Soup kitchen in Nagoya
Reflecting the Divine Word Missionaries' worldwide concern for Justice and Peace, the Japan Province has been to the fore in its involvement with this area. "Ai no jikko undo" (AJU = "Love in Action Movement") is a very widespread non-sectarian organisation that focuses on practical social assistance. It was founded by Fr. G. Gemeinder, SVD,. In collaboration with the Nagoya Diocesan Center, the homeless (a growing social problem) are offered direct aid. Nagoya DARC (Drug Addicts' Rehabilitation Center); the international assistance work of Caritas Japan, as well as providing help in building schools in Third World countries, are examples of concerns in which the SVD in Japan is active.
The schools especially offer a place in which to spread information about such work and invite the students to participate. Theatre and dance groups from the slums in Brazil and the Philippines have been invited to perform, providing a means to attract attention to and heighten awareness of the many problems of the Third World, and at the same time offering a means to all of making a contribution towards their solution.