In 2022, Kildare Ministries presented its second consolidated Modern Slavery Report. The introduction of it is shared with you below:

It gives me great pleasure to introduce you to the Kildare Ministries Modern Slavery Report. We are a Catholic organisation, responsible for ten schools and three community works. Our values are steeped in the Gospels and we hold that education is transformative. Our Living Justice Living Peace Charter, the cornerstone of our justice program, provides a questioning framework upon which we are encouraged to approach social issues, such as modern slavery. We constantly ask of ourselves:

What more do we need to ask?
What more do we need to learn?
What understanding and creative leadership will we require?
What compassionate responses will have an impact on justice and peace?

In 2022, we built upon the foundations established in our ministries in the previous reporting period. We continued to raise awareness about the uncomfortable truth that issues of modern slavery through practices such as human trafficking, debt bondage, forced marriage and child labour are enabled by the consumption of services and the greed for profits. According to the International Labour Organization, modern slavery is an immense and profitable business generating more than US$150 billion a year. Constant cost cutting creates an environment where slavery-tainted goods are hidden in layers of sub-contracting and outsourced production. This is not an old-world problem of another time but one that surrounds us now.

At Kildare Ministries we have heard the challenge and appeal of Pope Francis, to remove our blindfold, to open our eyes so that we can see the misery of those in front of us, and open our ears so we can hear their cries for help. This year, through our meeting agendas and education programmes we have focused on the need to be educated about the root causes, so with eyes wide open we can see the signs and notice the impact on those being robbed of their freedom.

In this report we discuss the steps we have taken to address the risks of modern slavery in our procurements, operations, business partnerships and supply chains and the steps we have taken to minimise those risks. We also share, the educational focus making our students more aware of this ‘crime against humanity’ so they can be discerning with their own buying power. Working as a community, we have gained traction in deepening our understanding and sharpening our awareness of the societal issues that allow such abhorrent practices. But we still have a way to go before we will be fully satisfied that we are doing our very best to eradicate modern slavery.

Erica Pegorer

Executive Director

Be a good egg this Easter!

Buy Slavery Free Chocolates this Easter - Good Eggs

Chocolate should be enjoyed by children, not made by them.

Chocolate might be sweet but often the way it’s made is anything but. Your favourite chocolate brands have been surveyed to see who is doing good for people and planet, and who still has some work to do. How did your favourite brand do?

Please refer to the link below and the “Chocolate Scorecard”. Please spread the awareness in your school communities by encouraging students to enjoy SLAVERY FREE Chocolates this Easter!

https://www.chocolatescorecard.com/?mc_cid=1acdb68d5c&mc_eid=e777dec550

Wellsprings invitation