Communications Officer Sara Fajardo is in the Dominican Republic reporting on CRS programs and sharing her experiences with us.

A patch of turbulent skies, a “the engine-needs-a-part-change” delay, and seven hours later I find myself touching down in Santo Domingo. Applause erupts as the airplane lands on a strip of asphalt surrounded by verdant tropical plants and gray-blue ocean waters.
(more…)

As part of my job as a communications officer for Latin America and the Caribbean I routinely travel to the field. This time around I’ll be visiting CRS programming in the Dominican Republic, Guyana, and Haiti.

In the next 17 days I’ll meet street children, visit schools, talk with Haitian refugees, spend a few days at hospices and clinics that treat people who have been diagnosed with HIV. I’ll go to the market with local growers, and travel to the Guyanese jungle where Amerindian children are being given access to the internet. I’ll travel along dirt roads and urban freeways. But like all journeys with CRS, the trip begins with a visit to the Johns Hopkins Travel Clinic.
(more…)

Ben Hess is a CRS international development fellow living in Guatemala and working with savings-led microfinance programs.

CRS recently commissioned a survey of the communities in San Marcos where the women’s savings groups are operating. The survey was carried out by teenage girls who have received scholarships from CRS that enable them to attend school and purchase materials. Although we have not tabulated the complete results, I wanted to share some of the comments from the participants in the savings groups. The response from them was overwhelmingly positive—out of more than 50 participants, only a couple felt that the experience had not brought any benefits. (Note: We also interviewed community members who are not currently participating in the groups to measure whether they are aware of the groups and interested in joining one.)
(more…)

Ben Hess is a CRS international development fellow living in Guatemala and working with savings-led microfinance programs.

Jania Diaz conducting a mock presentation to a savings group at the training-of-trainers workshop in San Marcos in September. Photo by Ben Hess/CRS.

Soft-spoken and reserved, Jania Díaz is not the sort of person to call attention to herself when you first meet her. I met Jania during the training-of-trainers workshop in San Marcos in September 2008, when she was introduced as the Solidarity through Savings project coordinator.

Although she seemed to understand the concepts well, I had a few concerns about whether she was assertive enough to introduce the savings group idea to new communities, motivate and support the animators, and help coordinate the organization of new groups.

My fears proved to be completely unfounded, as I discovered during a recent visit to San Marcos. Jania has played a key role in the successful formation of three women’s savings groups, presenting the method to community leaders and residents, accompanying the new groups, and helping “scale up” the project by establishing contacts with other groups interested in implementing the savings-led microfinance model.

(more…)

In this story based on a phone conversation with Holly Inurreta- CRS Regional Technical Advisor for Emergencies – she describes the scene on the ground following the fourth storm to blast Haiti in recent weeks. The photos below bear graphic witness to her narrative.

(more…)

Holly Inurreta- CRS Regional Technical Advisor for Emergencies -is on the ground in Haiti. She spoke via phone today with CRS Communications Officer Sara Fajardo. Here’s a portion of the story that developed from that conversation:

It rained so hard on Saturday and Sunday that the water once again reached 10 feet high. The people had two days reprieve and are now back in the same situation. The city is rivers, and people don’t have boats. Our local partners will get out as soon as possible, and as soon as the water gets down to a moveable level they’ll be out distributing.

Holly said CRS and partners were able to bring some supplies to Gonaives, a coastal city thrashed by four storms in the past few weeks. She also notes that Haiti is likely to see more storms before the end of the Hurricane season.

Among the most dramatic and poignant news out of Haiti recently, we learned this morning that Monsignor Yves Marie Pean, Bishop of Gonaives, Haiti, is trapped in his house with about 500 people.

According to an urgent appeal from Monsignor Pean, Haitians “are today once again confronted with apocalyptical problems after the passage of the Hurricanes Gustave and Hannah. Further, in the next days two other hurricanes menace our people.”

We expect an updated story on flooding in Haiti later today as the country braces for Hurricane Ike.

September 2, 2008–As if this struggling island’s food woes were not painful enough, poor Haitian families and farmers are now being brought to their knees by a series of severe storms.

The high-powered winds of Hurricanes Gustav and Hanna have passed, but the torrential rains and flooding have not ceased.

 “The whole country is now affected by severe flooding and heavy rains”, said Alix Innocent, director of CRS’ emergency unit in Port au Prince. “The situation is getting worse throughout the country”.

Gustav, a category one storm, struck last week, as families were recovering from the effects of Tropical Storm Fay which touched down in Haiti three weeks ago. Gustav dumped between 6 and 12 inches of rain in parts of the island, triggering life-threatening floods and landslides. Floodwaters raged down the country’s bare mountainsides into tin shack communities unable to withstand the
pressure.

Riding the coattails of Gustav was Hurricane Hanna, which made landfall September 1 as a tropical storm. All departments, including Les Nippes, in the south, and Gran Anse have suffered severe flooding, making it difficult to reach these people in need.

About 6,000 people fled to shelters throughout the western and southeast provinces. Approximately 250 houses have thus far been destroyed or damaged.

 “There is also new flooding in the south in Les Cayes and there are reports of flooding up to 3 to 4 meters in Gonaives in the north. It’s raining heavily here in Port-au-Prince,” said Innocent who was in the midst of distributing supplies to families hit by Gustav.

In response, CRS has been distributing food to 3,000 people and emergency supplies to 900 residents.  Assessment teams are currently touring flooded areas to determine damage and needs.

A People Suffering  

Haiti is the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere, with more than two-thirds of Haitians living on less than a dollar a day. Occupying the western third of the island of Hispaniola, Haiti, which is slightly larger than the state of Maryland, is home to about 8 million people. The nation’s dire poverty is exacerbated by the needs of a large population.

