The Struggle Against Hunger - One Local Community's Response
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n the fall of 2002, we, Saint Mary’s Community of Daughters of Charity in Saginaw, Michigan, received a letter from our Provincial, Sr. Catherine Madigan, DC, asking us to participate in the struggle against hunger through the Vincentian family initiative, the Globalization of Charity. Fr. Robert Maloney, CM, and Sr. Juana Elizondo, DC, had appealed to our worldwide community with this request. They identified the problem as one of the distribution of food rather than a lack of food.History of our Effort:
After discussing this among ourselves, and in keeping with the focus of Fr. Mahoney’s letter asking us to involve all members of the Vincentian family, we set up a meeting. We invited our local affiliates of the Daughters of Charity, the leadership of the local St. Vincent de Paul Society and selected members of the staff of our sponsored work in Saginaw, St. Mary’s.
Discernment of Focus:
We focused on Africa because of its long-term destitution and lack of progress in development, especially sub-Saharan Africa. Reading the USCCB document, “A Call to Solidarity with Africa,” confirmed our choice. We also recognized the importance of there being some infrastructure to support our efforts in the area of our choice. The Democratic Republic of the Congo, Archdiocese of Mbandaka-Bikoro, seemed ideal. First, there were Daughters serving in several missions there. Second, Seton Institute and Catholic Relief Services could help us assure the effective direction of funds to those in need, avoiding the problems of diversion through corruption, so common in that region.
We then made contact with the Daughters of Charity actually working in the diocese. Considering priority needs, she estimated that the sum needed was $45,350. The group decided to take on the goal of raising the entire amount.
Results to Date:
And now, almost two years later, where are we? We spend much of our time educating ourselves. To date, we have raised $42,258. This sum includes two large gifts from Saint Mary’s Hospital and the Diocese of Saginaw. The rest of the money represents personal contributions in response to individual letters of request, tithing contributions from Catholic parishes in our diocese, and other small projects such as selling entertainment coupon books. The need is great and people have been generous.
Distribution of Funds to Date:
One of the facts we have come to understand better is that the problem of hunger cannot be extricated from the problems of poor health, lack of education, and lack of political power to bring about a healthy standard of living. Thus the money we have contributed so far through Seton Institute has been distributed in the following ways:
$6,000 Aids Prevention and Formation in nutrition centers; also purchasing and installing a corn-Soya mill to grind grain locally produced by people.
$5,000 Secondary School led by Daughters of Charity in Bikoro, one focus of which was getting bikes for teachers to travel long distances to school.
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$5,000 Formation of young Bikoro women, ages 16-24, in basic skills of literacy and parenting competence at D.C.-led Center Bondeko.
$5,000 Administrative costs of the Diocesan Office of Medical Affairs, directed by a Daughter of Charity.
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Conclusion:
The efforts we have made as a local community have further awakened us to the terrible plight of the people of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. One of the startling facts we learned is that whole villages in Africa have only a child as a household head. In some villages, the AIDS epidemic is so severe that all the parents have died. Preventing HIV/AIDS is integral to a long-range solution to the problem of hunger.
Another result of our working together on this project was greater solidarity among ourselves as a local community and with our Saginaw DC affiliates and St. Mary associates involved. (We also invited the Vincent de Paul Society of Bay City but were unsuccessful in motivating them to become involved.)
For further details there are two more reports availabe for download.
Tags: Hunger