Dolors Vázquez
“Life is worth living in dignity, no matter what disability a person has”
A professional artist, Dolors Vázquez Aznar was born in Valencia, Spain in 1955 and obtained an undergraduate degree in law at the University of Valencia in 1983. She lives and works in her native city and is a fellow at the Mouth and Foot Painters’ Association. Her disability is the result of cerebral damage suffered during childbirth and of polio, from which she suffered later.
Growing up in the 1970s, Mrs. Vázquez went to a few Frater meetings, but then stopped. She began going again ten years later, “with a deeper conscience and understanding”. Mrs. Vázquez took on responsibilities at the diocesan and national levels in the association. “I’ve always felt connected to the church”, she explains, “because I believe in human dignity. The life God has given us is – or can become – beautiful, and is worth living in dignity, no matter what kind of disability a person has”. A dignified, quality life is more easily achieved working together as a team, “like in Frater”, says Dolors.
A spiritual dimension
Any organization made up of individuals, like Frater, reveals human weaknesses, “like choosing the easy way out, and closing ourselves inside our team and not finding the right way to communicate with society”, says Dolors. As an organization however, Frater “sees the spiritual side of the individual who is trying to grow, to be a whole person. Each person is part of a unified whole; as people with disabilities, we strive towards improving our lives, together, as a team”.
The Intercontinental Team’s activities must be guided by a respect for the particularities of each member country. The team “must be present in countries where its help is needed”. Frater Intercontinental must “coordinate relations between members across all continents to guarantee unity in the Christian Brotherhood of People with Disabilities”.
The problem of isolation
The problems of the so-called First World and other regions can differ greatly. However, Dolors believes that “separation and isolation is a major issue in today’s information society”. In her opinion, Frater has an important role to play in “awakening consciousness within the group and recognizing the dignity in every man and woman, regardless of where they were born or their physical condition”.
On a religious level, Dolors’ experiences have taught her that “religion is losing its place in society and that it is difficult to transmit the full message of Christ, which attributes equal importance to one’s words and one’s actions. This is because people either focus on one aspect more than the other”. Frater’s founder however, Father François, left the organization an important tool: personal encounters. Through these encounters, explains Dolors, we demonstrate how we do things and the intimate approach that we have learned from Jesus”.
Mª Dolores Varea
“The team must be a source of help and guidance for members”
Maria Dolores Varea Andrés was born in Burriana, in the Spanish province of Castellón in 1945. She lives and works in her hometown, “a large and welcoming city” on the Mediterranean coast. Her childhood was marked by a period of severe illness and a difficult recovery, after which she was able to “accept her disability”. She then decided to go to university, where she completed a degree in Psychology. She currently works in the Social Services department of the Burriana municipal government.
“Around the age of 15 or 16”, Maria Dolores became involved in Frater through some members she knew in Castellón and Valencia who pushed her “to develop as a person and feel loved by God”, she explains. Throughout her life, she has held responsibilities in the organization at the local, diocesan, regional, national and continental level, doing “what was in the palm of my hand and brought to life through teamwork”.
Whole beings
Experience has taught Maria Dolores that the greatest strength of Frater members is that “we feel like whole, marvelous children of God, called by him to show that being alive is good – and so much more – when love is shared”. Moments of weakness are unavoidable, “when society steps on you and you’re paralyzed with fear”. The dedication to living remains strong however, through the difficult times when the movement “is inert and lacks enthusiasm and conviction”, because of peoples’ negative opinions.
A new member of the organization’s important Intercontinental Team, Maria Dolores believes that the team must play a support role “and if necessary, be a reference to dispel difficulties and share our happiness”. Like all Frater groups, the team has no financial resources, and will achieve its goals “if we decide to be united in our diversity, to take the path of service, and to call at the doors we need to call at”.
A Christian approach
One of the difficulties faced by the Intercontinental Team is adapting to different cultures and conceptions of disability. In this context, “it’s not always easy to reveal the Christian basis for our activities when our commitment to an individual is also very similar ‘in appearance’ to the commitments of other health and education organizations, for example”, says Maria Dolores. She remains confident nevertheless that “he who wants to look can ‘see’ attitudes and approaches that offer more closeness and love, and that lead us to “something else”.
