew out of the vision of John McCaffrey who
works for the Galileo Foundation: “he had relations with the Edelman
Company, a large communications company in the United States. He was
aware of their work and of the fact that every year they use some of
their resources for social enterprises,” and suggested they consider
sponsoring Talitha Kum and the work of the sisters against human
trafficking.
Sr Pat said a productive meeting in New York with Edelman resulted in
this idea that aims to make the issue of trafficking known across the
world to a whole new audience.
What it entails is using the work of artists, who are well known in
the comic world, to create (pop) images of the sisters and their work.
“We are calling them SUPER NUNS because what they do is extraordinary
work: very hidden work, quite dangerous work at times, where they
rescue victims, women, men and children, and then shelter them and then
there's a process of rehabilitation and integration back into society,”
she said.
Social media and street art
Sr Pat said the artwork will be placed on social media platforms for all to access.
“There's also a large wall in New York that has been covered with the first of these images,” she said, noting that images speak to everybody, but especially to younger people “who are very aware of the whole world of comics and comic imagery.”
She went on to say that the use of popular media is a “whole new way
of reaching out to people who wouldn’t have ever met a sister, wouldn’t
know their work,” except for perhaps associating them with the areas we
traditionally associate with them like schools, hospitals, clinics.
“But there are thousands of sisters working in the whole area of
trafficking and engaged in anti-trafficking campaigns and also rescuing
and rehabilitation, and I think art is a creative way” to raise
awareness she said.
Sr Pat noted that the viewer is often called to interpret these
artworks and read the slogans: SUPER NUNS “is conveying at a number of
different levels, and at a depth, that the kind of rescuing that’s done
is not superficial. That it is trying to bring the individual home and
also give them a future.”
For the artists involved it is an exciting new venture, she said: for
the first time they listened to some of the stories of the victims and
learnt of the work of the sisters before being able to give life to
their work.
Super in the sense of being daring
The image of the SUPER NUN, Sr Pat explained, resonates with the
message conveyed by Superman and Superwoman: “it’s super in the sense of
being daring.”
“It’s super in the sense of reaching places that were not reached in
the past. It's super in the way that it's calling for others to
actually support this work,” she said.
That’s why, she explained, it can’t be just the work of individuals
or of a network of sisters: it calls for global action to support this
initiative in whatever way we can.
Why fundraising is essential
Sr Pat said that funds are sorely needed: looking at the context of
Africa or Asia, she said, something like 2,000 to 10,000 dollars are
required to rescue someone, bring them home, give them shelter for an
extended amount of time, give them treatment to recover from the horrors
that they have suffered, and then educate them or give them new skills
so that they can be integrated back into society, and in some cases give
them a small amount of money to start an enterprise.
“So this is a multi-faceted and quite a complex rescue and
restorative operation,” she said, and a direct response to Pope Francis’
call for a culture of care.
She expressed her gratitude and admiration for the artists who have
entered into this campaign with the nuns “so we can let a whole new
audience of people know that this work is happening within the Catholic
Church and that they can be part of it.”
Sr Pat concluded inviting all men and women of good will, Catholics throughout the world, to support this initiative in the certainty that every penny they donate will go to the work on the ground. For donations and more information there is a link on the Talitha Kum website.
Pope Francis inaugurates Super Nuns
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