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Editorial
The launch conference of the 1994 International Year of the Family (IYF), held in Malta, generated excitement and hope as well as a mountain of paper. What has been achieved? For this newsletter, IAFN has asked contributors to write about changes to family life over the decade. The articles tell of the increasing number of single parent families and of projects to help them. Another development is the changing roles of parents. In Africa, Myanmar and Sri Lanka, as well as in Western countries, some men are becoming more involved with the care of their children and more women are becoming breadwinners - modifying the traditional demarcation of roles. The global nature of change is again highlighted in the article from Myanmar/Burma, which notes the pressures of modern technology on children, with videos and Superman replacing the transmission of values through storytelling. In Papua New Guinea, the influence of cultural change has resulted in improvements in education and literacy but also noted is an increase in violence within the family. In some countries, changes affecting families reflect the aftermath of civil violence. An article tells of the signs of hope in Rwanda, despite the horrors of the genocide. The forgiveness shown by the author for the tardy response of the international community is humbling. In Northern Ireland, too, there are signs of optimism despite the bitter legacy of the troubles. A major theme underlying many of the changes is the spread of HIV/AIDS. This was raised at the initial IYF conference, but the extent and consequences of the pandemic have vastly intensified during the ten years, bringing heartbreak and poverty to many. The death toll affects all generations of the family, with grandparents having to care for orphans and losing the support of their children in their old age.
Always in the front line of providing support to families are the many Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs) - including the Churches. As well as projects to help AIDS orphans and single parents, contributors tell of the development of parenting support groups - professionally facilitated; the training of Mothers' Union trainers; the setting up of Family Centres. The final section of the newsletter tells of action taken by some Governments to help families. A point made by many at the Malta conference was that Governments needed to recognise the importance of families as the basic unit of society and do more to help them. It is clear that further Government action is needed, but articles tell of steps forward: in Ghana, action against violence within families; the establishment of a Families Commission in New Zealand; efforts to improve the rights of children in Tanzania. And a further sign of hope is that many of these developments were achieved by a partnership between Government and other agencies.
St Paul wrote that we are all members of one body and when one suffers all suffer. This is true of individual families and of the vast family of the Anglican Communion. All parts are affected in some way by the changes of the last ten years and the dramatic pace of the change can cause confusion and doubt as to the way forward. But surely it is clear that tackling HIV/AIDS and the poverty which often underlies its spread, the problems of many single families and the legacy of violence should be priorities in the next decade for all members of the Body of Christ.
IYF - 1994
A heart sheltered by a roof;
linked by another heart, to symbolise life and love in a
home where one finds warmth, caring, security, togetherness, tolerance and acceptance - that is the
symbolism conveyed by the emblem of the International Year of the Family (IYF), 1994. The open design
is meant to indicate continuity with a hint of uncertainty. The brushstroke, with its open line roof
completes an abstract symbol representing the complexity of the family.
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