> BIO Class 7: Thurs. Mar. 15, 2007, 7 p.m. Central TRIP AROUND THE WORLD: DIGNITY Burkina Faso: micro-enterprise India: Dalits or ‘outcastes’ Bolivia: birth certificates, marriage licenses, and legal docs Holy Land: conflict resolution Mr. Evariste Karangwa Director, Africa Lutheran World Relief > BIO     Mr. Timothy McCully Vice President, International Programs Lutheran World Relief > BIO     Ms. Aleida Guzman Senior Program Associate, Latin America Lutheran World Relief > BIO   Ms. Tonette Bacol-Guillermo, Philippines Program Manager, Lutheran World Relief Listen to an audio presentation of this class: Trip Around the World:Dignity by downloading this mp3 file. LARGE FILE 60MB Download a PDF of the class notes.

Course description: Dignity.  It’s one of Lutheran World Relief’s core values and an important part of our vision statement.  Yet dignity is not something LWR can bestow on people like quilts and layettes.  It’s not something we can teach people to harvest from the ground.  Rather, LWR believes that all people have dignity and worth in the eyes of God.  Unfortunately, dignity often goes unrecognized.  Poverty, conflicts and oppression rob people of their sense of dignity and limit their ability to lead lives that reflect their true worth.  LWR seeks out tangible ways of acknowledging the dignity of those in need by partnering with indigenous and ethnic communities who have traditionally been marginalized.  Working together, we help them advocate for their rights and work to ensure access to health-care, legal services and productive opportunities.  In this month’s Virtual U, we will take “a trip around the world” and learn about how activities like these are making a difference in Bolivia, Burkina Faso and in India. International Staff Profile: Ms. Tonette Guillermo, Philippines Program Manager Click here to read an interview with Tonette about how LWR promotes human dignity in the Philippines. Recommended Reading: BURKINA FASO Where We Work: Burkina Faso Profile of LWR’s work in Burkina Faso In Burkina Faso, Literacy Training Helps Women Fight for Their Rights By Emily Sollie, Director of Communications and Media Relations, LWR Monday Developments, 08/29/05 Policy Matters: Recognizing Human Dignity The MicroEnterprise Journal, 10/16/06 Microenterprise: Laying the Foundation for Economic Development Economic Perspectives - An Electronic Journal of the U.S. Department of State Vol. 9, No. 1, February 2004 BOLIVIA Where We Work: Bolivia Profile of LWR ’s work in Bolivia A Road Paved With Hope: Bolivia's Indigenous Travel Hundreds of Miles for Drafting of Constitution The Washington Post, 08/06/06 Indigenous Demands Are Justified, Says UN Rapporteur Inter Press Service News Agency, 06/08/05 INDIA Where We Work: India Profile of LWR’s work in India Turning Hope Into Reality TOTO, July 2006 Between invisibility and dignity: India’s Dalit and globalization openDemocracy.net, 3/25/04 Dalits take Gandhi's path of protest CNN-IBN, 02/16/07 MEPs want more legal protection for India's "untouchables" European Parliament, News, 02/27/07 India's Dalits: between atrocity and protest Human Rights Watch, 01/09/07 THE PHILIPPINES Where We Work: Philippines Profile of LWR’s work in the Philippines International Staff Profile:  Tonette Guillermo An interview with LWR’s Philippines program manager Peace in the Family TOTO, September 2006