Sean Callahan, CRS’ executive vice president for overseas operations, recently returned from a trip to east Africa and testified today before a House Agriculture subcommittee about the additional help needed by impoverished Africans affected by mounting food and fuel prices.

“CRS staff around the world has heard stories of families who are stretched to the limits of life itself by the high price of food,” Callahan told a subcommittee hearing of the House Agriculture Committee.

Family members must feed their malnourished children therapeutic milk every three hours until wasting bodies return to health. Photo by Debbie DeVoe/CRS

In some regions of Niger, he said, families have started eating only one meal a day. In dire circumstances, people have resorted to eating anza, a wild plant with bitter leaves, to supplement their diet. In northern Ghana, students have been taking CRS-provided lunches home to share with hungry family members, sharing their only meal of the day.

“Some families must make do with eating less at each meal. They are already skipping meals, or even not eating on a particular day,” he said. “Tragically, they may even have to decide which child or children may have the best chance of survival and which, already so ill and weak, will be allowed to die. These are the agonizing choices the global food crisis is forcing the poor to make.”

Callahan also alerted the subcommittee to what he saw several weeks ago in Ethiopia, where two consecutive seasons of poor rains have led to total crop failure and malnutrition.

“I visited a feeding site run by the Ethiopian Catholic Church and the Missionaries of Charity in a largely Muslim area where, over the previous five weeks, 28 children had died of malnutrition. The conditions there are already dire,” he said.

“I saw one Ethiopian parent bring a very sickly, lethargic child to the center for emergency treatment. The parent told the sisters, ‘I brought this child because I thought he could make it. My weakest child is at home.’

“My first reaction on seeing all this was simply to bite my lip, to contain my emotion,” Callahan said. “My second reaction was anger. How could we let this happen? But the more I observed, I realized that this was a place of hope. I saw kids being fed and stabilized, getting better. Parents were thanking the workers for saving the lives of their children.”

Sean’s entire testimony is posted on the CRS website.

Ken Hackett and Ange. Photo by Lane Hartill/CRS

Ken Hackett, the President of Catholic Relief Services, recently visited the Missionaries of Charity — the order founded by Mother Teresa — in Cotonou, Benin. Lane Hartill, CRS’ West Africa Regional Information Officer, accompanied him and writes about the visit:

Ange and his twin sister, Angel, 11 months old, showed up here a few weeks ago. Their mother, who has three other children at home, couldn’t care for them. And it showed. They have thinning hair, twigish limbs and skin mottled with rash. But the religious sisters here are nursing Angel and her brother back to health. The twins have greatly improved in the three weeks they’ve been here. When the sisters think they are healthy enough, they will go back to their mother. The sisters will then visit their home to make sure they are cared for.

As the sisters tell us the children’s stories, the toddlers sit on the floor and stare up at their new visitors. Ken quickly spots Ange (pronounced AHN-je, which means angel in French). “Hey Spike!” he says, as he squatted and picked him up. Ange likes the attention and Ken immediately takes to him. He bounces him in his arms and listens as the sisters tell us that the number of Beninese coming to their center has jumped in recent months. Food prices have shot up here, and the poorest of the poor — those who they serve — can’t manage.

One sister says that one portion of corn in Cotonou used to cost about $.75. Now it costs about $1.25 — out of the reach of many people.

“The poor people are starving because it’s too much for them,” says the sister. “People here are living hand to mouth.”

The head sister shares anecdotes, one after another, that illustrate the problems: A woman went to the local Catholic Church and left a baby boy with another person and told her she’d be right back. She never returned. And the baby, it was later discovered, had a serious wound on his back.

Not long ago, a baby was found in a Dumpster, tied up in a sack. A passer-by heard the cries, opened the sack and brought the baby to the Missionaries of Charity.

But despite the rough circumstances, the sisters say Beninese still have hope and are persistent, many showing up at 5 a.m. to wait for food. “Even though they are suffering day after day after day, they accept it,” says the sister. “It’s amazing how they accept it.” What’s more remarkable, she says, “They have a place in their heart for God.”

“At the Missionaries of Charity,” Hackett says, “you’re in the midst of giants. [The sisters] are not trying to change something; they’re accepting it. They’re not like the rest of us who think we’re going to fix all the problems.”

Carla Brown-Ndiaye, the head of CRS’ Benin office, who is in the process of adopting a little girl from the Missionaries of Charity here, says the sisters are incredible.

“I find them to be just amazing women,” she says.

