The Observer
FRIDAY JANUARY 14, 2022
7
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When the time comes for Regis Elmaise to prepare a meal for her family, she has few choices. When the weather has been good and local crops have been fruitful, they can eat some of the corn, potatoes and rice they grow on a small plot outside their humble home - but when the weather has been bad, her choices become much starker. If it doesn't rain, we have no food," the mother of six children said. "We are at the mercy of the weather." Her husband, Aneus, confirmed this painful truth. He sees hunger as a nearly constant threat, explaining that a lack of rain makes us hungry." Imagine living at the whim of the weather, never knowing whether your family will be able to depend on your care because so much hangs on conditions beyond your control. Not far from where Regis and Aneus live, there is another group of people also battling hunger, and their situation is even more heartbreaking. These elderly men and women in Haiti find themselves alone in the final years of their lives, and they endure daily hunger as a result. Most are too frail to grow crops or find work. These two groups - very poor rural families and the isolated elderly - face incredible daily challenges. They have none of the opportunities or social safety nets we Americans enjoy, so when the cupboard is bare, there's nothing to do but go hungry," explained Jim Cavnar, president of Cross Catholic Outreach, one of the leading Catholic charities serving Haiti's poor. "It's tragic. In the case of children, malnutrition can lead to serious, long-term mental and physical disabilities; and for the elderly, poor nutrition weakens the body and makes them more susceptible to illnesses." Fortunately, accoring to Cavnar, Catholic leaders in Haiti are aware of these threats and have developed plans to address hunger in both groups. Supplying hot school lunches to at-risk children is often a priority for Catholic schools, and several in-country missions are working to help the elderly poor. One of these missions is located in Kobonal, Haiti. Kobonal is in the Central Plateau, a very poor region of Haiti, and many of its rural population are at risk of malnutrition, especially during droughts and other seasons when crop yields are low," Cavnar said. "The Kobonal Haiti Mission has become a godsend to these people. It was founded by Father Glenn Meaux and has programs to serve both poor children and the isolated elderly. If it wasn't for that Catholic mission, I'm not sure how some of those people would survive." According to Cavnar, American Catholics have played an important role in making the feeding programs at the Kobonal Haiti Mission successful. Their donations provide most of the meals the ministry is distributing, and funding has also helped pay for the food's preparation and distribution. [See related story on the opposite page.] We have thousands of concerned Catholics involved in our international feeding programs, and a number of them are helping the Kobonal Haiti Mission. Their gifts provide Cross Catholic Outreach with the funding we need to send large shipments of food into the area. Some is used to provide lunches at the Catholic school Fr. Glenn runs. Other shipments are broken down to create the food packages his team distributes to the elderly in the area. Both are excellent outreaches, but neither would be this successful without the help of the American Catholics who donate to obtain and ship the food." It is Cavnar's hope that the number of Catholics supporting food outreaches will grow even larger this year. Food is a basic human need," Cavnar said, "and one we can easily address if people will contribute to the cause. Even a small donation for food can have a big impact. For example, a gift of $30 can provide about 200 meals to the poor, and with a gift of $150, we can ship about 1,000 meals to families in need." That is an incredible bang for the buck - and one every Catholic should consider as a way to cost-effectively help the world's poor. Poor families around the globe are depending on us for help," Cavnar concluded. "So we're doing everything we can to address the urgent need for food."
US Catholics Helping Kobonal Haiti Mission and Other Catholic Outreaches Address Extreme Hunger in Haiti
The feeding programs run by Catholic missions in developing countries rely on support from American Catholics to obtain the food they distribute to the poor. Fr. Glenn Meauxs Kobonal Haiti Mission is one of these. It distributes bread to students in the morning - because most come to school with an empty stomach - and also oers a hot lunch later in the day. These programs are vital to young children who might easily become malnourished without this support.
How to Help
To fund Cross Catholic Outreach's effort to help the poor worldwide, scan this QR code with your phone or mail your gift to Cross Catholic Outreach, PO Box 97168, Washington DC 20090-7168. Our web page, CrossCatholic.org/change-lives, also includes instructions on becoming a Mission Partner and making a regular monthly donation to this cause.
If you identify an aid project, 100% of the donation will be restricted to be used for that specific project. However, if more is raised for the project than needed, funds will be redirected to other urgent needs in the ministry.
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