Ahead of this year’s Refugee Week, Caritas Brentwood, in partnership with the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of England and Wales and CSAN (Caritas Social Action Network), has launched educational resources for primary and secondary schools inspired by the Bishops’ document offering a pastoral response to migrants and refugees – Love the Stranger.
The resources aim to help pupils understand and empathise with the challenges faced by those seeking safety. Love the Stranger, published by the International Affairs department in 2023, promotes the inherent human dignity of all. The resources include a PowerPoint presentation and five worksheets — one for each week day — to educate and encourage discussion among students. An additional document provides links to other available resources and support.
The initiative aims to provide a Catholic response to immigration, asylum seeking, and compassion for those seeking safety, ensuring the content is age-appropriate and firmly rooted in Catholic social teaching. The creation of the resource was also supported by Clifton Diocese and St Vincent de Paul Society.
Refugee Week this year will be celebrated between 17 – 23 June, with the theme ‘Our Home’.
The worksheets, PowerPoint presentation, and their accompanying resources are free to download from CSAN’s website.
Picture from CBCEW website.