WOMEN’S WORLD DAY OF PRAYER

INTERNATIONAL AND INTERDENOMINATIONAL

4TH March 2011

Chile is easily recognisable due to its long thin shape stretching from North to South along South America’s Pacific coast from Peru to its southern most point, Cape Horn

Stretching from North to South means that Chile has many different climates. The Atacama Dessert is the driest desert in the World

What is it like to be a woman in Chile?•Chilean women only entered the labour market in recent years and represent just over a third of the work force. Women tend to work in less prestigious and poorly paid jobs such as: domestic service, seasonal work- selling in street markets and many different ‘home based’ jobs (sewing, making bread, etc.) They usually earn two thirds of the minimum wage for this type of work.

•Research carried out by the University of Chile reveals that 87% of the women interviewed felt that women suffer discrimination in some form or another. Equal opportunities are pursued. For example, pregnant women and mothers of new born babies are protected by law. They receive special benefits and cannot be made redundant from their work.

•Unfortunately Chile has the highest incidence of domestic violence in Latin America. It is said that 28% of Chilean women suffer physical or sexual violence and nearly 20% suffer psychological violence. The number of women killed violntly is a cause of concern.

Chile is a land of incredible contrasts with its deserts, beaches, fjords, deep sea channels, glaciers and icebergs. It is also a land of volcanoes and earthquakes. The Chilean side of the Andes mountain range includes over 600 volcanoes.

Theme of the day:

How many loaves do we have?

We looked at loaves as qualities and talents that we can share amongst us to make the world a better place.

Many of these qualities are seen throughout the world on a daily basis and many of them are shown to others by women.Whether as a mother, a sister, a daughter, a carer or a friend,

women have strength and show love to others. These small offerings are always made greater by God. As we will hear in the Gospel reading, the women who returned to

the tomb to anoint Jesus’ body were the first to hear the Good News of Jesus’ resurrection and tell others.

PrayerAlmighty God, we give thanks for giving us the privilege of having a good education.We give thanks for being present in our lives and for giving us the strength, as women, to keep going forward.We also give thanks for making us good people with the strength for being able to love and care.We give you thanks for always helping us when we most need you and for never abandoning us, especially those people who have nothing to eat, and nowhere to live. We ask you also to look after the children in need of help and guidance, and those who live alone on the streets.We place all our trust in you and we know that you will listen to our prayer. Amen.

OraciónDios todo poderoso, te damos gracias por el privilegio de tener una buena educación.Te damos gracias por existir en nuestras vidas y por darnos la fuerza como mujeres para salir adelante. También, te damos las gracias por hacer de nosotras personas de bien y con fuerza para amar y querer. Te damos gracias por ayudarnos siempre cuando más te necesitamos y por nunca abandonarnos sobre todo a aquellos que no tienen nada que comer, donde vivir y también a esos niños que están desamparados por las calles de la ciudad.Confiamos plenamente en ti sabemos que escucharás nuestras plegarias. No nos desamparesAmén

Reflexiones y pensamientos sobre el día

Hoy aprendí que Chile es un país afortunado y con mucha fé, por ejemplo cuando había 33 hombres mineros que se quedaron encerrados en una mina tuvieron fé y Dios le

salvó.Lo que más me gustó fue que aprendimos con nuestras

amigas. Pudimos crear una oración que podemos compartir con otros.

Dayana

It was really good. I like that we got

to work with other Latino American

girls. I learned a lot

about Chile and I liked preparing the assembly . I

learned that however small our talents might be,

they could make a big difference.

Valeria

Today I had a lot of fun. It reminded me of year 9 when we did Spanish together. The

most fun I had today was I got to learn about the beautiful country Chile. I hope I

can repeat this again.Jenifer

Reflexiones y pensamientos sobre el día

Hoy ha sido un día muy interesante. Hoy he aprendido muchas cosas sobre Chile

en el día internacional de las mujeres de Chile. Ahora sé donde se sitúa en Sur América. Chile es un país que es muy largo y por todo el país hay diferentes

climas. También hay un desierto y muchas montañas. Chile es un país muy

bonito.Sara

Hoy fue un día muy diferente. Aprendí que el cuatro de marzo es el día internacional de

la mujer. También aprendí que las cosas pequeñas pueden cambiar el mundo.

Erika

Today was really helpful as I was working with

the other Spanish speaking girls. I found learning about Chile and Chilean women

really interesting. Working on prayers

helped us to reflect and put ourselves in their

shoes.One of the most

fascinating things we talked about was the 33

Chilean miners.Clara

Today was fun and a very interesting day.

We have learned so many things about Chile

that we have never learned before. We also

learned how much men should learn how to

appreciate and not discriminate against women.

I really enjoyed working with the group and the

teachers. Jennifer

Today was really

good and

interesting. I got

closer to the

Latino American

girls and I also

learnt things

about Chile.Carolina

Hoy he aprendido que el cuatro de marzo es el día Mundial de las Mujeres. También aprendí que es muy interesante compartir con otras alumnas del

colegio.Yessica

Reflexiones y pensamientos sobre el día

I learned how women should be

considered in the world. Also as I was

with the Latino American girls I felt

more comfortable. I Learnt about Chile

and how women are treated as well.

Tracy

Hoy fue un día importante para mi. Aprendí mucho sobre Chile y también del día

internacional de la mujer. Cuando creamos una oración mis compañeras y yo, lo hicimos desde el corazón y cuando lo expusimos todas lo hicimos muy bien. Todas colaboraron para hacer un proyecto genial.

Dios siempre estuvo presente en todo lo que hicimos. Nos ayudó a hacerlo bien.

Maritza

Reflexiones y pensamientos sobre el día