Message from Luis Arriaga Valenzuela, Partner from Mexico

Luis is Executive Director of the Centro Prodh, a human rights centre in Mexico and a D&P partner. He sent us a special message for the Orientation Assembly:

"PRODH was founded in 1988 by members of the Society of Jesus in Mexico, as a response to the climate of increasing state repression against social activists, Church leaders and political dissidents. The Jesuits created this centre as a means of fighting for the human rights of the general population, which at that particular time, was experiencing great suffering under an authoritarian regime.

Centro Prodh's core value is the belief that the dignity of each human being is in the image of God. Its members, however, work actively in a broad spectrum of many different, and iften overlapping, sectors of our civil society.

Thus, any act violating this dignity, perpetrated by government officials, is an act committed against God and, as such, carries repercussions. Our work focuses on protecting the dignity of all human beings, most specifically, the dignity of those who are most excluded from our society: women, indigenous peoples, migrants and victims of social repression. Through their generous support for the type of work we do, institutions such as Centro Prodh and D&P contribute tot he advancement of structural changes towards the elimination of discrimination in Mexico and a society allowing its people to live in dignity in the full enjoyment of their human rights.

This is the cause we are championing and this is why we would like to thank all the volunteers of D&P for their important work on behalf of human rights. More specifically, we thank them for supporting noble causes, such as those espoused by the Centro Prodh, which aim to build a world of great humanity, brotherhood and equality to all."