Photo by Catholic Relief Services

The first week of June, I had the privilege of traveling to Zambia in Southern Africa to witness firsthand the life-saving and life-giving work Catholic Relief Services faithfully and joyfully carries out in the name of American Catholics. I am proud to serve on the board of directors of CRS and was deeply moved as I learned more about the work of our humanitarian and development organization of which we all can all be so proud.

CRS, Catholic Relief Services, was established by the USCCB, and is the voice and hands and feet of the U.S. Catholic community. While Catholic Charities provides help here at home, CRS works on our behalf in more than 120 countries around the world offering critical support to the poorest of the poor. It is one of the largest and most respected international nongovernmental relief and development organizations in the world. All of CRS’ work is done in complete conformity with every tenet of our faith and stems from Christ’s call to love. CRS offers its efforts because we are Catholic; we serve the neediest and most vulnerable without regard to religion, gender, color, marital status, sexual orientation or race.

In Zambia, we visited many projects focused on maternal and infant health. Tragically, Zambia has a maternal mortality rate many times higher than what we experience in the U.S. CRS offers training and other assistance to hospitals and medical facilities with a focus on healthy pregnancies and healthy babies. As an example, newly pregnant mothers are taught the importance of protein-rich food for fetal development of their babies’ brains. They are taught to grow protein-dense food products like peanuts to eat while pregnant. Later, the nuts can be pounded into a powder and added to their babies’ oatmeal when they begin eating solid food. This is just one example of how CRS empowers a local community, through education, to make sustainable changes for their health and wellbeing.

Archbishop Gregory J. Hartmayer, OFM Conv., of Atlanta spends time with Zambians during a CRS trip in early June. The organization provides life-saving resources to families there. Photo Courtesy of CRS

CRS has trained several midwives in the area. They learn what signs to look for to address issues in the pregnancy. They urge the pregnant women to come to the clinics for prenatal care so that any issues can be quickly addressed. They also learn methods of safe delivery to maximize the chances of a healthy birth for the expectant mother.

Since these CRS trained midwives have been working in the rural community we visited, the maternal death rate has declined to almost half of what it was before their training. The midwives are now passing on the training they received from CRS to other midwives in neighboring areas. This is a prime example of how the work of CRS builds local capacity and extends positive results beyond the original community served. This is how sustainable change spreads.

CRS has also funded the purchase of a three-wheel vehicle, which was modified to serve as an ambulance, to ensure that pregnant women in distress can be attended to by medical professionals in a timely manner. Public transportation is largely unavailable in the rural areas and none of the women we spoke with owned a bicycle let alone a car. This minimal cost vehicle will be the difference between life and death for many mothers and their babies.

CRS is one of the most efficient and effective organizations in the world. For every dollar donated by U.S. Catholics, 94 cents is spent directly on programs. CRS historically also bids on proposals that the U.S. Agency for International Development, USAID, publishes. Because CRS is such a trusted and efficient partner, it has been successful in securing funding for USAID projects similar to the ones we saw in Zambia. But as I am sure you have heard, USAID has recently been closed and almost all of the worthy life-saving projects it funded, and CRS implemented, with local people, have been abruptly shuttered.

Catholic Relief Services funded a new operating room for women who need C-sections or similar surgical procedures. CRS funds also enabled modification of a three-wheel vehicle to serve as an ambulance. Photo by Archbishop Gregory Hartmayer

This is our moment to act. Now is the time to step up and help fill these gaping holes in funding so that as much as possible of our work can continue. I have heard many arguments that individuals are better able to fund progress than governments. Now is the time to prove that we are people of action and compassion. Please donate generously to CRS so it can continue the mandate of the Gospel: to feed the hungry, care for the sick, walk with the vulnerable and in doing so reveal God’s unending love for each and every person we encounter.

Please donate as much as you are able at CRS.org. Also consider becoming a monthly donor so that CRS has a consistent stream of revenue to invest in the most vulnerable. Monthly giving provides a reliable source of hope for the poorest amongst us.

May God bless you for sharing your resources with those less fortunate than the vast majority of us here in the Archdiocese of Atlanta.