Design. Charity. Life.Website and Blog of Daniel Francavilla

Getting out of the subway, after a long day of class and work leaving me half asleep, a man approaches me in the darkness of the city street.

Walking slowly, hunched over, the older man quietly asks me, “Please, do you have a dollar?” Stopped in my quest of rushing home to sleep, I immediately thought what could be in my wallet.

“I just got beat up. A dollar to get something to eat,” he added faintly as I reached into my pocket. Dim streetlights revealed to me that the frail man’s head and face had bloodstains.

“Where do you want to go to eat, Tim Hortons?” I asked, pointing down the street. I grabbed the toonie that remained in my wallet and said, “here’s 2”. The man accepted the coin and quietly said thank you.

He paused and asked, “what’s – what’s your name?”. I answered, he looked at me and put his bandaged hand out to touch mine for a brief moment. Then he said, “thank you…” and walked away, limping slowly into the cold dark night.

I stood there thinking. Yes, he received what he asked for from me – but he needs so much more.

On the bus half an hour before, I had just posted a Facebook status complaining that $100 cash left my wallet that day on various things (transit passes, food, etc). This gentleman asked for the littlest amount possible, really – one dollar. Compared to the 100 times that I spent that day, and the double of that I spent on an iced tea minutes before.

Starting to walk to my residence building, I reminded myself hat this sad situation isn’t the only one, either. There are many more homeless people, individuals suffering abuse, and countless others in very unfortunate situations not just downtown Toronto but all over the world. There are needs like this amongst us – people right now outside feeling the need to be reached out to, to be helped, to be given a dollar for coffee, to have a conversation. Causes you to think how inferior and selfish your lousy, everyday complaints are, and how much the world needs your help.

Youth promoting peace as activists today

Winning Submission for Project Ploughshares contest for the 2009 Global Youth Assembly

Have you ever been at peace? Some believe peace is simply the absence of war. Yes, war is treacherous battle and conflict. But when there is no war, is there peace? Suffering continues; oppression, discrimination, disrespect and hatred still exist. This is not peace.

Do you think that those who live in a developed country, not at war in years, are at peace? You may be fortunate enough to live in a peaceful home with loving parents and more than enough food. But even within the most affluent communities lie conflict, greed, envy, and violent abuse.

There are societies where thousands will chant and cheer for a team to win a football game, but where none will do so to end genocide. We know there are terrible things occurring ever day – many choose to ignore this. But it is up to the youth of today to set standards and determine the level of peace for our future. Youth will be left with the problems of our current world leaders. Positive action must begin today. That is why we are called to ignite the power within ourselves to make change now.

Can we promote peace when we buy products that support a corporation’s use of child labour or degrade the environment? Challenging, but we can support alternatives like the Fair Trade movement. While there are many roadblocks to being a true peacemaker, change starts within each of us as individuals. It is possible to “fight” for peace without war. When we come together in peace, we are strong enough to make substantial change.

Overwhelming and daunting tasks of “changing the world” are presented to youth today. Many of us choose to avoid the call to action, simply because of the enormous size of the tasks to solve the world’s issues. However, these tasks can be approached from another level – by thinking globally but acting locally, we can more attainably move towards a better world. We must not give up when faced with challenges like providing nourishment to a village in Malawi, or sending 50 students to school in Colombia, or even protecting endangered species in Northern Canada. In fact, Anthropologist Margaret Mead made it very clear when she said, “Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has.”

There are governments around the world that promise major action. There are multi-national corporations that commit to social responsibility. However for a true, sustainable, tangible difference, “we must be the change we wish to see in the world” as Gandhi so wisely stated. Many authoritative adults and powerful organizations can be doubtful and pessimistic. This has always been true. However, more damage will be done if we do not convince them to take necessary action, instead of waiting our turn in their position. We are the leaders, not only of tomorrow, but also of today.

