To accompany, serve and advocate...

Conflict of course is one of the main reasons people flee from their countries. They flee the violence that is implicit in war, the persecution it is often accompanied by, the situation of social and economic unrest that makes it impossible to work, learn and find medical help if necessary.
The Jesuit Refugee Service – JRS for short - is an international Catholic organisation with a mission to accompany, serve and advocate on behalf of refugees and other forcibly displaced persons. Founded in 1980, JRS undertakes services at national and regional levels with programmes in 51 countries across the globe. Its aims are to provide assistance to refugees in camps and cities, to individuals displaced within their own countries, to asylum seekers in cities, and to those held in detention centres. The main areas of work are in the field of education, emergency assistance, healthcare, livelihood activities and social services. At the end of 2010 more than 500,000 individuals were direct beneficiaries of JRS projects.
One of the 10 geographic regions of JRS is Southern Africa which supports country programmes in nations with different realities and different needs. Linda Bordoni found out more about the work of JRS Southern Africa when a meeting was held here in Rome for JRS officers, and Robyn Leslie, the Southern Africa representative at the meeting agreed to come in to the radio to talk about her work… listen...