CRS Board Member Dr. Carolyn Woo, dean of University of Notre Dame’s Mendoza College of Business, is currently touring CRS projects in Ethiopia and Kenya. Other delegation members include her son Justin Bartkus, CRS Board Chairman Archbishop Timothy Dolan of Milwaukee, CRS Board Member Archbishop Joseph Kurtz of Louisville, CRS Foundation Board Member Art Wigchers, and CRS’ Executive Vice President of Overseas Operations Sean Callahan. Here, Dean Woo shares details of her experiences in the field.

In Ethiopia’s capital, I visited the Missionaries of Charity, the order founded by Mother Teresa. The sisters all wore the white saris with blue trim and smiles that just didn’t quit. The facility in Addis Ababa serves about 1,200 adults and children in residence. They are all very sick with deformities and illnesses that make them outcasts of society. Quite a number are near death.

Another nearby facility houses 450 HIV-positive orphans. When we arrived, I saw a small sculpture of Mother Teresa and then scores of boys and girls dressed in their festive best (white dresses and colorful saris). They sang and danced for mass that was joy unlimited. The sisters and volunteers came from all over the world: Philippines, Italy, Denmark, India, a Jewish doctor from Brooklyn, England, Ireland, Spain, etc.

It was heartbreaking to see the adults, but the children just made me laugh. They performed tricks for us that they learned in lessons given by children from a circus who had sought assistance from the sisters.

The little ones love to be held and they are beautiful children. We went into the newborn wing (about 1-3 months). These are babies who have been abandoned: dropped in garbage bins, etc. They are like dolls. There are 350 adoptions per year.

The sisters are simply wonderful. Sister Benedicta, a German sister who is also an MD and a joyful soul, runs the place. Later in the afternoon, at a big ceremony to honor the 50th anniversary of CRS in Ethiopia, she spoke in the way that I imagined Mother Teresa would have spoken. She talked about how each person is God in disguise—that we will all end up in the same place, and God will ask us whether we turned Him down when we ignored our brothers and sisters in suffering. She quoted Mother Teresa, saying “We can’t do what you do, you can’t do what we do; but together we can bring about something beautiful.”

It was poignant because by this time next year, due to a projected reduction in USAID allocations, high food prices and low dollar value, Missionaries of Charity food rations could be cut in half. The gathering included the U.S. Ambassador, the director of USAID in Ethiopia, and other dignitaries. We were all choked up. It was a moment when we all recognize what is at stake: the wellbeing of those we just visited and our own humanity. It was a wonderful moment—there was no question that the Holy Spirit was with Sr. Benedicta.

At the ceremony, a painting was unveiled depicting CRS’ work in Ethiopia. It included a sister of the Missionaries of Charity, a handshake in acknowledgment of work made possible only because of our local partners, and a scale and a dove, representing justice and peace.

Now for those who are really into sustainability practice: ECO-SANITATION. Disposal of waste is a major problem and the source of much illness and death in developing countries. The existing solution, which collects all waste into a central location, is not sustainable and has horrible collateral effects. (Actually, the centralization of waste follows the approach we use in the west). How does one talk about this without grossing everyone out?!

Needless to say, a new solution is needed. CRS pioneered a simple, sustainable solution. It is a new paradigm: a decentralized approach. Each household digs a hole about 3 feet in diameter and 6 feet deep. On top of hole, a family places a concrete slab (3 feet by 3 feet). The concrete slab can be made for about $5 and takes one hour. Privacy is provided by a fence of branches, rocks or whatever materials are available. At the end of each use, ash from cooking is sprinkled into the hole. The ash is highly absorptive, creates good compost, and dispels the smell. At the end of six months, the family moves the fence and concrete slab to another location and plants a fruit tree on top of the hole. This innovation by CRS was featured in a BBC documentary. More than 24,000 holes have been dug in the last two years.

As it always happens on these trips, whenever I see the bags of grains marked “USA,” I am deeply moved. I am so glad that we send these grains. They are the only bridge between starvation and a chance at another day for so many people.

Justin Bartkus, a sophomore at the University of Notre Dame, is currently touring CRS projects in Ethiopia and Kenya with his mother, CRS Board Member Dr. Carolyn Woo. Here, Justin shares his first impressions from the field.
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CRS President Ken Hackett is visiting Haiti this week as a food crisis continues to cause hardship in the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere. He shares some thoughts on his first day in the country.