Many youth crave the glamorous celebrity lifestyle – yet greed is a deterrent of peace. This need for more is known as affluenza. A video on “teenage affluenza” displays middle-class children being unsatisfied with everyday privileges. When compared to those who have less, however, these complaints seem utterly ridiculous – a boy complains about his outdated PlayStation 2, while another boy’s only toy is a brass bombshell casing; a girl is embarrassed by the 1980’s Toyota Corolla her mother drives her to school in, when a girl around the world leads her blind mother home on a dark road at night after a day of begging. For peace to be achieved, everything should be put into perspective.

In high school I had the opportunity to travel to the Dominican Republic on an “exposure trip”. While most know this as a tropical vacation destination, I had the chance to experience what life is like in the developing world. Witnessing the joy within these people, despite their impoverished situations, allowed me to realize that peace and happiness do not come from having the latest technology, driving a luxury vehicle, or living in a classy condo.

Today’s youth must break the stereotype of being apathetic. There are plenty of young people taking action around the world today. From local community service to online campaigns to international volunteer trips, youth are making a difference right now. We begin spreading peace through simple actions of kindness and generosity. Now, it is our duty to participate and be examples of youth activists for other generations, as we come together to better the world through peace.

September 14, 2008 at St. Marguerite d’Youville Church

Everyone wants to reach, or at least taste what it feels like, to be at a state of happiness, harmony, contentment, and paradise. Attending Catholic schools and church all my life, I was taught that this state is reached by becoming closer to God. Despite my participation with the church, I noticed there was interference and things preventing me from truly seeing God, through the distractions of daily life.

Back in November of 2006, in preparing for the pilgrimage, Eliza emailed me a quote to reflect upon. The quote by Deepak Chopra was this: “If you want to reach a state of bliss, then go beyond your ego and the internal dialogue. Make a decision to relinquish the need to control, the need to be approved, and the need to judge.” And so, my work to prepare for World Youth Day began, more than two full years before I even left Brampton.

In my grade 12 year, before leaving for Australia, I became increasingly aware of many, many situations and events in our community and in the world, that indicated the destruction and corruption of the its people. Attacks on each other’s religion, racial discrimination, large-scale terrorism, ongoing war, and the careless destruction of the Earth seemed to me, like bullet wounds, deep scars, and bruises on the body of Christ.

However, throughout the pilgrimage of World Youth Day, I felt hope with all possible human senses. I sensed hope for the future of our Catholic faith. I sensed hope for the world.

Anywhere in the world today, it’s rare that you will see large amounts of people walking together, celebrating in joy, rather than protesting or preparing for battle. It’s rare that you will see random strangers on the streets hugging each other and shaking hands casually. It’s rare that you would see groups of ordinary people, freezing and uncomfortable, outside with candles sharing food and shelter. It’s rare that hundreds of thousands of people, from hundreds of countries around the world, would all suddenly become silenced, for the sign of our faith. But, it all happened during World Youth Day.

Back to the five senses and the hope I experienced. During the opening in Melbourne, I saw people from Italy dressed in blue, and carrying red, white, and green flags with joy as they displayed their presence to the city. During the Papal Mass, I touched the hands of those from New Zealand and the Philippines as we shared peace through handshakes. During the Days of the Diocese in Melbourne, I tasted the homemade food made in honour of our visit. During the large-scale events at Barangaroo in Sydney, I smelled the canned tuna and canned beans that were generously distributed to all pilgrims. During the Papal Vigil, I heard the words of the Bible being spoken by the Holy Father.

As you may have grasped through my explanation of the presence of the five senses, there was more to World Youth Day than what was broadcasted on TV on July 20. It wasn’t just the one-day, for the overnight vigil or the papal mass that was my significant World Youth Day experience. It was the many days of experiences leading up to the closing Mass that enabled me to witness God’s presence fully. For example, one of the most exciting, powerful moments on the trip for me was the arrival of Pope Benedict in Sydney – but not the big huge parade on the water, but the anticipation of a chance to see the Pope flying through the side streets on the Pope Mobile. Although he drove by at what appeared to be at least 60 km an hour, and although many were disappointed at their failed photo attempts and obstructed view, I had such a positive, powerful feeling running through me at that moment. But that was just one moment of our WYD experience.

