Archive for April, 2009
Bob’s notes – Visit to Guatemala
Mission awareness trip to Guatemala
April 18-25, 2009
A CFCA lifestyle brings freedom
Before meeting up with the sponsors coming to Guatemala, we drove to the headquarters of the northeastern region, El Rancho. On April 18, when it came time for supper, 15 members of the staff from this region showed up with a big birthday cake for me.
For the sponsors and for each of us, it is an inspiring and emotional experience to spend time with our sponsored families in Guatemala City.
The next morning, we had the quiet but powerful testimony of Maria Cristina. She comes from a very modest family—and, like many, was abandoned by the father. Maria has been sponsored for 16 years. She is now doing her residency and rural service as the final step for graduation from medical school. She spoke confidently about how the love and emotional support of her sponsors has been an important part of her success.
Seems as though each time we come to this project in Guatemala City, we inaugurate a new livelihood program. This time it involves nine mothers (Ruth, Myra, Esmeralda, Carmen, Flor de Maria, Margarita, Olga, Maria and Magdalena). They have a catering service, specializing in soya products and pastries made from chocolate.
Fiesta, Mass in Patulul
In the town of Patulul, we come across Father John Goggin and about 400 of the sponsored children, their parents and scholars from Atitlan subproject B. They met us on the road and “walked” into the stage area. Every gathering must have an initial prayer, words of welcome, the acts themselves and finally words of thanks. We are now headed up the mountain to San Lucas to prepare for Holy Mass at 5 p.m. Former sponsored seminarian Geovanny Perez will celebrate the Mass. (more…)
2 comments April 29, 2009
Trees for travel
One hundred and twenty-one international flights within the last year. That’s a lot of travel. And a lot of carbon emissions.
That’s why CFCA employees are planting trees in an attempt to offset carbon emissions from our international travel.
Watch this short video to learn more!
1 comment April 27, 2009
‘Clean and Green’ in the Philippines
By Malou Navio, Antipolo project coordinator
Project staff and CFCA families in the Antipolo project respond to the call to care for our Mother Earth by caring for our local environment through a program we call Clean and Green.
Clean and Green enhances CFCA sponsorship for our sponsored individuals and their families.
The Antipolo project uses ongoing training, lectures and discussion to incorporate Clean and Green into spirituality and way of life and to encourage families to consider the ecosystem. As CFCA farming families learn irrigation methods for rice paddies and corn growing, more and more are gradually shifting away from the kaingin (slash and burn) way of farming. The families in urban areas promote waste management by reducing, reusing and recycling. To reinforce this practice, we do not use disposable cups, plates or utensils; plastic wrappers; straws; and Styrofoam during our activities.
Our sponsored children, youth, their parents and the aging in kapitbahayans (small, caring communities) devote one to two hours every Saturday morning to cleaning up their surroundings, streets, canals and rivers. This clean-up effort contributes to disaster risk reduction.
Kapitbahayans grow plants and flowers in easement lots and open spaces to improve their communities. They cultivate these spaces for communal gardens of vegetables and medicinal plants. They can also share the harvest with neighbors.
A tree-planting activity is held yearly. Most families plant the seeds from the fruits they eat. Many sponsored aging love this activity. Though they say they may not witness the fruition of the trees they have planted, for them it is their gesture toward repaying the food they eat without the effort of growing it.
We have planted and nurtured thousands of trees. The ages of these trees range from younger than one year to more than 10 years old. They are growing in backyards, along the roads, rivers, in the parks, open spaces, foothills, watershed and shores in the communities served by our three subprojects.
Fifteen sponsored youth leaders with parent advisers are graduates of a comprehensive training on holistic environmental education. This training discussed inner- and outer-ecology, and cosmic ecology. They also learned about the making of bokashi balls (click here to read more about bokashi balls), an indigenous technology of effective micro-organisms that eliminates harmful bacteria from fresh waters. They facilitate the same training on weekends with the sponsored youth, children, mothers and fathers group leaders.
