In 1996 the Federation made the decision to apply for Non-Governmental Organization affiliation with the Department of Public Information at the United Nations.

NGO Representative

Sister Caroljean Willie SC , a Sister of Charity of Cincinnati is our NGO . She can be reached at: NGOrepresentative@sisters-of-charity-federation.org  

 Caroljean  is assisted by Sisiter Janet McLoughlin SC, a Sister of Charity of St. Elizabeth. Janet can be reached at: NGOadminassist@sisters-of-charity-federation.org

Sister Caroljean  publishes a newsletter to keep Federation members apprised of U.N. activities and current issues. She also creates and forward e-mails of interest that recommend actions or relay educational information. She educates Federation members and the public on the services and activities of the United Nations.

The Federation appointed an NGO team  of liaisons from each congregation. The purpose of the team is to work with  Caroljean to promote education and advocacy on issues of U.N. peace and justice.

The NGO office is located at : Sisters of Charity Federation  NGO 
                                                211 East 43rd St., Suite 504
                                                NY  NY 10017
Phone numbers: 646-678-2797 or 646-678-2010
                                                 

What contributions has the Federation made through NGO status?

Peace - supports the UNESCO Culture of Peace; holds active membership in the Hague Appeal for Peace and lobbies in behalf of nuclear disarmament.

Economic Development - has taken corporate stance on Third World debts; continues to provide funding and staffing for development and disaster relief projects in the Developing World; work to attain a more just economic and financial system.

Social Development - supports the work of UN agencies through establishment and administration of numerous, clinics, rehabilitation centers, mental health, drug treatment facilities, family, women and children's centers; conducts outreach and centers for those in need.

Refugee Assistance - support and administer centers for Asian and Latin American refugees and immigrants; participates in a Refugees Legislation Project to provide more humane and just legislation for refugees.

Human Rights - supports a Radio Program for Human Rights in Haiti and administers a Holocaust Institute; offers workshops and courses on migrant rights, racism, ethnocentrism and multiculturalism.

Women - provide shelters, centers, training and education programs for abused women, victims of prostitution, single mothers, homeless women, unemployed and unskilled women.

Children - supports UNICEF.

Sustainable Development - supports and staffs several straw bale housing developments, a water and sewage project in Peru, education for environmental awareness and responsibility.

“As pastors, teachers and citizens, we…seek to contribute to our national dialogue by examining the ethical implications of climate change.” –US. Catholic Bishops

www.ourplanet.com and www.ourplanet.com/tunza

Current and past issues Our Planet, a magazine published by the UN Environment Program (UNEP) are available on this elaborate site about the environment and development. Tunza is UNEP’s magazine for and by young people. Its extensive web site contains a great deal of information on topics about environmental sustainability.

www.catholicsandclimatechange.org

This site explores the moral implications of climate change, Catholic principles and teachings applied to the issue, curriculum materials and links to a number of other sites with good information.

“Today’s students will be the citizens and leaders of the 21^st Century, heirs to a world that grows smaller and more interconnected everyday. For the United States (and Canada) to continue to prosper, all students must have the opportunities to learn about other world regions and languages. The world will demand it of them-we need to demand it of our educational system(s).” from the Asia Society website

www.asiasociety.org/education

The Asia Society website is outstanding for materials about Asian countries. It has numerous lesson plans from PreK-12 as well as background essays, maps, images and links to other resources.

www.asiainthecurriculum.org

This website is a project of Columbia University. In addition to syllabi, lesson plans and teaching materials about Asian countries, there is also a section on professional development which offers study abroad opportunities for educators. Some of the study abroad programs are offered free to qualified educators.

www.coolglobes.org                                                            

“Cool Globes is a non-profit organization established to raise awareness of global warming and inspire individuals and community leaders to embrace solutions. The Cool Globes Curriculum has been designed to be teacher and student friendly. Its intent is to increase awareness of human impacts on our planet, specifically those that contribute to global warming. It is divided into lessons that a teacher can either follow sequentially or use as supplements within their designed curriculum.” from the Cool Globes website

“Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world.”  Nelson Mandela

www.teachunicef.org

Teach UNICEF has a number of lesson plans for educators of middle and high school students. It is recognized that educators need effective tools to help their students develop the skills needed to survive and thrive in a world of dynamic change. This education program is designed to help educators bring a global understanding of the needs of children and families around the world into the classroom.

www.un.org/millenniumgoals

This UN site provides the text of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and other background material and documents.

