President's Blog

In this second guest post by Episcopal Relief & Development Volunteer Network members, Judy Quick, Coordinator for the Diocese of Alabama, reflects on her experience at the recent annual meeting in Belize.

“We all are one in mission, we all are one in call,
Our varied gifts united by Christ, the Lord of all….”

The first verse of the opening Eucharist hymn at St. John’s Cathedral, Belize City, set the tone for our Episcopal Relief & Development Network Meeting 2010. This was the first gathering of Diocesan Coordinators held abroad—and what a joyous, meaningful time we shared together. The Rt. Rev. Robert J. O’Neill (Board Chair of Episcopal Relief & Development) challenged us to reflect on the question, “Who are you really?” As Coordinators, we are called to represent the work of Episcopal Relief & Development in our dioceses, and this experience energized our mission.

Imagine a tiny country in Central America, the only one with English as the official language, whose shores are soothed by the Caribbean and whose heart is as big as the ocean. What a warm welcome we received from the Rt. Rev. Philip Wright, Bishop of Belize, and from all of our new Belizean friends!

We were able to witness how, through its partnership with the Anglican Church of Belize, Episcopal Relief & Development has implemented some amazing programs such as education initiatives in the Anglican schools and micro-enterprise projects to help lift individuals out of poverty.

“Choose your Road—to Death or Life.” Wow! When I first saw this billboard, my eyes couldn’t leave it. In a contest sponsored by Episcopal Relief & Development and the diocese, children designed the message to warn of the dangers of irresponsible choices that could lead to HIV/AIDS.

We visited Anglican schools that have implemented an HIV/AIDS education program (addressing Millennium Development Goal [MDG] 6) at the elementary level—because giving the message to teenagers was deemed too late. Smiles filled the faces of these children. In spite of the challenging circumstances in many of their lives, they relish learning. There is much more work to be done, and the BELSEN (Belize Social Empowerment Network) is working with the Anglican Communion, youth and parents to reinforce responsible choices with a variety of education programs and support systems.

The Episcopal Relief & Development Anglican Diocese of Belize Social Fund is collaborating with BEST (Belize Enterprise for Sustainable Technology) to provide low-interest loans for micro-enterprises. We visited three of these businesses.

Julia, an immigrant from war-torn El Salvador, has received two loans to launch and expand her farm, which now includes a small tilapia pond, some cattle, a variety of vegetables (we saw tomatoes and corn), and a greenhouse, which produces organic peppers. Her family helps her manage the growing agricultural business, while she directs it. Her dedication and hard work led to her being awarded as the Female Farmer of the Year for 2010.

Allan is a wood craftsman, a skilled artist who creates beautiful pieces—bowls, crosses, birds and ducks—for enjoyment and practical use. A native of Belize, Allan had to raise his children alone after the death of his wife. The loans helped him purchase wood carving equipment and he now has hired helpers for his business. Allan sells his creations at the Tourist Village and the Altun Ha archeological site. You can be sure the Diocesan Coordinators supported his business with gusto!

Cherry, the third business owner, used her loan to expand her roadside convenience stand and grocery store to serve the needs of her village. These micro-enterprises are perfect examples of how Episcopal Relief & Development programs work to reach the MDGs, including MDG 1 (Eradicate Extreme Poverty), 3 (Promote Gender Equality and Empower Women) and 8 (Develop a Global Partnership for Development).

In our meetings, we also learned about Episcopal Relief & Development’s USA disaster preparedness program, the new NetsforLife® Inspiration Fund Campaign and how we can engage more parishes to get excited about the organization’s work.

A celebration at our closing meal together reminded us of the rich heritage of Belize, whose culture blends Mayan, African, Indian and European (English and Spanish) traditions into a beautiful tapestry of song, dance, cuisine and spirit. We each received a wooden cross, carved with “God is love,” made from beams of St. John’s Cathedral whose wood came from the United States. Yes, how true—we are one in mission, united by Christ’s love. May the spirit of Christ’s love continue inspiring us as we go forth to tell the Good News of His work, carried out through the loving hands of Episcopal Relief & Development and partners like the Anglican Diocese of Belize.