I arrived yesterday in Port-au-Prince from Miami and spent most of the day in our CRS Haiti office receiving briefings on our programs. They are most impressive. In our HIV and AIDS response, the CRS-led AIDSRelief consortium provides life-saving anti-retroviral medication through eight local partner treatment facilities to more than 2,900 people. Another 6,000 people with HIV are receiving clinical care. I also heard about all the support we are providing to orphans and vulnerable children affected by AIDS.

We are also involved in an interesting joint project with the Diocese of Brooklyn, NY. The project provides basic social services and counseling to Haitians who were deported from the Dominican Republic back to Haiti. We provide assistance to help these folks return to their families and we work with communities in both countries to prevent violence and discrimination and to make sure the rights of these people are respected.

The food crisis is obviously troubling to people here. I wouldn’t say it’s disastrous yet, but it is certainly a problem. The price of gas here is $6 a gallon, which is contributing to the high cost of food.

Although Haiti is poor, it is a beautiful country. It has always reminded me of West Africa. The people are gentle and kind.

Later today, I’ll travel to the southern city of Les Cayes to visit a clinic and some HIV and AIDS programs.

Cardinal Oscar Rodriguez Maradiaga, president of Caritas Internationalis, has issued his annual Christmas message. Catholic Relief Services is a member of the 162-member Caritas Internationalis federation of Catholic relief, development and social services agencies around the world. A video version of this message is available at the Caritas Internationalis website.

Cardinal Oscar Rodriguez Maradiaga, president of Caritas Internationalis, delivers his Christmas message. Photo by Caritas Internationalis

2007 will be remembered as a year when flooding took a terrible toll on millions of lives across Latin America, Asia, Europe and Africa.

Over 20 million people were affected in South Asia, Mexico had the worst floods for 50 years, and huge swaths of Africa from the Atlantic seaboard to the Indian Ocean were underwater. Caritas workers responded by providing food, medicine, shelter, solidarity and compassion.

An earthquake in Peru left tens of thousands homeless, while conflict in Congo, Darfur and Somalia continues to destroy innocent lives.

Caritas appealed for $65 million for humanitarian relief in 2007. Over 20 of its emergency appeals were flood- or weather-related, compared to seven the year before.

We must look toward addressing issues such as poverty which force people to live in flood-prone areas.

We must also look at the underlying causes of this flooding, especially at climate change and environmental degradation.

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CRS President Ken Hackett testifies before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. Photo by Rick Reinhard

Catholic Relief Services (CRS) President Ken Hackett testified today before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, calling on the influential panel to continue and expand the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR). The only witness representing an agency carrying out PEPFAR programs overseas, Hackett focused on critical needs on the ground.

“PEPFAR is above all a program of hope,” he told the committee while highlighting the need to provide adequate resources, to coordinate with other assistance programs - particularly those focused on nutrition, agriculture and education - and to enhance PEPFAR’s basic model.

Read Ken’s written testimony.

Most Rev. George Thomas and Constance Proctor, members of the Catholic Relief Services (CRS) board of directors, visited CRS Senegal last week. They visited SIDA Service on Dec. 1, World AIDS Day. SIDA Service is a CRS partner that works with HIV-positive Senegalese (SIDA is the French acronym for AIDS). Lane Hartill, the CRS regional information officer for West Africa, filed this dispatch:

Bishop George Thomas and Connie Proctor talk with Paul Sagna, the executive secretary of SIDA Service. Photo by Lane Hartill/CRS

In a spotless Dakar apartment, decorated with photos of beaming children and plastic flowers, a Senegalese social worker won the heart of an American lawyer.

These two women come from different worlds: one graduated cum laude from Vassar College; the other has never set foot in such lofty institutions.

The lawyer spends her days representing influential clients in the Pacific Northwest. She lectures budding law students with the crisp elocution and precision required of her profession. She sits on boards with some of America’s most accomplished women and men.

The social worker spends her days scuffing through Dakar’s streets, working her way through forgotten neighborhoods that smell of sewage and warm sand. She dodges bleating sheep and dusty kids and hikes up her skirt to step over sludgy canals. She ducks into dank apartments and drinks tea with people who look forward to her visit all day.

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Most Rev. George Thomas and Constance Proctor, members of the Catholic Relief Services (CRS) board of directors, have been visiting CRS Senegal this past week. They recently visited a microfinance lending institution and the women it helps. Lane Hartill, the CRS regional information officer for West Africa, filed this dispatch:

Bishop George Thomas and Constance Proctor talk with a member of a village bank in Thies, Senegal. Photo by Lane Hartill/CRS

Maybe it was the explosion of color. Or the lizard skin drums. But Constance Proctor, a member of CRS’ board of directors, couldn’t help herself. She just had to dance.

