"CRS/Harvest for Hope"by Bishop William S. Skylstad (From the Aug. 20, 1998 edition of the Inland Register)
At the U.S. bishops’ meeting last November a pastoral letter was approved titled: "Called to Global Solidarity: International Challenges for U.S. Parishes." The message of the letter, as the title indicates, is that we as Catholic communities of faith have a responsibility for the global human family. In many ways, since we are a Church universal, we have the unusual opportunity to help and relate to our brothers and sisters in other parts of the world. Our witness in relationship to our sister Diocese of Sololá in Guatemala for almost these past 40 years has been a wonderful grace and witness of solidarity. We have helped, yes, but even more importantly, we have been touched by a people who in their poverty have profoundly lived their faith and have been so grateful. They have truly become our neighbors. Many parishes of our diocese have reached out with their resources and even at times their presence. Anyone who has visited the area in which we have served in Guatemala can’t help but be touched and edified by a people who have struggled for justice and whose lives are gradually improving. Last year in cooperation with Catholic Relief Services, we began CRS/Project of Hope, a pilot project which we hoped might become a model for other dioceses in the U.S. We were asked to help an area near Cochabamba, Bolivia, called Tiraque (about a three-hour drive from the city). The people in the area are very poor. The idea of the project was to connect our urban and rural areas, especially our wheat farmers, to the farmers of the Tiraque area. In reality, each of us has his or her "harvest" to share. Since that area has been badly deforested, the focus of the project was reforestation, the building of terraces to stop erosion, to build irrigation systems or improve them, and to supply wheat as an in kind support for these activities. Last November immediately after the Bishops’ meeting, six of us from the diocese traveled to Cochabamba and more specifically to the area of Tiraque. The people greeted us warmly and gratefully. I will never forget our celebration of Eucharist in a school yard -- the people’s joyful spirit and their gracious hospitality. The valley is quite narrow, nothing like our vast expanses here in Eastern Washington. Yet, this is where they are trying to make a living. Perhaps what we do there will help to stabilize families so the father doesn’t have to travel out of the area to find work to support his family. Recently, I received a report on Harvest for Hope and its first-year impact. In the reforestation component, 42,860 plants were successfully transplanted with the participation of 260 people from five communities. A total of 375 quintales -- a quintal weighs about 250 lbs. -- of wheat was distributed to participants in the reforestation activities. Six hundred feet of terracing in the community of Mojon was constructed, benefitting eight families. Irrigation systems are being improved. (You must not think their irrigation systems are like our own. Water is precious in the area so it is used very sparingly.) Since the beginning of the project, 500 families in seven communities have benefitted. We are now beginning the second phase of the project with the following goals:
We can hope and pray this model project will catch on. We who have so much must be concerned about our brothers and sisters all over the globe who are in need. We can’t do everything at once, but we can grow in sensitivity and generosity as Jesus invites us to love neighbor as well as be neighbor. The Church calls us to global solidarity. In a world racked by division, we have the opportunity to take the gift of love we have received from our God and put it into action. Finally, I want to thank all of you who have so generously participated in Harvest of Hope. The seeds have been planted -- literally and figuratively. We hope they will bear much fruit as God gives the increase. May God bless you and give you peace.
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All of us these past few weeks have seen the golden, waving fields of grain in Eastern Washington. The crews and combines harvesting the crop have been busy. Unfortunately, the price for a bushel of wheat is somewhat below the cost of production. I’ve noticed in several places that the crop has been so bountiful that the wheat is poured out on the ground because there isn’t enough room in the silos. How sad it is that we have and can produce so much and yet so many people in the world are going hungry or actually starving to death. The pictures coming out of Sudan and North Korea are stark reminders of desperate situations.