Mothers' Union members in Zambia help launch Episcopal Relief & Development's NetsforLife® program partnership to fight malaria. Photo courtesy of Harvey Wang.

As Mother’s Day approaches, I am inspired to share the story of a group of women who I believe are unsung heroes—or as the women in our office would say, “she-roes”—in the fight against hunger.

The Mothers’ Union is an Anglican organization begun in Britain in 1876 by Mary Sumner. Inspired by the birth of her daughter’s first child, Mary established a society based on prayer that would support women with their responsibilities as mothers. Over the next few decades, Mary’s connections in the Anglican Communion led to the rapid spread of Mothers’ Union branches nationally, across Britain and abroad. As branches multiplied globally, members became increasingly aware of the needs of families in developing countries. In 1936, the first funds were granted to address those needs through international development work. Today, the Mothers’ Union has 3.6 million members worldwide, most of whom live in developing countries.

When most people in the U.S. think about fighting hunger, they picture the United Nations or large international charities going into developing countries with shiploads of food. They probably have never heard of the Mothers’ Union. Yet this organization’s ongoing presence worldwide—indeed, as part of the very fabric of communities—is a major force in reducing poverty. Its quiet and diligent work is enabling women to help themselves and their families, which is vital in order to ensure truly sustainable development.

Episcopal Relief & Development is privileged to partner with Mothers’ Union branches in a number of countries. This partnership supports women in a number of ways: teaching sustainable farming techniques to help them improve their food supply; making loans for the purchase of goats, chickens or other farm animals to enable them to increase their income; providing nets and training to prevent malaria and keep families healthy; and more.

This partnership has made a world of difference for Bertha and her husband, who live in Blantyre, the commercial capital of Malawi. The couple cares for ten children, five of their own and five who lost their parents to HIV/AIDS. Bertha and her husband struggled to feed, clothe and school their large family on a modest income.

Each week, Bertha attends local Mothers’ Union meetings. Many of her fellow members face challenges similar to hers, and the women follow their weekly Bible study with candid discussion about the issues affecting their families. Through these meetings, the Mothers’ Union group came to a decision to ask for help. Working in partnership with Episcopal Relief & Development, they began receiving training in farming methods suited to the local terrain.

Bertha used her training to transform her family’s steep, rocky yard into a productive garden. She learned to terrace and mulch the garden, and began composting household waste for fertilizer. She also has been rotating her planting to improve the soil’s fertility. Bertha’s newfound knowledge of farming has made an incredible difference for her family. She now grows enough maize and vegetables to feed the entire family—with surplus left over to sell at the market. The extra income helps her pay for the children’s school fees. The couple no longer struggle to care for the family. And Bertha is an inspiration to other Mothers’ Union members and neighbors, who are learning from her example.

This Sunday, as you think about and spend time with your own mother or other special women in your life, please remember to pray for mothers like Bertha who are in need. And pray for the Mothers’ Union as they continue strengthening and empowering women around the world to care for their families and communities.

Happy Mother’s Day!

Last month when I was in northern Ghana, I visited about six different villages to assess our programs and to learn about some of the challenges facing the communities where we are working in partnership with the Anglican Diocesan Development and Relief Agency (ADDRO).

After one has been on a few of these village visits, which are usually very moving, one quickly discerns what I might call the “Liturgy of the Village Visit.”  First one arrives and the village is called together to greet you.  There is usually a short introduction of some of the projects and challenges and then one sets off on a tour of the village.  Generally one is accompanied by a large crowd as one makes one’s way from hut to hut meeting the people, the children and talking with them about their lives.  The particular villages that I was visiting on this trip are participating in the NetsforLife® program and so we were learning about the challenge that malaria poses to families with young children and pregnant women.  Virtually every family that we visited had lost a child to malaria and so the NetsforLife® program is making a huge impact here.

