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Tapestry artist Janine Marja Schneider sews regret, hope, and love into “Waterfall of Solidarity and Resistance”

As Brazilian artist Janine Marja Schneider pieces together the Waterfall of Solidarity and Resistance” tapestry, she brings mixed emotions to her endeavors. On one hand, shes inspired to bring the stories of women from around the world to life on the colorful blocks that cascade downward like liquid. On the other hand, with every stitch, she more deeply absorbs what brings these women together: it’s what theyve survived.

Pastor Godson Lawson Kpavuvu: “God heals, but people must also be treated”

Pastor Godson Lawson Kpavuvu, president of the Methodist Church of Togo, is also chair of the International Reference Group of the World Council of Churches Ecumenical HIV and AIDS Initiatives and Advocacy programme (WCC-EHAIA). Involved with WCC-EHAIA from the beginning, he reflects below on what its like to be, as he describes, one of the veterans of the struggle.”

An exercise in hoping

I’m writing this text exactly one year after Brazil declared quarantine, on 16 March. Last year we went into quarantine thinking it would only be two weeks at home, and maybe a few months of wearing masks and sanitizing our hands. I’m the first to confess that I’ve underestimated the virus. However, we all know that is not how it went. Month after month went by - the internet joked about how could it possibly be August already, when last week was March?

COVID-19 in conflict zones: “a crisis within another crisis”

Damaris, a Nigerian woman, described her experience of 2020: “We’ve gone through hell.”

Damaris and her sisters were kidnapped in March 2020 and threatened with death as their kidnappers demanded money. Her father had to sell everything and beg on the streets to meet their demands. “We are just a common people in Nigeria,” she said. “We don’t know what we did.”

At Effata school in Togo, students transform attitudes about gender-based violence

Through four years of collaboration with the Effata Secular School in Togo, the World Council of Churches (WCC) Ecumenical HIV and AIDS Initiatives and Advocacy programme has introduced students and teachers to Thursdays in Black, towards a world without rape and violence, helped them better respond to HIV, and offered a safe space to discuss responsible sexual and reproductive health.

Young people in Togo: “Hear our voice! We want to tell our stories!”

The World Council of Churches (WCC) Ecumenical HIV and AIDS Initiatives and Advocacy programme sponsored an intergenerational workshop on HIV, masculinities, femininities and sexual reproductive health education for 35 adolescents, young people, theologians, and religious leaders from 28-30 October at the Village du Benin, University of Lomé, Togo.

Larissa Aguiar Garcia: "We're opening a safe space”

This is the fourth in a series of interviews with Thursdays in Black ambassadors who are playing a vital role in increasing the impact of our collective call for a world without rape and violence. Larissa Aguiar Garcia, from Igreja Metodista do Brasil, is a member of the World Council of Churches (WCC) ECHOS Commission for young people.

Larissa Aguiar Garcia: “Estamos abriendo un espacio seguro”

Esta es la cuarta de una serie de entrevistas con embajadores de la campaña Jueves de negro que están desempeñando un papel crucial para aumentar el impacto de nuestro llamado colectivo a favor de un mundo sin violaciones ni violencia. Larissa Aguiar Garcia, de la Iglesia Metodista de Brasil, es miembro de ECHOS, la comisión del Consejo Mundial de Iglesias (CMI) para la juventud.

Knowledge of gender roles deepens in Togo

Pastors, supervisors, teachers, counselors, chaplains and youth from primary schools, universities, theological institutions, and churches met from 23-24 May at the Theresia Residency in Togo to reflect and deepen their knowledge on masculinities, femininities and HIV.

WCC calls for peace in Colombia

Prof. Dr Isabel Apawo Phiri, deputy general secretary of the World Council of Churches (WCC), expressed concern and voiced solidarity for the people of Colombia as they confront a recent upsurge of violence.

El CMI llama a la paz en Colombia

La Prof. Dra. Isabel Phiri, vicesecretaria general del Consejo Mundial de Iglesias (CMI), expresó su preocupación y solidaridad con el pueblo de Colombia ante el reciente recrudecimiento de la violencia.

Las Abuelas de Plaza de Mayo son un ejemplo del liderazgo de las mujeres en pro de la justicia y la paz

En situaciones de guerra y opresión, en las que se exacerba la violencia contra las mujeres, son muchas veces las mujeres las que asumen el liderazgo en la lucha contra la injusticia. La valentía demostrada por las madres y abuelas de los desaparecidos durante el período de la guerra sucia de Argentina (1976-1983) ha sido descrito recientemente como un ejemplo y un reto por los representantes del CMI.

In Argentina, stirring journey for human rights continues

"Since 1983 Argentina is enjoying the longest period of democracy in our history – it is a great achievement and that is why we need to take care of it." Pride in the peaceful change from military dictatorship to democracy 35 years ago and concern over recent developments in her country was the message that Estela Barnes de Carlotto brought with her to a meeting in Geneva reinvigorating the friendship between the WCC and the Association of the Grandmothers of the Plaza de Mayo, of which she is the president.

Continúa el emotivo viaje por los derechos humanos en la Argentina

“Desde 1983, Argentina disfruta del mayor período de democracia de nuestra historia: supone un gran logro y por eso debemos cuidar de él”. El orgullo por el cambio pacífico de la dictadura militar a la democracia hace treinta y cinco años y la preocupación ante los últimos acontecimientos en su país resumen el mensaje transmitido por Estela Barnes de Carlotto en la reunión celebrada en Ginebra que revitaliza la amistad entre el CMI y la Asociación Abuelas de Plaza de Mayo, que preside.