Crops throughout affected areas took an unfortunate blow. Compounded rainfall from the recurring storms drenched already fragile farmland. While the amount of acreage that was destroyed is still unclear, this year’s harvest would have provided some relief to families suffering from the high prices of food–most of which is imported.

Rains can be devastating for Haiti, which has lost 99% of its protective forestry. Its mountain terrain is extremely degraded and bare, leaving valleys susceptible to flash flooding and landslides. Many of these communities rely on food subsidies, especially as the country faces a food crisis. Losing their homes and crops to the storms mean even greater suffering.

CRS’ Work in Haiti

With more than 50 years of experience in Haiti, CRS is now one of the largest U.S. humanitarian organizations working in the
country. Serving nearly 200,000 of the poorest and most marginalized Haitians, our projects provide assistance with health and nutrition, disaster recovey, education, water and sanitation, HIV and AIDS, agriculture, and migration.

Rev. David H. Garcia serves as Senior Advisor for Clergy Outreach for Catholic Relief Services. He also supports the agency’s Global Fellows program, a grassroots speaking initiative for Catholic priests and seminarians. He recently accompanied a group of Global Fellows to Nicaragua to see CRS programs in Fair Trade and microfinance.

My recent trip to Nicaragua with a Global Fellows group of seven priests, permanent deacons and seminarians along with Ted Miles from HQ put me through a roller coaster of emotions. This was my introduction to learn about CRS first hand for my new position as Senior Advisor for Clergy Outreach, which I began July 1.

Consuelo Alvaro of the FEM Cooperative in Yano Uno, Nicaragua, shows Fr David Garcia an organic coffee plant. Photo by CRS staff

It is hard to not be depressed by the sea of poverty all around you as you travel Nicaragua. Over 70% of the people in this country, second poorest after Haiti in the hemisphere, live on less than $2 a day. Yet the price of many items is similar to the United States. Gas is higher than in the US, hovering at $5 a gallon, while inflation this year is approaching 22%. People live trying to decide what they can and cannot do about the basics of life for themselves and their families.

Recent history has not been kind to this country. Managua has yet to recover from an earthquake in 1972 that devastated the capital city, destroying the downtown area, including the old cathedral. Although a new cathedral was built away from the city center with funds from donors in the U.S., the downtown has not come back. The Sandinista overthrow of the the Somoza regime in 1979 and the Contra War in the ‘80’s, along with Hurricane Mitch, which soon followed, have taken a harsh toll. Over half a million Nicaraguans have migrated to neighboring Costa Rica looking for work. There they are often treated harshly by the residents. Some have made their way to the United States in a desperate bid to provide for their families.

What we saw gave us hope in a sea of poverty. Hard-working people had received micro loans through Catholic Relief Services, as well as technical, educational and resource assistance. With this help they had organized their farms, small businesses and cooperatives into viable income-producing projects that have helped change their lives.

In one area, Yano Uno near Matagalpa, a group of 12 women told us how they began the FEM (Fundacion Entre Mujeres) cooperative as part of Proyecto ACORDAR with a CRS loan, which helped them rent land to grow coffee and other crops. They also received help from the local diocesan Caritas through a CRS grant to address issues of education, literacy, health, violence and domestic abuse. While we visited they showed us a new wet mill, which is a machine that separates the coffee bean from the fruit pulp. CRS provided it and we were asked to bless it, as they looked forward to a more efficient processing of the coffee crop this year. The women now have a growing business selling Fair Trade organic shade-grown coffee, which is among the highest quality possible. They have paid back the initial loan and their children are now dreaming of going to the university. It was impressive how much they are aware not only of good business practices, but also marketing, prices, organic methods, and preserving the environment. These women never had much chance at formal education and now are changing the future for their entire village.

The women of the FEM Cooperative in Yano Uno, Nicaragua, share their Fair Trade coffee with Fr. David Garcia. Photo by CRS staff

Fe Y Esperanza (Faith and Hope) is the name of a cooperative of men and women in a small rural community near Esteli. They spoke of organizing to produce organic fertilizer. Other individuals in other rural areas spoke of increasing their crop yields through improved farming techniques like drip irrigation and organic practices. All told us they were doing their work to preserve the environment as they raised their crops. CRS had helped with micro loans and technical assistance through Caritas.

We were perhaps most moved by one man, Don Juan Alberto, who was helping build a home for his family of five children, including two who were disabled and one he had adopted. The materials were donated by the local Caritas, with CRS help.

Like I said, it was a roller coaster of emotions all week. I saw and experienced personally that the work of CRS changes lives. I heard from the people their extreme gratitude for our help. I felt the solidarity of our common brotherhood and sisterhood with them. The group of Global Fellows became more committed to our preaching ministry.

There was tremendous poverty and wonderful examples of hope. I chose to believe in the hope and the people who shared it with me.

CRS is working in partnership with the US Agency for International Development (USAID) office of Food for Peace to meet the immediate needs of those most affected by the food crisis in Haiti. USAID is funding a $10 million emergency food security program that will enable CRS to reach 382,500 Haitians during the next 12 months.

CRS Haiti will distribute 7,730 metric tons of cereals, pulses and oils over the next two months to meet the immediate needs of vulnerable groups through orphanages, nutrition programs for pregnant and lactating women, primary school lunches and assistance for people living with HIV and AIDS.

To meet the longer term and livelihood needs of families, a Food For Work program will help people help themselves by improving agricultural infrastructure, drainage and mitigating the effects of ecological degradation.