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.
Posted
July 10th, 2008 in
Africa, CRS Leadership, global food crisis, Ken Hackett, Missionaries of Charity by:
jrivera |
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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.
Posted
May 30th, 2008 in
Africa, CRS Leadership, Ethiopia, HIV, Missionaries of Charity by:
jrivera |
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