The World Youth Day theme song really started to make sense, after having heard it on the Internet, on CD, being sung by our own parish group, being shared during Masses in our host parish, being performed live in concert, and being sung by thousands of pilgrims a cappella throughout the streets of Australia. It was through this theme song that I actually started to Receive the Power. It would be odd not to feel anything, being part of the largest gathering of people in Australia’s history.

The theme was a Bible passage from Acts: “You will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you will be my witnesses.” It occurred right after the death and resurrection of Jesus, just before his ascension. It represents the birth of the Church. And in a way for me, it represents the re-birth of my faith, through World Youth Day.

I would like to thank St. Marguerite d’Youville parish for providing us with the opportunity to attend World Youth Day, I would like to thank each of you who supported us financially and through prayer on our pilgrimage, and most importantly I would like to thank my parents for their huge support in every way possible.

After reading Leaving Microsoft to Change the World during March Break on a family vacation, I was even more inspired to get out there and do something to change the world. The book is by a former Microsoft executive named John Wood, who left a very promising career track to form a charity called Room to Read at age 35.

Leaving Microsoft to Change the World is a memoir written by Room to Read’s Founder and CEO, John Wood, in which he vividly recounts the decision to quit his executive career at Microsoft to dedicate his life to fighting illiteracy worldwide. John describes the struggles and successes that have shaped Room to Read to this day, detailing the founding and infancy of Room to Read, highlighting key characters and defining events, and laying out the lessons – from the business world and his personal experiences – around which John has sought to build Room to Read into one of the world’s leading educational organizations.

What’s interesting is that we were both inspired by first-hand experiences in the developing world. I went on a high-school exposure trip to the Dominican Republic, and John went to Nepal – originally just as a getaway from his stressful job – but made a promise to the impoverished people he met that he would one day come back with books. And, he did, and has now opened hundreds of schools and thousands of libraries in the developing world.

Many people agree that we do not live in a just world. Why? Because everyone’s not treated fairly, things just don’t work out for everyone, the wrong people win court battles, and millions of people are starving. So, do we live in a just world?

Well what is justice? It means being able to get what you deserve. Food, health, shelter included. Does everyone in the world have those things? No, unfortunately, so the answer is no, unfortunately, the world is not just.

“Expecting the world to treat you fairly just because you are a good person like expecting a bull not to attack you because you are a vegetarian and don’t eat meat.” It just doesn’t work that way. But does that mean we should stop being good people?

In the Catholic religion, Justice is one of the four cardinal virtues. It is the moderation between selfishness and selflessness.

So what can we do to be less selfish? Ok, let’s give all of our money away to a charity. That’s great, but there’s a major difference between the formal meaning of the world “charity” and the word “justice”.

Charity is social service. Charity provides direct services like food, clothing, and shelter. Charity addresses problems that already exist. Examples of the works of charity in action are homeless shelters, food shelves, clothing drives, emergency services. The order of nuns that Mother Teresa started is called Missionaries of Charity. Mother Teresa did charity; she gave wholehearted and free service to the poorest of the poor.

However, Justice, is this month’s virtue, and it has a different focus. Justice is social change. Justice promotes social change in institutions or political structures. Justice responds to long-term needs. Where charity addresses a current problem, such as hungry people in the streets, justice is directed at the root causes of social problems. Justice addresses the underlying structures or causes of these problems – basically, making sure the mess isn’t made to begin with. Examples of justice are legislative advocacy, changing policies and practices, political action.

So, overall, understand that we need BOTH charity and justice. They’re two ends of a spectrum of living out our faith.