Archive for October, 2008
Tell everyone that Kenya is a very safe place…
Ann Clemens works at the CFCA-Kansas office in Child Services. Last month, she participated in the mission awareness trip to Kenya and met her sponsored child, Ezekiel. Here are a few of her reflections from the trip.
Naftaly (older brother), Ezekiel (sponsored child), Ann and Mary (mother) meet in Kenya.
Going to Kenya was a great opportunity and a wonderful experience. Days were filled with beautiful faces, big smiles, lots of giggles, exotic landscapes, great food and huge celebrations! Getting accustomed to the time difference was a challenge, made greater when I would wake up in the middle of the night and my mind would become deluged with flashes of images and sounds I’d witnessed that day.
Every project we visited had stories about “the crisis” (referring to last December 2007 through February 2008, after the presidential election there and the chaos and destruction that followed). One project referenced the panic and grief which involved hiding family members of one tribe from another tribe, and where neighbors and friends were pitted against each other. Some spoke about how they had coped, the great generosities of helping one another, and the tribes working together to move the healing process forward. The people have much pride in their individual cultural tribes, but noted that they are Kenyans first.
There is no greater example of this ongoing healing process than with the huge celebration of the Nairobi project and its subprojects. Although there were many groups of all ages represented, the newly formed mothers groups exemplified how they’re all working together. The various tribes from the area wore traditional dress as they performed for everyone with singing and dancing.
They also cooked and served the food together for our lunch, which was a huge feast, serving around 1,500 children and adults. Peter Ndungo, Nairobi Project Director, said it was all to instill and represent the healing process. It was very symbolic because feeding and serving others is an expression of love with the nourishment we need to sustain us, to help our minds and bodies grow and heal.
They are committed to helping each other and to continue on their path toward healing as their intentions are to create even stronger communities. The message from them is to “tell everyone that Kenya is a very safe place,” to not only visit but to live as well.
Add comment October 28, 2008
Little girl with a big heart – an example on World Food Day
Seven-year-old Mackinley Gabbert stopped by CFCA headquarters in Kansas City, Kan., earlier this month, clutching a crumpled paper bag.
The bag contained $18.87 Mackinley had raised over the weekend from a lemonade stand. She wanted to donate the money to charity.
After Sponsor Services representative Ruth Hubenthal explained the various options, Mackinley chose to give her money to CFCA’s Food Crisis Assistance Fund.
“I want people to eat and I want them to have a lot of food,” she said.
Mackinley’s contribution will help CFCA sponsored members and their families afford the high cost of food. World food prices have risen 83 percent since 2005. Mackinley’s donation could buy a week’s worth of rice for a family of seven in the Philippines.
“The idea was all Mackinley’s,” said her father, Brice Gabbert, who accompanied her. Brice works across the parking lot from CFCA at Picture and Frame Industries.
Instead of keeping the money, Mackinley said that giving to people in need made her feel good. She hopes other children will follow her example.
Thank you, Mackinley, for setting such a great example!
4 comments October 16, 2008
Blog Action Day: “Our family’s poverty story”
From CFCA sponsor Zena Weist:
John and I began sponsoring a child in 1998. We were pregnant with our first child and felt so blessed. We heard about CFCA through our parish. During Mass while a CFCA representative was talking about the sponsorship opportunities, my husband left our pew. I thought he was going to the restroom.
 |
| Angelica is our sponsored child from Guatemala. She was 4 when we began sponsoring her. |
When he came back to our pew, he had our little Angelica Antonia’s profile. He just knew that I wanted to sponsor a child and he did as well.
He said, “Angelica called out to me.”
Her mother and father took turns sending us letters about Angelica, their life and how thankful they were for our support until Angelica was old enough to write. So, through letters and photos we’ve received, we’ve seen Angelica grow up through her parents’ and now her words.
Angelica is in seventh grade. She draws us beautiful flower borders with every note. She’s quite an artist! Angelica is growing up a confident, educated young woman. She walks an hour to/from school every day – amazing! She is so grateful for the opportunity to go to school (which is a great reminder for our kids) and in every letter reminds us how very thankful she is that our support covers her basic needs.
By sponsoring Angelica, we get so much more out of the relationship than we ever dreamed was possible! She is a constant reminder of how blessed we are, that the basic things we take for granted (shelter, food, clothing) are truly gifts from God. Angelica doesn’t know this, but her words and prayers are far more valuable to our family than the monthly donations.
CFCA’s sponsorship program helps our family see that poverty is a worldwide problem that affects each of us in some way and even more so, how each individual can help end it.
1 comment October 15, 2008
Bob’s report: Visit to Kenya
Mission Awareness Trip
Sept. 13 – 23, 2008
“To be a peacemaker, one must possess peace interiorly. Peace in the world passes through personal conversion.”
— Poster at Emmaus Centre, Nairobi.
Nairobi, Nanyuki, Juja, Matiri and Timau are currently the principal project sites in Kenya. The expressed felt needs of families in the Nairobi project are known through home visits. Education and health care are key benefits, but there are others such as food provisions, hot lunches, clothes, school uniforms, recreation, values formation, workshops and training, parent groups and family assistance. Parents are allowed to send their children to the school of their choice.
