When Allison met Allison

By Allison Kline, student at Missouri State University

My mission awareness trip to Costa Rica was one of the most unique experiences of my life. I got the chance to practice my Spanish and meet my sponsored child, Allison.

Before my trip to Costa Rica, I had never left the United States, so I didn't really know what to expect. I have studied Spanish in school for the past six years, but I had never spoken it outside the classroom. But, on my first day in Costa Rica, that changed.

My mom, who works in communications for CFCA, was taking pictures of families at the La Estrella subproject, and she needed to tell them that the pictures she was taking were for CFCA. She asked me to tell the parents what the pictures were for, using my Spanish. I was really nervous, but surprisingly, they could understand me, and they seemed happy that I communicated with them in their own language.

The highlight of my trip was the day that the sponsors and sponsored children got to spend together. We spent the whole day at a beautiful park area playing games and getting to know the kids. Allison, who is 7, really enjoyed jumping on the trampoline that was set up. She would have spent the whole day jumping if she could.

I taught her how to use my digital camera and showed her how to look at the pictures she'd taken. She caught on quickly, and she took a bunch of pictures of the children and their sponsors playing and having a good time. My mom and I really enjoyed spending the day with Allison. She was quiet, but the whole day she had a big smile on her face.

The next day, my mom and I went with three social promoters and a translator to visit Allison’s house. When we got to their neighborhood, we had to climb up a muddy hill that the promoters told us was almost impossible to climb during the rainy season. We could imagine that: we were having problems climbing it in the dry weather.

Allison's house was made of tin and had cardboard walls. Seeing the house was sad, but it made me happy when we walked inside and saw Allison and her older brother and sister coloring with the coloring books and colored pencils we brought them. Allison's mom showed us Allison’s school notebooks filled with her schoolwork, and we got to see some of the food benefits and the bunk beds that the family received from CFCA.

Going to Costa Rica was one of the best experiences of my life, and I especially enjoyed getting to know Allison and her family. A mission awareness trip is a really eye-opening experience, and I'm glad I got the opportunity to participate in one.
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House building is the 'party' on this spring break

This year for spring break alternative, 17 students from Benedictine College in Atchison, Kan., traveled to El Salvador to build two houses for CFCA sponsored members Ines, 88, and Yesenia, 7, and her family. By working eight to nine hours a day, the students were able to complete their goal, plus build a latrine and half of a third house (which was completed two days later by the two men who helped the students with the construction). The third house was built for sponsored member Raymunda, 84.

Below, students Catie Kneemiller and Holly Lancaster share some reflections about their time in El Salvador.

Related links:
Watch a short video about Ines and Raymunda
View a slideshow created by Denise Whelan, one of the Benedictine students


Day 1 (by Catie)
Today was absolutely incredible. This afternoon we left for the work sites and got to actually see El Salvador in the daylight. There is so much hope and such a sense of community here. They really do depend on each other. In the U.S., many times we do not connect with our neighbors. Here they rely on and depend on their neighbors for basic needs. So many times we don't want to have to rely on others, but we were made to support and build each other up, and those who we are serving today are living that out. They know what it truly means to give of yourself so that others may live. They are able to find joy without needing material things, and just knowing that they have their community and are loved by the people in that community. Their community is what makes them strong, which is so amazing to see and learn from.

Day 2 (by Catie)
We definitely worked hard today. Our group leveled the ground for the house, built the frame and put it up. All of these tasks are easier said than done. The wood had to be cut certain lengths for the frames, and the ground was nowhere near level. It made me realize how much work ethic they have. I have also come to see how strong the people here are. They live in such poverty, but I never hear them complain. They are so grateful for everything they have, and for everything we are doing for them. The majority of Americans are not that grateful, and we take so much for granted. Even in the work today, I realized how much we take power tools for granted. Here they make the most with what they have. I am learning so much from them, and I know that I have not even begun to get it all.