Earth Day parade, 2008
The fathers group, with CFCA families in the communities of Angono, will celebrate Earth Day with a parade around the town and will launch their commitment and initiatives to heal the dying Angono River. They made 14,000 bokashi balls to drop into the Angono River to help heal the river and its species.
In our little way, we can radiate to each other, to the children, youth, aging and families, our dedication to care for the environment and our special love for Mother Earth.
Happy Earth Day!
2 comments April 22, 2009
CFCA’s community of compassion
By Henry Flores, director of the CFCA Communication Center in El Salvador
When Ines, 88, lost her home, Raymunda, 84, invited Ines to stay on her property. The two are good friends now. Ines said of Raymunda’s kindness, “Raymunda offered me not only her land, but she offered me her heart.”
Ines and Raymunda are living examples of CFCA’s community of compassion.
Read about the Benedictine students’ spring break in El Salvador.
1 comment April 21, 2009
Bob’s notes – Visit to Costa Rica
Mission awareness trip to Costa Rica
Mar. 21 – 28, 2009
Project Coordinator Rafael (Rafa) Villalobos started off this day with a dynamic reflection on the “The Banquet of the Kingdom.” I finished up the reflection singing, “Love the Children.”
Sabanilla, Alajuela
We have been working in this rural area for only one year, yet the spirit is strong. A children’s band marched us up the last mile or so to the parish church. The celebrant, Father Elias, expressed kindness to the children, and thanks to the sponsors. The four months of coffee harvest offer the only relatively sure source of employment. The fern and plant nurseries in this area were hard hit by the recent earthquake. One father died in the quake, and several houses were damaged.
The 500-hen livelihood project was challenged by lack of water. Parents hauled water by hand until water pipes could be repaired. Our home visits were high impact. Nubia, a petite young mother refugee from Esteli, Nicaragua, after having three sons and after suffering many beatings, had to separate from her husband. She was so full of life and enthusiastic that she convinced CFCA project leaders to begin sponsoring children in this area. Our social worker determined that this family needed a more dignified living situation. They now have an attractive and secure three-bedroom home with tile floors.
La Estrellita, Cartago
Our day started off with the early morning testimony of sponsored teen, Francini, 16. This girl suffered many different abuses over a period of four years. She also suffered because of the death of her first sponsor. Yet, with support and accompaniment of her current sponsors and CFCA staff, Francini is doing much better now. She aspires to study archeology.
In La Estrella, Cartago, where we have 810 children and 52 aging sponsored, the giants and costumed actors danced us into the 75-pupil school, where the principal and teachers had prepared a short program. Rafa explained the significance of the national anthem and the colors of the Costa Rican Flag.
During the family visits, we met parents, Maria Isabel and Juan, and their three daughters and one son. Three of the four children are sponsored. Juan is a recovering alcoholic and runs AA meetings three times a week in a little hall out back, formerly a chicken coop. Juan is now a builder, carpenter, gardener and responsible father. Maria Isabel is active in church, CFCA and spouses’ support group for AA. A fine lunch followed for this large CFCA community. Children, aging, parents, staff and sponsors participated in the entertainment, to the great enjoyment of all. (more…)
2 comments April 17, 2009
Bob’s notes – Visit to Guatemala
Mission awareness trip to Guatemala
Mar. 14 – 21, 2009
Our special call
Sometimes in the daily work of creating communities of compassion, it takes a lot of faith. Even in our best efforts of faith-based service, human weaknesses make felt their sobering presence. This is the precious moment when the grace of our special call kicks in.
Almost 100,000 families invite us to walk with them in Guatemala. Sponsors want to see them and to learn about the reality in which their friends live. This reality is best communicated by the families themselves and by our Guatemalan staff who daily walk by their side.
Ribbon cutting
A mother signs a loan document for a livelihood sewing project.