Nairobi mothers groups
Nairobi mothers group coordinator Milka shared her experience with the formation of mothers groups in Kenya. The violence of early 2008, with 42 tribes fighting each other, challenged the groups. “We were close to becoming another Rwanda,” she said.
The groups provide HIV training and counseling, promote peaceful co-existence among communities, develop environmental programs, counsel members in avoiding drug abuse, promote equal education for girls and boys and invite dads to participate—when there is a dad.
A loving umbrella
Alex Musendi, one of 77 Nairobi scholarship students, spoke. “I thank God for the loving umbrella of CFCA. … Both my parents died when I was very small. I was a poor village boy who came to Nairobi alone. I thought it was the end of my life when my sponsor lost her job … but this beautiful organization became a father and a mother to me. I say to everyone, stand tall and preach the good news. One day, life will be brighter. Somebody, somewhere needs help just like me.”
We enjoyed informative sessions about each aspect of the Nairobi project. The staff members’ reports reflected transparency and great professionalism. Peter Ndundo, Nairobi project coordinator, showed off the attractive and welcoming new headquarters for CFCA-Nairobi.
On CFCA African Heritage Day at the Stima Club in Nairobi, we participated and observed many wonderful dances, joined by moms, staff, scholarship students, children and aging. A hot lunch followed for the estimated 1,500 in attendance. (more…)
4 comments October 14, 2008
Bob’s report: Visit to Bolivia
Mission awareness trip
Aug. 30 – Sept. 7, 2008
Bolivia—rich yet poor
Rich as it is in minerals, natural gas and oil, Bolivia is regarded as one of South America’s poorest countries. Subsistence describes the struggle of many of our sponsored families. They are very much on the low end when it comes to the distribution of resources and opportunity. Yet they are very much on the high side on helping us to grow in awareness and grace. Characteristic of many CFCA projects in Bolivia is a guitar-toting nun and a chorus of highland children, smiles burned into their faces by the mountain wind and sun.
“The economic situation is out of control in our country … many times we are unable to offer the families what we have planned in our yearly work plan. This is the result of the urgent need for food. Our main products now cost too much.” Tamara Quinteros, CFCA Coordinator, Santa Cruz.
Memorable quotes
“My sponsor resides in the U.S. but she lives in my heart.” CFCA Cochabamba Scholar
“At CFCA I met God.” Cirilo, Cochabama
“I have two mothers … the one who wakes me up each morning and sings to me … and my second mother (Mary Jones) who is my sponsor. Even though far away, she loves me and is concerned for me.” Adriana, subproject Barrio Lindo, Santa Cruz
“Yesterday was my sponsor’s birthday, and even though he lives far away, we celebrated his birthday in our home in Barrio Lindo, Santa Cruz, Bolivia.”—Mother of sponsored child
Fruits of sponsorship
At the Comedor Cristo Mensajero, children, scholars and aging receive nutrition, school supplies, shoes and uniforms. We visited mother Genovava who raised eight children on her own after her husband died. Sponsored sons, Ismael, 19, and Alex, 18, both are about to finish college prep. The family has built a nice home with help from CFCA and two grown children working in Spain. (more…)
1 comment October 8, 2008
Blog for CFCA and join the discussion on global poverty
Join the discussion about global poverty on Wednesday, Oct. 15, 2008.
We know that people in the blogosphere can learn so much through your CFCA sponsor experiences: what it’s like to join with families living in poverty; telling about how your own view of poverty has changed through your sponsorship, and how poverty now has a personal meaning for you.
 |
| Blog Action Day ‘08 gives bloggers around the world a chance to focus one day – Wednesday, Oct. 15 – on one topic – poverty. |
Blog Action Day ‘08 gives bloggers around the world a chance to focus one day – Wednesday, Oct. 15 – on one topic – poverty.
Here’s how the Blog Action Day Web site describes it:
“Blog Action Day is an annual nonprofit event that aims to unite the world’s bloggers, podcasters and videocasters, to post about the same issue on the same day. Our aim is to raise awareness and trigger a global discussion.”
To be a part of the event:
- Register your blog on the blog action day site (blogactionday.com) between now and Oct. 14.
- Start preparing your blog message based on your experiences as a CFCA sponsor.
(e-mail us if you have questions) - Post your blog entry on Oct. 15.
At the end of your blog post, please feel free to include the following description of CFCA:
CFCA is a Kansas City-based international movement serving people living in poverty in 25 developing countries. We help families put food on the table, send their children to school and have a decent place to live so that together we can end the cycle of poverty. Founded by lay Catholics acting on the call to serve the poor, CFCA serves people of all faiths. To learn more, or to sponsor a child, visit www.cfcausa.org.
If you don’t have a blog, but would like to start one to post your message about poverty, here are a few blog sites that make it quick and easy:
Thank you for joining CFCA and sharing your personal story to help the world gain a better understanding of poverty and ways to help.
Add comment October 6, 2008
