There are three
things that overflow me

and four that I
don’t know:

the way of the
eagle in the sky,

the path of the
snake through the rock,

the ship’s path
on the high seas,

the path of the
man behind the maiden.

Proverbs 30,
18-19

CLARET ENEA AS
“COMMUNITY”

Bernart Balza

Director
Claret Enea. Bilbao

 I borrow the
concept coined by Peter Sloterdijk, to present part of our work understood as
the individual and community commitment that helps, cares, develops, protects,
empowers… a community living in a situation of vulnerability.

In our
language, other concepts, languages, experiences, etc. are also united. We understand
that what is most profoundly human makes us humanitarian and it is in that
context that we evaluate our social-pastoral action.

I have been
asked to present Claret Enea in connection with some of the ODS, which we understand
as objectives that make our world healthier and more livable.

We remember ODS
5 of Agenda 2030: Achieving gender equality and empowering all women and girls.

Difficulties

I could make an
extensive list, for reasons of space I will summarize some aspects.

We find
ourselves with women who do not have the capacity to make decisions that affect
their own lives, either because of a lack of motivation, because of addictions
that accompany them, because of communication difficulties, because of economic
instability, because of pending cases with the justice system, because of a
lack of housing, because of a lack of employment, because of a lack of links,
because of violence and abuse …, causes and circumstances that we sometimes
do not manage to intuit.

We try to
accompany, to welcome, to understand and we begin once the woman asks us for
help and we put at her service the means that we have; in some cases limited.

We aim to
enable and assist people in covering their

basic needs, in
the development of their potentialities, in their learning in competencies and
training, and what it has to do with their autonomy (or

dependence),
with their community and social integration (or exclusion) and with their
labor insertion (accompanying from the street to work).

Inequality

Basic needs go
together and are the first step; for the most precarious people, hot soup and a
ready-made bed are elementary. We see that the proclamation of rights and
declarations are not enough in practice, although it is true that generosity,
not only of intentions, is sometimes the least bad solution.

We know that
LIFE is greater than the miseries it generates. The truth is that inappropriate
behavior, such as inequitable tax systems, unfair distribution of investment and
expenditure, corruption, the digital divide, marginalization,
non-redistribution of income, limitation of services… all weaken us and we
must not forget that everything has to do with everything. At the same time, we
must reaffirm what one author said: “The worst is not always true”

Challenges¡

We have not
managed to make democracy truly comprehensive and include the

economy; that
deficit that affects the very veins of the system, makes the blood circulating
poisoned.

In addition to
the challenge of democracy that can fall into “aristocracy”. There
is the challenge of the situation of women (dependence, migrations, rapes…),
hence our work. If we don’t really address their dramas, our society is heading
towards a concrete wall. Trust must be restored.

What should we
do?

I still think
that we humans with a capital “H” are still necessary, even if we are
ephemeral and irrelevant and their number is reduced so much that they enter a
small reserve.

We have to form
small communities of “people-sensitive-touches” who know and relate
to people in difficulty. These humanitarian communities must
“embrace” and engage with the affected people.

If we encourage
“pride” and the desire to humanize ourselves and create communities
where “good actions” can become “good business”, we would
not live “renunciation” as simple resignation.

The border
between success and failure is separated by FAITH.

 Bernart Balza

Director
Claret Enea. Bilbao

Translated
with www.DeepL.com/Translator (free version)