After his recent trip to Ecuador, Cross Catholic Outreach Projects Officer Fernando Marquez shared some of his photos with our staff. This adorable, little girl particularly captured my heart. She is a beneficiary of Chicos de la Calle (“Children of the Street”), a Cross Catholic-supported food program, which also provides vital academic tutoring, Catholic formation classes and an athletic program to help street children and child laborers escape their poverty.

-Annie W.

The poor and elderly in Kobonal, Haiti are receiving the food they need to stay strong and healthy.

The sun has just risen over the green hills of Haiti’s Central Plateau and already hundreds of people can be found gathered within the compound of SOLT Kobonal Haiti Mission. Sitting on wooden benches, lying beneath shade trees—they all carry empty sacks, waiting for the mission’s Emergency Survival Program’s food distribution to begin.

Many of these are elderly villagers from the rural and impoverished area of Kobonal. They began their journey before the crack of dawn, walking for miles over muddy, rocky roads. Often frail and sickly, they persevere because they know this monthly trek will give them the strength and sustenance they need to survive another day.

“These are the folks who have no children to care for them,” says Father Glenn Meaux, who established Kobonal Haiti Mission more than 20 years ago. “They live alone. Without these meals—without the cornmeal and beans we give them every month—they just couldn’t live.”

“When I first arrived here, there was no agriculture, there were no irrigation systems; there was literally no hope at the time,” he says. “The people were not only materially impoverished, but they were morally and spiritually destitute as well. We found a people enslaved and oppressed by black magic priests and their ritualistic services. Voodoo was prevalent.”

But thanks to the help of Cross Catholic Outreach and our generous supporters, the impact of Fr. Meaux’s ministry is being felt throughout the entire Diocese of Hinche.

It is even evident on food distribution days, when the people arrive carrying bundles of firewood for the mission as a token of their appreciation for their rations of basic food staples like cornmeal, beans, cooking oil and bouillon cubes. This reciprocal kindness is just one example of the spiritual transformation Fr. Meaux has witnessed in the people of Kobonal.  Though once dominated by voodoo, this community is a living example of the change that’s possible through a relationship with Christ.

“Many of the people have been baptized and have come into the church,” Fr. Meaux says. “You see them improving entirely—materially, socially and spiritually.”

-Annie W.

Cross Catholic Outreach’s strategy of working through local parish-based ministries serves two purposes: it effectively provides for the material needs of the poor in a loving way and it shows them the hope that can only be found in the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Their greatest need of all can only be met by the Holy Spirit changing them from within. It’s not possible to purchase a person’s salvation like one might purchase a bowl of rice, but we can provide exposure to the Gospel by putting orphans in Catholic shelters, providing scholarships for Catholic schools and by sending priests, nuns and lay missionaries into the homes and villages to preach by word and deed.

-Stephanie J.

Maria and her four children

We all have dreams for our lives – things we want to someday accomplish or create. We might dream of having children, building up a business or traveling the world. Dreams are dear to us. They give us hope for our future and goals to work toward.

What if your dream was to just have a solid roof over your head for the first time?

That was Maria Zacarias’ dream for her family. Maria lived with her husband and their four children in a rural, mountainside community in Guatemala. Extremely poor, the family stayed in a tiny hut cobbled together from cardboard, plastic sheeting, old boards and other scraps they had found.

Life was difficult, but the family had hope. It was always Maria and her husband’s dream to have a sturdy home they could call their own, a place where their children would be safe from wild animals and the rain didn’t fall on them when they slept. They saved what they could, but it was never enough…

When Maria’s husband died three years ago, that dream for a safe home died with him. The family’s hope for a better future died as well.

It became a daily struggle just to buy food for her children. But by God’s grace, our ministry partner in Guatemala, Esperanza de Vida, learned of Maria’s situation and felt compassion for her. With the help of Cross Catholic Outreach and its benefactors, Esperanza de Vida made
Maria’s long-forgotten dream a reality by building a sturdy, cement-block home for her and her children!

When Maria received the keys to her new home, her first words were, “Thanks to God” for the miracle he had given them. Her dream for a sturdy home had become a reality!

May God also transform your dreams into reality and lead you to be a blessing for the dreams of others.

-Stephanie J.

At Chizombezi Deafblind Center, handicapped students learn about God’s love for them.

It’s one thing to hear Sr. Emma and the other staff members at Chizombezi Deafblind Center talk about the impact their school is having on handicapped Malawian children. It’s quite another to hear it from the students who have gone through the program.

One of those students recently had a chance to share her story to a youth group in Malawi. Nolia Biziweck, who is now 23 years old, didn’t shy away from a blunt recounting of the struggles she’s faced:

I have been living a very lonely and isolated life in this community. I dropped out of school because of the bad treatment I was receiving in the schools. My friends at school used to mock me, calling me all sorts of bad names and accusations. My friend was only my mom because even my own brothers and sisters or relatives were discriminating against me simply because I am different from them. My disability has been a burden and a great obstacle to my life in such a way that I was always lonely, with no friend to share information with.

Today, I would like to let you all know that my life has now changed to something else I will appreciate forever. With this organization, I have new friends and relatives. Since the time I joined the youth group, my fellow youths have been so dear to me. I have never thought of having a best friend in my life, but my fellow youths from the Deafblind Center come to my home, play games together, share ideas and we do many things together without any problem. I have learned many things from the Deafblind Center; they have been training and teaching me many things which I never knew in my life. Therefore, if there is any parent here who has a child with a disability, I urge you to bring your child to our group so that he or she can associate together with us. I personally thank the Deafblind Center for what they have been doing for me.

I’d like to second Nolia’s thanks, not only toward the compassionate sisters who have given this young woman the love and acceptance she desperately needed – but also toward our Cross Catholic Outreach donors who have made this ministry possible. You might also be interested to know that Nolia is making plans to start her own small business! Your helping hand has also given her greater hope for the future!

-Tony M.

Kamungo’future looks much brighter now that he’s going to school.

Kamungo is 8 years old and in second grade. He has reason to smile. Two years ago he was found wandering the streets, hungry and dirty. Today he’s attending one of the best schools in that area of Kenya — Freinademetz Primary School, one of our partners. Kamungo and three of his cousins live together in a stifling-hot one-room house with their elderly grandmother. She is hard of hearing and requires two sticks to walk on crippled legs. “Kamungo benefits most from the food at school,” she said. “Now he gets lunch. He didn’t here at home.”

Kamungo has come a long way since they first pulled him off the streets and enrolled him in school, and his future is much brighter, too. His grandmother told us, “I told my grandchildren they have to study for a better life. We depend on God for everything and God brought you to us.”

-Nola B.

Last month I was able to spend a fun lunchtime with the 164 students at Freinademetz Primary School located just outside of Nairobi. The students were all smiles as they enjoyed their meals, provided in part by Cross Catholic Outreach and our faithful supporters. During my visit, I discovered the healthy lunches are making a difference in the classroom as these students continue to score extremely high on national tests. “A generous man will himself be blessed, for he shares his food with the poor.” -Proverbs 22:9

-Annie W.

Thanks to the support of Cross Catholic Outreach, Maasai women like Hanna who live in a drought-impacted area of Kenya will soon receive the precious gift of water!

Last month I visited the Maasai, a semi-nomadic tribe of herders in Kenya’s Great Rift Valley. The trip was like stepping back in time. Though only a two-hour drive from cosmopolitan Nairobi, Maasai society is largely untouched by modernity. The people live in bomas, small huts made of dried mud, thatch and cow dung.  Their affluence is measured by the quantity of their goats and cattle.

Adorned in their colorful, beaded jewelry, the women stand out in stark contrast to the dusty, drought-ravaged landscape. But as I began to hear their stories and learn more about their lives, I was quick to discover — life is not easy for a Maasai woman.

Meet Hanna Ntingista. She’s a 55-year-old mother of eight.

“The Maasai lady is the busiest of all ladies,” she said.

Hanna wakes up at 4 a.m. to take care of the cows. After tending to the cattle, she wakes her children and prepares them for school. Then, she begins the hour-long trek to fetch water.

“It’s the job of the woman to fetch water,” she said. “But there is no water nearby and this is a big problem. I have to take my donkey and walk many miles. I try and minimize my trips because it’s backbreaking work, but my family needs water.”

Thankfully, Hanna is one of 42,000 people who will soon benefit from a Cross Catholic Outreach-funded water project in the parish of Ewuaso Kedong. Led by Father John Fortune and a committee of faith-filled community members, this massive water project will provide long-term drought relief to those who need it most. Like Hanna.

“The new water will be good for my children and animals because we will be able to use much more,” she said. “And soon I will be able to start a garden. Fresh vegetables will keep my children healthy and help me earn an income. I appreciate this new water very much!”

Thank you to our generous supporters who are helping hardworking women like Hanna provide their children with one of life’s most basic needs — water. May God bless you for your compassion!

-Annie W.

Shipped by Cross Catholic Outreach and served by a local Haitian ministry to poor neighborhood children like the little girl...

As I watched the little girl devour the hot meal in front of her, she heaped big spoonfuls of seasoned rice into her little mouth and chewed joyously. She made almost imperceptible “hmmm” sounds as she ate. It was obviously a very enjoyable meal!

Imagine my surprise when I discovered this delicious lunch had arrived in a humble plastic bag. It was a packet of nutritious fortified rice shipped by Cross Catholic Outreach and served by a local Haitian ministry to poor neighborhood children like the little girl I met.

What looks like a simple bag of ordinary rice is actually a ready-to-prepare meal that’s more nutritious than anything these impoverished children would eat at home. I picked up one of the bags and examined it closely. In my hand was almost a day’s worth of vitamins, minerals and protein for a growing child; an important weapon in the battle to combat malnutrition.

Taking one last picture of the girl, I fully understood the heavenly value of humanitarian shipments!

In 2011, Cross Catholic Outreach sent out seagoing containers with more than $119 million dollars worth of goods – including the fortified food packets – to developing countries around the world. Every shipment touched many lives. When I met the little girl whose life was impacted so deeply by our shipments, I felt God’s hand at work. Thanks to all the generous Catholics who help us ship humanitarian aid!

-Stephanie J.

Cold, clean water now flows to the homes of Nicaraguan families once plagued by chronic dehydration.

When traveling in the developing world, the first rule you learn is “Don’t drink the water!” I can attest from personal experience that our pampered first-world immune systems don’t stand a chance against the parasites and bacteria that infest everything from drinking fountains to that bad piece of lettuce you ate for lunch. That’s why I spent most of my recent trip to Nicaragua avoiding any water that didn’t come in a sealed bottle.

The keyword in that sentence is most.

Before I finish my story, a disclaimer is in order: Cross Catholic Outreach does not generally recommend consuming water from remote, rural Nicaraguan villages where the roads are dirt paths and the primary mode of transportation is the horse-drawn cart.

You can imagine my trepidation, then, when Amigos for Christ founder John Bland led me to an outdoor water faucet in rural El Chonco and refilled my bottle. Yes, I was thirsty. Yes, the dry heat was sapping the life out of me. But still I had to ask, “Is it safe?”

As you’ve probably guessed, I survived the encounter. But I did more than just survive. The water was cold, refreshing and more agreeable to my palate than the tap water in my own home!

I’d already known that the new Cross Catholic Outreach-sponsored water system was a huge leap forward in terms of health and sanitation. The water is filtered, chlorinated and pumped out in abundant supply to the homes of families who once suffered from chronic dehydration. But until that moment, it had never occurred to me that the system would deliver water as pure as anything available back home. Yet there I was, drinking a liter of the stuff and not getting sick!

It’s great to see believers coming together to give their very best to the poor – not just throwing crumbs from the table of prosperity, but inviting them to the feast.