www.unmillenniumproject.org/goals/index.htm

This site provides a general introduction to the MDGs.

www.undp.org/mdg

This UN Development Program (UNDP) site has country and regional reports on the progress of the MDGs.

www.makepovertyhistory.org

This elaborate website of the Make Poverty History campaign has videos other types of information poverty. There is a special section at the top of the site marked “schools” which offers excellent materials for the classroom on the realities of poverty from a global perspective.

http://cyberschoolbus.un.org/mdgs

This section of the cyber school bus website is devoted to teaching students about the MDGs. There is material for a variety of ages.

www.kiva.org

This is an interesting site that invites you to lend to a specific entrepreneur in the developing world – allowing them to lift themselves out of poverty?

Question??? Could this be a model of something we might do within our congregations, the federation?

www.opportunity.org

Opportunity International is a global leader in building microfinance banks for the working poor. This organization strives to reach the world’s poorest people through its microenterprise development programs. Recognizing that the large majority of the world’s poorest people are women and that they contribute decisively to the well-being of their families, Opportunity International makes it a priority to support programs that serve the particular needs of women.


 www.microcreditsummit.org

This is a very comprehensive site in English, French, and Spanish that provides information about the nature of microcredit, successful projects and ongoing reports from and about regional microcredit summits.


 www.soundessenceproject.org

The Sound Essence Project is an international network of resources and partnerships to achieve sustainable advances promoting peace, gender equality, and eradicating extreme poverty and hunger worldwide. Under “current projects” on the website are the details of several successful micro-financing projects.

www.justiceforimmigrants.org/parishes.html

This is the official site of the Catholic Campaign for Immigrant reform. It has a wealth of educational resources for use with children through adults, a section of faith enrichment and development activities using church documents on migration and information on proposed legislation and tips for engaging in the legislative process.

www.migrationpolicy.org

This site is an independent, nonpartisan, nonprofit think tank dedicated to the study of the movement of people worldwide. It offers up to date information and articles on many dimensions of the issues concerning migration. It also provides statistics about the movements of people worldwide.

www.nationalmigrationconference.org

The USCCB will host a conference on migration from July 28-31, 2008 in Washington, D.C. This site provides specific information about the conference.

www.unesco.org/most/migration/convention/

This site provides an information kit on the UN Convention on Migrant Rights. It offers a wealth of information on all aspects of the migration of people worldwide.

www.icmc.net

The international Catholic Migration Commission serves and protects the needs of uprooted people, refugees, internally displaced persons and migrants. There are numerous articles, statements and migration mapping and news on the site.

The UN Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, Especially Women and Children is a wide-ranging international agreement to address the crime of trafficking in persons, especially women and children, on a transnational level. It creates a global language and legislation to define trafficking in persons, especially women and children; assist victims of trafficking; and prevent trafficking in persons. The trafficking in persons protocol also establishes the parameters of judicial cooperation and exchanges of information among countries. 

A Parish Resource Packet entitled Human Trafficking: Modern Day Slavery is designed and offered by the Sisters of the Divine Savior by contacting stoptraffick@aol.com .

Check out the monthly “Stop Trafficking” newsletter which is sponsored by a number of religious congregations. It is available in Spanish and English and can be found at: http://homepage.mac.com/srjeanschafersds/stoptraffic/index.html. The current issue examines the trafficking of children primarily in the U.S. and Canada as well as ways to prevent child trafficking.

A Human Trafficking Resource Disc (fall, 2007) which contains a number of power point presentations and more than 120 documents on the trafficking issue was compiled by Covenant House for use by those organizations in the fight against human trafficking. It is available by contact N. Byrd at NByrd@covenanthouse.org .

For information on the Catholic Church’s response to trafficking go to: www.usccb.org/mrs/traffickingweb.shtml .

UNANIMA International, an NGO at the UN representing 16 religious congregations with 17,000 members serving in 65 countries, has recently launched a new campaign entitle STOP THE DEMAND for trafficking in women and children. Excellent material about the campaign, resources, prayer resources and ways to get involved can be found on their website: www.unanima-international.org .

The Coalition Against Trafficking in Women International (CATW) is a non-governmental organization (NG0) that promotes women’s human rights by working internationally to combat sexual exploitation in all its forms. Their website offers information about their campaigns against trafficking, a FACE book that looks at trafficking country by country, and resources. Visit them at: www.catwinternational.org .