Vivat International gains NGO status
Brings unique SVD-SSpS charisms to UN international family of nations

Brother Pat Hogan, SVD
Bordentown, New Jersey

Recently Fr. Larry Correa, SVD, the chairperson of Vivat International, invited me along with Rose Martin, SSpS, to participate in the 57th Annual DPI/NGO (Department of Public Information/Non Governmental Organizations) meeting at the UN While working in Taiwan five years ago, I had been active in the environmental movement and made some considerable contributions. Through Fr. Larry’s kind invitation I had an excellent opportunity to update myself on the very lat est environmental problems and to learn about other global developmental and social issues.

Vivat International was started at the request of our SVD and SSpS generalates in Rome when they decided that our two missionary congregations should be represented at the UN as a Non-Governmental Organization. The word "Vivat" derives from the first word of our founder, St. Arnold Janssen’s prayer: “Vivat Deus Unus et Trinus in Cordibus Nostris!” After three years of hard work, Fr. Larry received official certification that Vivat was accepted as a full-fledged non-governmental (NGO) member of the UN Finally our two congregations could join the host of other NGOs to represent the needs and concerns of the people we serve in more than sixty-five countries.

The theme for this year’s DPI/NGO conference was “Millennium Development Goals: Civil Society Takes Action.” At the Millennium Development Summit meeting in September 2000 at the UN, a document was issued and signed by all the member states to commit themselves to eight development goals. Specific targets were set to be reached by the year 2015, based on statistical reports from 1990. If these eight noble goals are to become realities, there has to be a mechanism to coordinate and mobilize efforts. The single and most important force to accomplish these goals is found in the work of the NGOs. Without the framework that the NGOs provide there would be little or no action taken by world governments to carry out the mandates. As the annual meeting began, the main assemb ly hall of the UN was filled with over 2,000 participants, representing 1,893 NGOs and 546 registered organizations representing a total of eighty countries.

The eight Millennium Development Goals have been considered the most fundamental goals to reducing poverty and improving people’s lives. 1) Eradicate extreme poverty and hunger. Target for 2015: Cut in half the proportion of people living on less than a dollar a day and those who suffer from hunger.

2) Achieve universal primary education. Target for 2015: Ensure that all boys and girls complete primary school.

3) Promote gender equality and empower women. Targets for 2005 and 2015: Eliminate gender disparities in primary and secondary education preferably by 2005, and at all levels by 2015.

4) Reduce child mortality. Target for 2015: Reduce by two-thirds the mortality rate among children under five.

5) Improve maternal health. Target for 2015: Reduce by three-quarters the ratio of women dying in childbirth.

Br. Pat Hogan, SVD, Sr. Rose Martin, SSpS and Fr. Larry Correa, SVD in the UN assembly hall

6) Combat HIV/AIDS, malaria and other diseases. Target for 2015: Halt and begin to reverse the spread of HIV/AIDS and the incidence of malaria and other major diseases.

7) Ensure environmental sustainability. Targets for 2015: Cut in half the proportion of people without access to safe drinking water. Achieve significant improvement in the lives of at least 100 million slum dwellers.

8) Build a global partnership for development. Target date 2015: Develop further an open trading and financial system that includes a commitment to good governance, development and poverty reduction—nationally and internationally.

Since these goals were first formulated, quite a few developing countries have achieved significant results and a number of countries, especially China and India, have reached all of the goals. The situation in Africa, however, is very different. Not only will most countries in Africa fall short of reaching the goals, their social and developmental programs will show further decline. With civil wars, bad governance, and the increase in terrorism, it’s hardly possible to expect social progress. The need for security and protection from terrorists was discussed often at the general assemblies. The Russian representative to the UN spoke poignantly of the massacre of nearly 400 innocent children on their first day of school. As we know, Russia doesn’t stand alone in being vulnerable to terrorism. Billions of dollars are being spent for security in developed countries and developing countries as well, diverting funds from solving their developmental programs.

Divine Word missionaries are already working toward the eight Millennium Development Goals. Some of our mission countries have made considerable economic and social progress. Preaching the Good News without attending to the basic needs of those whom we serve is proclaiming only half of our message. How encouraging it is to recognize our achievements in serving the poor, but we need to realize that we still have a long way to go in alleviating pain, hunger, poverty, racism, genocide, gender discrimination and other forms of human suffering. Our presence at the UN through Vivat International puts us on the front line in protecting the rights of all the citizens of the world and seeing that everyone’s basic needs are met. I expect that all SVDs and SSpS Sisters will work more closely with Vivat International and use the resources that they are ready to share with us. In turn, we can provide Vivat with the success stories that are happening throughout those sixty-five countries that we are working in, so that they may pass on the Good News.