Sunday morning found us at our headquarters in Mixco, a regional office serving about 6,500 families. Big on the agenda today is the ribbon cutting for a livelihood sewing project involving 10 mothers. With the sponsors as witnesses, the mothers signed the documents for their first loan. Their spirit, exhibited in a skit about feelings, augurs well for the future of this project.
Cuyotenango
It seems like all 1,200 families welcomed us to the CFCA center in Cuyotenango. We work in 18 communities of Cuyo. In this southern region of Guatemala, we have 8,990 sponsored children, 43 elderly, one seminarian and scholarship students.
A junior mariachi band welcomes sponsors.
We traveled a muddy road through the sugarcane fields to visit the community of Shacate with 55 CFCA families. Sponsors helped in the distribution and documentation of food. One of the little boys in this community will have a cataract operation this week, thanks to special need funds sent to the subproject.
We then divided into three groups and visited families. My group visited Doña Paulina, her three sons and one daughter. The oldest boy, Hector, 19, works among the rubber trees making about $216 per month. The father died 12 years ago. Paulina struggled to raise the children on her own by cutting sugar cane with a machete. She now suffers from a stomach ulcer. To complete this full day, we stopped to visit Doña Josefina, a widow who received a new home through the CFCA housing program. This community insisted we take fruit and two live chickens back to San Lucas. (more…)
1 comment April 17, 2009
A good experience at Good Earth
Danielle Litt is a college student from the U.S. who volunteered with the Centro Educativo La Buena Tierra, (The Good Earth Education Center). CFCA partners with La Buena Tierra to provide services to sponsored children. Children sponsored through the CBT subproject are either attending or have attended the pre-school program Danielle describes below, and older children are served by the center’s staff in after-school programs, in addition to other benefits.
Dear CFCA sponsors,
My name is Danielle Litt. I am from New York City and am a junior at the University of North Carolina Chapel Hill (Go, Tar Heels!). I am majoring in Latin American Studies and minoring in Hebrew. This semester, I am studying abroad in Cuernavaca, Mexico, and I have had the amazing opportunity to intern at La Buena Tierra, the education center that serves the children you sponsor.
I performed a variety of tasks including translation of the children’s letters into English. I enjoyed reading these letters, as it gave me an opportunity to learn more about the lives of the children. I enjoyed reading about what they do for fun, hearing their stories and learning about the struggles they face and overcome. I also enjoyed reading about how important you, as sponsors, are to them, and seeing all the thank-you letters. The children are so appreciative of the letters and photos you send them!
Let me tell you a bit about a typical day at the Buena Tierra. The children enter the school one by one, tell each teacher good morning and greet them with a kiss on the cheek. Then the children proceed to breakfast, but first say grace, which includes thanking God for you, their sponsor. The staff also teaches the children good table manners. During the day, the children learn about a variety of subjects, including the alphabet, counting, nutrition, families and animals. At the center, there is a lot of singing, playing, drawing, laughing and learning. At the end of the day, all the children gather together, sitting on blankets. They have story time and sing songs.
There are so many amazing people who make it possible for the children to attend the center. The teachers work patiently with every student to ensure they are learning and being challenged. The students come to class with smiling faces and an eagerness and excitement to learn. They are what makes all of the work worthwhile. The children’s families contribute any way they can and support their children’s attendance at the center. And while you are not physically at the center, your presence is felt by your sponsored child and the whole organization that feels gratitude for your contribution. Each sponsored child is provided with the opportunity to have a preschool education and begin elementary school with the skills needed to succeed. Older sponsored children are alumni of the school and receive after-school tutoring to make sure that they are keeping up in their classes.
Although I am excited to return back to my community in the United States, I will be sad to leave the Buena Tierra behind. Although you don’t know me, I have great appreciation for the gesture you have made by sponsoring a child through CFCA, as you reach across borders of class, nationality, ethnicity and age to show solidarity and provide opportunities for the children who are served through the Buena Tierra. You are doing something that truly matters!
