Seeds of Justice
For almost two decades now, the Seeds of Justice Conference Program has been a prominent feature of Mercy Education Limited, and St Aloysius College has been a key school in contributing to this unique program.
As an initiative promoting social justice in our schools, it also connects our students with the wider student networks from Mercy schools around Victoria and deepens their appreciation of what we call the Mercy Charism. This means that a deeper understanding of the richness of the Mercy Ethos is taken beyond school and put into practice in the world. It is the Corporal Works of Mercy in action. More than that, it is connecting with the wider Mercy family, and the possibilities for building lifelong relationships are endless.
The first of the two annual events for 2024 took place on Thursday, 16th and Friday, 17th May, held at the Holy Cross Centre in Templestowe, with four of our Year 11 students attending. The Seeds of Justice overnight camps involve a major social justice theme. The theme for this event was Breaking Chains, with a focus on disrupting human trafficking and modern slavery. Students listened to guest speakers Liz Payne and Bernard Dobson and participated in activities which embody the Gospel values, exploring ways that we can assist in combating injustices in our community.
Michael Chesser
Director of Catholic Mission and Mercy Ethos
On the 16th and 17th May we attended the Holy Cross Centre in Templestowe. Here we learnt about the issues of human trafficking, modern slavery, and what we can do as a community to stop this matter from happening. We were enlightened by many stories and facts shared by Liz the guest speaker and Bernard from ACRATH. They taught us through stories, games and slideshows. We overall, had a great time connecting with new people, learning new things and sharing stories.
For those wanting to make a small difference to combatting Human slavery and trafficking, it can be from purchasing everyday items from Ethically mindful organisations. To find a list of these companies and products please check out the following website www.shopethical.org.au.
Sadie N, Jasmine F & Hannah K