By Helen Blakesley

You could call Jean-Philippe Debus an emergency action man. He’s often one of the first humanitarian workers to arrive on the scene of a crisis — whether natural disaster or manmade conflict. It’s his job to advise, to guide and to help provide those in need with the necessities, like clean water to drink or a safe place to bathe.

Jean Philippe Debus supervises the construction of latrines at a displaced persons site in Burkina Faso’s capital, Ouagadougou, in 2009. Photo by Lane Hartill/CRS

Lately, he’s been spending a lot of his time in the Sahel, the swathe of land covering several countries in Africa, just below the Sahara desert. There’s a food crisis brewing there, added to which, rebel violence in Mali has forced many thousands of people to flee their homes in search of safety in neighboring countries. Jean-Philippe has been in the thick of CRS’ work to help those refugees who’ve crossed the border into Burkina Faso and Niger. He shared with us what it’s like to be on the humanitarian ”front line”.

The first thing you have to think about in an emergency response is how to connect directly with the people. Since we’re dealing with human suffering, it’s very important for me to deal directly with people with as few barriers as possible. Of course, there’s often the language barrier, which can be a challenge. Communication is essential in our work. There’s the ‘technical’ side where we basically help provide what people need to survive — shelter, water, sanitation, hygiene, health and food aid. But then we also have to think about people’s well-being, their mental state, and this requires communication and understanding. So that’s why it’s our first concern.
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Americans will do anything for Africa, someone once said, except read about it. This is something that people who write about Africa think about. People like Nicholas Kristof, the New York Times’ columnist. Kristof has his methods—using Americans as an avenue through which to hook people on African issues—and he wrote about them recently.

There’s another way to get people to care about Africa. Convince Americans to go to visit. Let them rub up against rural poverty. Let them cuddle Burkinabé babies, drink home-brewed sorghum beer, and rock back and laugh with Ghanaian villagers. That’s exactly what a group of Hispanic Americans did recently. They traveled to Burkina Faso and Ghana to learn about Catholic Relief Services and the people we help.
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Mark Cregger helps a local farmer to weed his green beans. Photo by Mikaele Sansone/CRS

Mark Cregger, from the Diocese of Gary, IN, recently traveled with a group of seminarians and one priest to Burkina Faso and Ghana. The trip was part of CRS’ Global Fellows program, a grassroots speaking initiative that draws on the talents of Catholic priests, deacons and seminarians to spread the Gospel message and the mission of CRS in parishes throughout the country. The group visited Silmidougou Irrigation Project and Kaya Shelter for Young Women in Burkina Faso.

As we passed out of the city and through the countryside, it dawned on me how immense God’s love must be. It stretches from village to village moving the souls of His beloved to daily acts of charity. This grateful people understands what God has blessed them with. They welcome all and give with an open hand.
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ReliefWeb notes this story on a World Food Program voucher operation in Burkina Faso. CRS is a partner in the operation:

WFP today launched its first food voucher operation in Africa, deploying a new tool to address hunger in an urban environment where food is available, but beyond the reach of many because of the impact of high food prices.
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