The team’s goal must be to “remain close to see where we are needed”, today and tomorrow. One ambitious goal should be to “spread the word about Frater, and bring it to life in places where it is sleeping”. Living with dreams is essential.
Albert Arrufat
“The Christian nature of the organization helps us and keeps us on our toes”
Albert Arrufat Prades, Frater’s intercontinental prelate, was born in Vila-real in the Spanish province of Castellón in 1966. In 1992, Albert became a secular minister in the diocese of Segorbe-Castellón. He lives in his hometown and holds a degree in Ecclesiastical Sciences from the Gregorian University of Rome. He is currently completing a PhD in Institutional Communication at Jaume I University in Castellón. Mr. Arrufat also has a Pastoral diploma in Social Communication from the Studio Paolino Internazionale della Communicazione Sociale in Rome.
Albert was a seminarist when some friends convinced him to take part in a Frater summer camp. “Since then, I’ve become a part of the movement, just like everyone else”. Albert began participating in the local team in Castellón. He later held the position of diocesan prelate for 13 years before joining the Intercontinental Team in 2005. His experience as a local team member taught Albert a lot about the organization and prepared him for his current position as intercontinental prelate. Along with his Frater colleagues, Albert has held both regional and national positions.
A welcoming family
In Albert’s opinion, Frater’s greatest strength “is the sense of normality and equality that is cultivated within the organization”. The movement is based on the idea that it is “a family in which we can feel welcome and loved as we are, despite our differences”. In Frater, we don’t distinguish between people with disabilities and healthy people. Furthermore, the movement is lead “by people who believe and who have disabilities. This creates an atmosphere of self-worth, achievement and compromise among members of the community”.
Disability is a “changing, and plural” reality; as a result, Frater must continually adopt new goals. It’s an Achilles heel that affects “the assignment of management roles, and the participation of healthy people for selfless reasons”. However, problems can also be “opportunities to evolve and grow”.
Communication and encouragement
In Albert’s view, the main goal of the Intercontinental Team is to “communicate and encourage”. It’s about “showing our different members what they can do, and helping them get to know one another,” to establish “the most personal” level of contact possible – a cornerstone of the movement. This strategy is intended to “encourage members to continue making their own goals a reality on a day-to-day basis”.
The different problems that Frater must deal with around the globe are similar to those faced by other organizations that “encounter injustice in the way opportunities are distributed”. The organization has to respect the legitimate differences that define the cultures it is in contact with, and “work to close the social divide”, says Albert.
Frater’s intercontinental prelate believes that “the Christian nature of the organization, in terms of size and identity, helps us and keeps us on our toes” at the same time. “It helps us see what is truly evangelical and Christian, to go beyond our own faith and see the efforts made by so many people to overcome their disability and move ahead”. It is also “a continual path of conversion towards those who are most poor, and represents a commitment to a world that doesn’t forgive religious hypocrisy; a world that asks more of those who call themselves believers”.
Mónica Rueda
“Frater sends out a clear message of love to our brothers”
Mónica Lucía Rueda Rivera was born in Cali, Colombia in 1972, and recently became a Spanish citizen. She works as a volunteer for the Intercontinental Team. She holds a degree in Social Communication and Journalism and lives in Burriana. Mónica works in Castellón, where she contacted Frater in 2003 and worked for the Spanish general team for eight months. After that, she was a caretaker at the Maset de Frater Centre in Castellón until June 2005.
Mónica firmly believes that Frater “is an evangelical movement based on love for others. It successfully carries out its mission and helps people live dignified lives despite their disabilities”. In her opinion, the organization “promotes a path to freedom and self-help, and encourages members to participate and become active members in society. Frater is also a way to create bonds between members and to welcome with open arms new members who want to get involved and contribute in whatever way they can”.
Taking advantage of differences
In Mónica’s view, on an international level, Frater must use the strengths and weaknesses of each region and unite what they have in common. Realities and problems differ “enormously” from one continent to another and from one country to another, “but we also know that the needs of people with disabilities can be the same from country to country. Respect, and the struggle to achieve human dignity, are the same concepts in Italy and in Peru”. Not to mention the fact that evangelical faith “is shared by all”.
Mónica believes that as a movement, Frater is open to “everyone in general” and sends out a “clear message of love for our brothers, inviting us to work together and apply that message to our daily lives”.