She wasn’t alone. A gaggle of women, their smiling leader with henna-painted hand and a set of pipes Aretha Franklin would have been proud of, moved rhythmically to the music. Covered in sequins with babies bucking on their backs, these women — members of a village banking group in the town of Tivaouane — had something to celebrate: an organization that lent them money so they could lift themselves and their families out of the slow economic vortex that sucks in so many Senegalese.

They were celebrating Caisse Autonome pour le Renforcement des Initiatives Economique par la Micro Finance (CAURIE-MF), a microfinance institution. CAURIE-MF grew out of a microfinance program that CRS has nurtured since 1999. It became autonomous in 2005. It’s no Bank of America or Chase Manhattan. CAURIE-MF isn’t interested in credit ratings or cash flow. All of its 13,500 borrowers are women. Most of them have never had a bank account.

CAURIE-MF benefits poor women, those who sit on buckets in the sand, under a relentless African sun, selling everything from millet porridge and melons to peanuts and whisk brooms. They lend money to women who really need it. An infusion of cash — loans range from $50 to $3000 — is like a shot of pure adrenaline into their businesses. They take off, humming with possibility.

Angel Diédhiou is an elegant lady with perfectly painted eyebrows and a gentle voice. Her loans from CAURIE-MF have allowed her to grow her chicken business from 50 birds to, at its peak, close to 300. That’s not all. She now takes orders for beauty products from local businesses and travels to neighboring Gambia and Mauritania, loads up, and then sells them at a profit. Call it Avon, Senegal style. Business is booming, she says, and it’s only going to get better.

“It really does change their life,” says Mrs. Proctor. “It’s huge for them.”

After visiting with members of a village banking group, Mrs. Proctor takes the microphone and addresses the crowd. Some of the women nurse babies. Others embroider cloth while she speaks.

“Because you are doing so well, it is going to allow other women in Africa to have similar experiences and to have the possibility to do what you are doing,” she says.

Constance Proctor sits among village banking members in Thies, Senegal. Photo by Lane Hartill/CRS

The women cheer. Drums erupt. The women know it’s true.

The essence of CAURIE-MF’s lending theory is ingeniously tied to African culture. Village banking groups select their own members. Most women start out by contributing around $4. Instead of putting up collateral for a loan, group cohesion and trust is leveraged. When your sisters, friends and neighbors are part of your lending group, you repay. You can’t let them down. That has led to a zero default rate on loans.

“The modest amount of money that CRS and Caritas spend is producing an abundant harvest of hope in these villages,” says Bishop Thomas.

Women who received loans proudly display their wares to the board members. Some hold up sticky fish, grinning as they dangle them under their chins. One lady balances a bowling ball sized melon on her palm. She can’t stop smiling.

Neither can Bishop Thomas. Or Mrs. Proctor. Microfinance works. You can, as Bishop Thomas puts it, see the success “written on the women’s faces.”

Sister Nirmala and five other Missionaries of Charity visited Catholic Relief Services World Headquarters this week. The diminutive but captivating Sr. Nirmala briefly greeted staff in our atrium, and then handed out mementos honoring the founder of the Missionaries of Charity, Blessed Mother Teresa.

Sr. Nirmala has led the Missionaries of Charity since the death of Mother Teresa in 1997.

Sister Nirmala and other members of the Missionaries of Charity visit CRS Headquarters, Nov. 29, 2007. Photo by Jim Stipe/CRS

The Missionaries of Charity have a long and close relationship with Catholic Relief Services, dating back to the earliest days of Mother Teresa’s ministry to the poorest of the poor in Calcutta, India. Shortly after she founded the Missionaries of Charity, Mother Teresa was looking for a way to transport the gravely ill and dying people lying on the streets of the city to her hospital. And we were able to help. The archives of CRS India from the early 1950s provide this account:

Mother Teresa was given permission by the Calcutta authorities to open a hospital for the dying in one of the more crowded sections of this most populous city. Through a private gift, supplemented by help from Catholic Relief Services-N.C.W.C. [National Catholic Welfare Council], she has now been given an ambulance which her sari-wearing sisters use to pick up the dying bodies of the destitute who are brought to her ‘Hospital of the Immaculate.’

CRS still partners with the Missionaries of Charity in virtually every country in which we both work.

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