All over the world, many celebrations of the United World Week 2019 on the theme, “No One in Need” have taken place. They engaged entire communities in various initiatives to spread and implement the culture of giving, meeting the needs of the most needy. In the Americas, the United World Week was celebrated in several countries, also as an opportunity to experience “Run4unity,” the race for unity and peace.

Cuba

To celebrate the United World Week, the youth of the Focolare from Santiago de Cuba cleaned up a nursery run by the local Catholic Church, in collaboration with other members of the Focolare community, and they visited children in an orphanage.

Colombia

In Bogota, the Youth for a United World worked with the youth of the Social Center “El Centro Social Unidad-La Merced”, in Los Chircales, a neighborhood characterized by a high social vulnerability in the capital city. The training was focused on ecological recycling. The children learned how to separate waste, how to recycle rubbish, and notions of ecology. They wrote, “We also prepared a play on the subject with the children, to raise awareness of the environment in the community.”

Paraguay

The proposal that came from the Teens for Unity of Paraguay was as follows: “Please, collect food to be donated for the students’ canteen of the school of the Indian people Avá Guaraní, in the city of Ita. You can bring milk, tea, sugar, baked goods, biscuits, or chocolate. Then, take them to the Focolare community, which will deliver them to the Avá Guaraní. There are three communities, and more than 75 families who need our help.” In Paraguay, on May 5, Run4unity was held.

Mexico

For the third year in a row, Run4unity was organized on both sides of the border between Mexico and the United States, right next to the wall, in the presence of the mayors of the cities involved (Mexicali and Calexico).

In Torreón, in the state of Coahuila, the United World Week has been lived with particular attention to the poor and the environment. Here is the video where they tell us about their adventures.

Durango City, in the federal state of Durango, is located at an altitude of about 1880 m. Here too, the Teens for Unity ran Run4Unity, along with a large group of local associations.

Guatemala

The United World Week in Guatemala will be celebrated with Run4unity on May 26.

El Salvador

After a week spent putting into practice the culture of giving in all its aspects, on Sunday, May 12, the celebrations of the UWW 2019 ended in the Bicentennial Park of San Salvador, with a picnic for the families and a food collection for the most needy.