Thank you,
Danielle L. Litt
1 comment April 15, 2009
Dumagats celebrate nature
The Dumagats are an indigenous people of the Philippines who believe that nature is sacred. Every April, family members bring their pets and livestock and camp out along the river for five days to sing, dance, eat and give thanks for all that the earth has given them.
CFCA respects the Dumagats’ values and traditions and is working with them to help preserve their way of life. About 200 Dumagats are sponsored through CFCA’s Antipolo project.
In this video, the Dumagats are observing Paskuhan sa Tag-araw, a celebration of nature.
1 comment April 13, 2009
A present-day transformation
Lenten reflection: Week 7
By Rev. Kelly Demo, CFCA preacher
“Lord, remember not only the men and women of good will but all those of ill will. Do not only remember all the suffering they have subjected us to. Remember the fruits we brought forth thanks to this suffering – our comradeship, our loyalty, our humility, our courage, and generosity, the greatness of heart that all of this inspired. And when they come to judgment, let all these fruits we have born be their reward and their forgiveness.”
-Words scratched on the wall of a concentration camp in Germany
Transformative power: that is what bursts forth out of the tomb on Easter morning. The power of God to change that which was ugly to something beautiful. Changing darkness into light and destroying death to give us the chance for a real life. That is what we celebrate on Easter morning. Somewhere amidst the candy and Easter eggs we find the message that no matter how hard we try to get rid of God, we cannot and that God will transform our lives and our world if we only let God in.
If a woman in India is a widow or comes into a marriage with little dowry, she is seen as a burden and written off as worthless. This is a rather practical consideration for a family living on the edge because she is seen as not contributing to the family and is, instead, just another mouth to feed.
For the thousands of women who participate in CFCA mothers groups, however, they are given the chance to begin small businesses and bring income to the family. They are literally transformed in the eyes of their family members, as well as in their own eyes. They are given a new-found dignity and respect.
There are elderly in our projects who, after a life of hardship and struggle, were slipping away all alone, bereft of help or companionship. But, they are now part of a life-giving CFCA community where they can watch out for each other and care for each other.
And then there are the children. Hundreds of thousands of children that our sponsors have watched over the years transform into confident young adults. Our sponsors have seen the change from the first pictures of the small children, dressed in borrowed clothes, looking much too small for their age. Sponsors have watched them grow, overcome obstacles in their path and reach maturity with the ability and confidence to use their God-given gifts and talents.
Through women’s empowerment in the mothers groups, a child’s maturity into adulthood and the companionship of the elderly, we are given the opportunity to watch, in present day, the transformative power of God that burst forth from the tomb on the first Easter morning. It is an amazing thing to watch God in action.
From all of us at CFCA around the world, we wish you a most blessed and glorious Easter!
Add comment April 8, 2009
Writing topics
Q. I don’t know what to write to my friend. Could you offer any suggestions?
A. We are happy that you will be writing to your friend. Children, youth and aging friends eagerly anticipate receiving letters and photos from their sponsors. For both you and your friend, writing letters and sharing photos is the best way to build a strong relationship. But we know that it’s sometimes difficult to get that first letter started.
Here are some topic suggestions:
Your story – age, children, family
Holiday traditions special to your family
Your favorite color, food, memory, sports/games
Interests, profession or hobbies
Weather where you live
The landscape in your geographic area
Cultural activities – art, music, dance, theater
Why you chose your sponsored friend
Ask questions about your friend’s life and dreams
Offer words of encouragement and support
If you don’t have time to write a letter, postcards and pre-printed greeting cards are an easy and quick way to stay in touch with your friend.
Remember: It’s a good rule of thumb to avoid talking about material possessions, money and other topics that could serve to highlight the differences between your circumstances. Please keep these same considerations in mind when sending photographs.
For the privacy and protection of sponsors and sponsored friends, please do not share or ask your friend for personal contact information, including e-mail or home addresses and phone numbers.
Add comment April 6, 2009
