Once upon a time, I was this nerdy girl with her nose in a book and little thought of making a difference for good because she found the worlds inside books much more interesting. Then I met this lovely lady at a book club discussion. She shared with me about this volunteer group called ATD Fourth World Philippines that has been fighting poverty for many years in many different countries. ATD stands for ‘All together in Dignity’ because ATD believes that we all must work together to fight poverty. Where many might consider the poor as beneficiaries, ATD believes the poor are partners in creating solutions to poverty. All ATD’s projects, which include street libraries, literacy programs, community forums, and learning festivals, are organized in partnership with communities.
I started to volunteer in small ways, such as helping transcribe interviews and translating writeups from Tagalog to English. That was eight years ago. I have grown as a volunteer since then and have worked with many amazing volunteers from Europe and the Philippines. Our projects are mainly located in Metro Manila and a few resettlement areas outside the city.
Such a worldwide movement must have started somewhere. Its seeds were planted in a destitute housing camp just outside Paris in 1957. A boy from that community grew up to become a priest who founded the international movement to eradicate poverty. On October 5, everyone has a chance to discover this incredible story as ATD Fourth World Philippines and Alliance Française de Manille will celebrate the 100th anniversary of Father Joseph Wresinski and the International Day for Eradication the Poverty – October 17 by holding a FREE screening of “Joseph the Rebel.”
Born to Fight Poverty
From a small group of destitute families in an emergency housing camp outside Paris in 1957, a movement was born that spans the world today. “Joseph the Rebel” tells the story of resistance against injustice and poverty of community from Noisy-le-Grand and Joseph Wresinski, parish priest, human rights advocate and the founder of ATD Fourth World.
Joseph the Rebel (Joseph l’insoumis) is directed by Caroline Glorion starring Jacques Weber and Anouk Grinberg. The language is French with English subtitles.
World Day for Overcoming Poverty
2017 marks the centenary of the birth of Joseph Wresinski, an anniversary recognized as a Commemoration of National Importance by the French Ministry of Culture. This year also is the 60th anniversary of the founding of ATD Fourth World and the 30th World Day for Overcoming Poverty started from the Call to Action made by Joseph Wresinski in 1987.
If you are looking for volunteer opportunities, this is a wonderful chance to get to meet the volunteers behind ATD Fourth World Philippines and to watch an inspiring story at the same time.
But due to the limited number of seats, pre-registration is required. Please RSVP through this link.
Questions? Please share them by commenting below!