Once the “walk about” is complete, one usually is offered the seat of honor (often the only chair in the village) at a “durbar” which is a gathering of all the people in the village and their elders and chief.  The people of the village put on a performance of their malaria education play–which generally stars the local village hams and gets a lot of laughs.  Drama is a critical way to teach people about malaria and how to prevent it.

Then follows a few heart-felt testimonials about how NetsforLife® has changed and transformed life in the community.  Always there is dancing.  Once everyone has had a chance to show off their dancing talents and encourage the foreign visitors to dance, things generally wrap up with a few brief remarks of thanks from the villagers.

In the last village visit I made, I had just delivered my formal remarks of thanks and greetings from the Episcopal Church and I was gathering up my hat and camera to make my way to the vehicle to leave.  At that point the village headman came forward to say that he had a presentation to make to me on behalf of the entire village.  I was a bit taken aback.  This was definitely not in the “Liturgy of the Village Visit” that I had experienced previously.

As I sat down, the headman said that although they had a gift to give to me they were very embarrassed as it was such a small and poor gift.  He told me that they had wanted to give me an elephant as a gesture of thanks as that was the grandest gift they could imagine presenting to show how important the malaria nets were to their community.  However, they were too poor to give me an elephant.   (I was trying to imagine what I was going to do with an elephant!)

Instead all of the family heads of the village had met that morning to discuss what would be the most valuable thing that they could give me to show their gratitude for all that had happened in their village as a result of the net distribution.  They had decided to collect all of the eggs laid that day and present them to me in a bowl. 

He explained that the eggs represented the entire village’s wealth for that day and while it wasn’t very much, it was everything they had.  They had painted the bowl in vibrant colors and included a picture of a flower growing out of a pot of soil.  He told me that the flower represented the abundant life which the Episcopal Church and NetsforLife® had brought to their village.  He asked that I bring the bowl back to the United States and show it as a sign and symbol of their love for us and our partnership.

Last week I returned from visiting Episcopal Relief & Development and NetsforLife® programs in northern Ghana. Now I remember why I do this work!

In each village the elders and the women gathered to tell us their stories of lives transformed.

Atewini struck me as an elegant and dignified woman, as she stepped to the microphone.

She told me that she was embarrassed that she couldn’t speak English and that she hadn’t finished school. But that she wanted me to understand how her life had changed since becoming part of the women’s empowerment program under the auspices of ADDRO (Anglican Diocesan Development and Relief Organization), our partner in the Diocese of Tamale.

Atewini’s first step was to take out a small loan (less than $100) that allowed her to set up a business to parboil rice that she was able to sell to her fellow villagers. With the profit she made from this business, she was able to buy some farm animals, including some goats, a pig and a cow.

Once the goats had multiplied under her careful husbandry, she sold a few of them to put her children in school. They excelled—they were no longer hungry and could devote time to their studies.

Atewini told me with pride that her eldest child is now attending university and the other is in secondary school.

She is rightly and fiercely proud of what she has been able to accomplish for herself and her family. Her children are now fulfilling and indeed exceeding the dream that she had for herself.

Such wonderful things can be done with so little.

Gift giving at Easter is tricky business. Many times those lovely little chicks and bunny rabbits that make it into Easter baskets don’t work out as intended. Living as I do, in a New York City apartment, they are out of the question for my family, my daughter’s pleadings notwithstanding. Hopefully this year I can once again get away with a basket of nice soaps and shampoos.

There is another alternative, of which I was reminded by a priest from North Carolina who sent me a copy of a letter from a young member of his parish. It reads as follows:

Dear Father Roger,

I saw a goat in the Episcopal Relief & Development book (Gifts for Life catalog). I ordered the goat for you and me. Maybe the goat will go to Haiti. The hungry people can get milk and cheese from a goat. They will be excited!!! We will call her Faith, like in Jesus.

Love,

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