.png)
.png)
Elementary Education Programs
The Mary Ward Centre offers a variety of learning opportunities for elementary school students. The in-person programs are highly interactive with facilitators coming on-site to schools in the Greater Toronto Area. The storytime webinar series and Kenya learning exchange can be done virtually. All programs are free, with a suggested contribution to support our ministry work.
Elementary Education Programs
The Mary Ward Centre offers a variety of learning opportunities for elementary school students. The in-person programs are highly interactive with facilitators coming on-site to schools in the Greater Toronto Area. The storytime webinar series and Kenya learning exchange can be done virtually. All programs are free, with a suggested contribution to support our ministry work.
.png)
The Mary Ward Centre in Canada, as a ministry of the IBVM-CJ Sisters, has been part of the global IBVM-CJ network, working to end human trafficking as a crime that abuses the most vulnerable by denying their human dignity as beings with equal rights and opportunities.
​
Following and promoting the SDG 16 Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions The Mary Ward Centre is part of international networks: (1) The Alliance of NGOs on crime and criminal justice (UNODC) working on the prevention of human trafficking and smuggling; and (2) the UN-Committee on Migration, as part of the Sub-committee on Mixed-Migration promoting human rights and protection of migrants without status, migrant workers, and internal displaced people.
JUSTICE
Human Trafficking prevention
The Mary Ward Centre in Canada is part of the global IBVM-CJ network working to end human trafficking and an active part of the declaration made during the General Congregation in September 2014 in Loyola, Spain:
​
"As members of the Institute of the Blessed Virgin Mary, an international and multicultural congregation of women religious, we pledge to work for the eradication of all forms of Human Trafficking and its causes, particularly among women and children, wherever we live and minister."
Thus, the Mary Ward Centre in Canada works for:
(1) Promote human rights by demanding justice for the most vulnerable and excluded;
(2) Prioritize collaborative and networking to maximize efforts and achieve more significant impacts, as required by the current complex context;
(3) Promote education as a strategy to raise awareness about the risks of human trafficking and prevent more people from becoming victims of criminal networks at the local, national, and
international levels; and
(4) Seek new strategies to respond to modern forms of oppression that cause more violations and expose people to a greater risk of becoming victims of human trafficking.
OUR FEATURED ACTIONS
The Mary Ward Centre and CHHA 1610 Radio Latina offer a series of radio programs as part of the "End human trafficking - a commitment for all" campaign. In 2023 we are offering 10 programs in collaboration with radio stations from El Salvador, Honduras, Colombia and Ecuador. The World Association of Communitarian Radio Station (AMARC) and the Digital Newspaper Voices are also part of this campaign.
​
Networks coordination.
As part of the (1) Collaborative Network to End Exploitation (CNEE) for the recurrent activities as a network; (2) Toronto Counter Human Trafficking Network (TCHTN), organizing inputs for the Government of Canada's evaluation of the National Plan to Combat Human Trafficking; and (3) Canadian Council for Refugees (CCR) preparing the 2024 Consultation in Ottawa on November 24th to 27th which include a Lobby day with Federal Parliamentarians.
​
Do you know what Human Trafficking is?
According to the UNODC, the crime of human trafficking counts with three main elements: act (recruit, transport, transfer, harbor, or receive), means (threat or use of force, coercion, fraud, deception, abuse of a position of vulnerability, giving payments of benefits, or abduction) under the purpose of exploitation.
​
Free From Harm Workshops
We offer a series of workshops for elementary and high school students to educate from a rights-based perspective on the prevention of human trafficking and labour exploitation of young people. Workshop topics include understanding the world of human rights, building healthy relationships, and the risks of labour exploitation. This interactive program features hands-on learning, listening to a survivor's testimony, and a collaborative messaging campaign.
​
For more information contact:
