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Operation Rice Bowl funds projects around world, in local communities |
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By The Catholic Spirit
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Wednesday, 10 February 2010 |
 The following is the first in a four-part series.
For 35 years, Operation Rice Bowl has called Catholics to pray with their families and faith communities; fast in solidarity with those who hunger; learn about the global community and the challenges of poverty around the world, and give sacrificial contributions to those in need.
This program offers participants a concrete way to connect with their brothers and sisters around the world.
Lesotho
Project helps AIDS orphans
 My name is Renang Moleko. I am 17 years old, and I live in a village in
the mountains of Lesotho, a country that is completely surrounded by
South Africa. My father died from AIDS in 2001, and I had to leave
school to take care of our family’s livestock. My mother went to work
in a factory in another village, and I haven’t heard from her since she
left.
Catholic Relief Services came to my village and, with the help of
several other organizations, started the Mountain Orphans and
Vulnerable Children’s Empowerment Project to help children who have
lost parents from AIDS. The project provides education and training
opportunities, nutritional support and health care, and involves the
village community in supporting AIDS orphans.
I received a uniform and other school supplies and was able to enroll
in school again. I learned how to set up a small garden so I can grow
vegetables to eat. Before I had my garden, sometimes I would only eat
one meal a day. Now I grow enough to have three meals each day and even
have some vegetables left over to sell in the market.
The MOVE project has changed my life. I got the chance to go to school
again, I now have three meals every day, and I receive much support
from the whole village community. I hope the MOVE project will help
many more children like me.
— Catholic Relief Services
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Approximately $8 million was contributed through Operation Rice Bowl in 2009. The organization’s Web site — www.crs.org — provides more information about the program.
Seventy-five percent of Operation Rice Bowl contributions raised for
Catholic Relief Services are used for international relief and
development projects around the world, said Kathy Tomlin, archdiocesan
Office for Social Justice director.
Twenty-five percent of the contributions remain in each diocese in the
United States for food programs and root-cause-of-poverty relief
efforts.
In 2009, $18,000 from the total $64,000 collected for Operation Rice
Bowl in the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis went to Catholic
Charities food shelves, Tomlin said.
Making a difference
“If you just look at Haiti and see how much difference $48,000 would
make in terms of the food that could go in that area, I think it makes
a big difference,” Tomlin said.
“It’s certainly important locally for the food shelves, especially to get cash so that we can buy culturally appropriate food.”
Operation Rice Bowl helps support Branch I in Minneapolis and the food
shelf at the Dorothy Day Center in St. Paul, she said. Hunger is an
issue for a lot of people in the parishes of this archdiocese, Tomlin
said.
“I think people step up to the plate during Lent and want to sacrifice
for greater need and the common good,” she said. “I think there is a
definite relationship between charity and direct service and justice.
It brings that together.”
The Office for Social Justice, which has managed ORB for the past four
years, shares work for Catholic Relief Services with the Center for
Mission, which oversees other programs.
In each issue during Lent, The Catholic Spirit will highlight CRS’ work
with a story and recipe from a country that the agency serves. There is
no cost for the “rice bowls,” which can be obtained at parishes
throughout the archdiocese or through the CRS Web site, orb.crs.org.
The site also has supplemental materials for pastors and individuals,
such as recipes, prayer intentions, bulletin announcements, Stations of
the Cross and a Lenten calendar.
At the end of Lent, individuals can drop the money to the ORB
collection at their parish or send donations noted for ORB to:
Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis, 226 Summit Ave., St. Paul, MN
55102; or Catholic Relief Services, 228 W. Lexington St., Baltimore, MD
21201.
A recipe from Lesotho
Papa with Chakalaka
Papa
21⁄2 cups corn meal
4 cups water
Boil water and then stir in cornmeal. Simmer, stirring often to prevent burning, until the mixture is thick and the water is absorbed. Shape the mixture into round balls, one for each person.
Chakalaka
3 tbsp. oil
1 onion, finely diced
1 green bell pepper, finely diced
1 chili pepper, finely diced
2 tomatoes, finely diced
1 carrot, peeled and grated
1 16 oz. can of baked beans
1 tsp. curry powder
Salt to taste
Sauté onion and peppers in pan with oil until soft. Add the remaining ingredients, mix thoroughly and simmer, stirring occasionally, for 15 minutes. Serve warm with papa.
Yield: 4 to 6 servings
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