Day 3 (by Holly)
Wow! What a great feeling it is to come back, after a long day, and have your hands full of dirt and sealer! I seriously had a BLAST today, and it was so fulfilling.

We got to the site this morning after breakfast and prayer and started to put up the sheet metal on the sides and roof of the house. In the afternoon, Steve, Catie and I put up the window and the door. How great of a team we all were, and everyone did a great job. Our work seemed to fly by, and although most of us had a few scrapes and cuts and bruises, we still got our job done and kept up the enthusiasm.

We had a really good breakthrough with Oscar, a neighborhood boy, and some of the other people living in the area. Marty had a soccer ball, and they were kicking that back and forth for a bit, and then we brought out the bubbles, and the excitement on Oscar's face was indescribable. Even the other little kids were so excited. We asked Ines and her friend if they wanted to blow bubbles. It was so cute and so great to watch their interaction with the bubbles, us and each other. I really believe that they trust us now and are glad we are there. We had some neighbors stop by to look at the house as the day was ending, and it was so nice to see their community together. It really makes me want that in my life—a community full of love, support, laughter, and to take nothing for granted.

Day 4 (by Catie)
I absolutely love all of this! Today we worked on a bunch of different projects, finishing up little things on the house, built a latrine, an oven and worked on Raymunda's house. It is awesome to see how we work together, yet apart. It's amazing how much people can accomplish when they put their minds to it. In working on the neighbor’s house, the construction workers realized it was going to collapse soon. As a group we decided to work all day tomorrow and work on starting to build her a new house. I absolutely love our group.

Day 5 (by Catie)
Today was probably the hardest day yet. We tore down Raymunda's house and began to build a new one, while finishing up last-minute stuff on the other two houses. I didn’t realize how attached I had become to this place, until I realized I wasn't going to be back. There is such a great love here that I have yet to find anywhere else. Mass was also awesome today. It really struck me how we are a universal church. It is something we hear all the time, but I don’t think we can fully understand it until we see it with our own eyes. I absolutely love how no matter where you go in the world, you are going to understand what is going on in the Mass. Leaving today was so difficult. My heart is here with these people. Just because we leave doesn't mean their poverty goes away, doesn't make everything suddenly better. When we leave, they will still be here, still living in the same poverty. I don't think one can fully understand poverty until they see it for themselves. I know my life is going to be different because of this trip. I just have yet to figure out how so.
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Touching hearts by way of feet

By Father Mike Rieder, chaplain at Mercy-McGann High School in New York and CFCA preacher

A group of students and I are going on a special mission awareness trip in August to El Salvador. We plan to help build a house in a small Salvadoran community, so we want to raise money to cover the costs, but we want the activity to be meaningful.

We have a "walk with the poor" bulletin board with the footprints of the students who are going on the trip. On Ash Wednesday, we invited all the students to join us in our walk by letting us serve them. We worked in the cafeteria shining shoes as a sign of solidarity with children who have to work instead of going to school. Each person who got their shoes shined put their name on a little footprint that is now on that same bulletin board. This way, they are walking with us when we go to El Salvador.

The coolest part of the day was that a lot of kids wanted to join in the action. Students at the junior high want to keep shining shoes, and some are talking about doing it in their parishes. We have a little way to go to raise all the money we want to raise, but hearts are being touched (by way of feet!).
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Notes from the Field #5 - Guatemala

Chris Palmer, CFCA mission awareness trip coordinator, talks about walking with the poor. During a recent trip to the CFCA project in San Lucas Toliman, Guatemala, Palmer spoke with CFCA board member emeritus Msgr. Greg Schaffer who spoke a simple truth, that we are not trying to “fix” the poor; the poor are not broken.








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Zamboanga documentary preview: You are invited!

We invite you to see our trailer of Zamboanga: Poverty War Music, the first CFCA-produced feature-length documentary. Filmmaker John Nosack has created an initial trailer that gives a beautiful overview of the story.

The film chronicles the journey of 13 teenagers who learn to play traditional Filipino musical instruments and end up as the headlining act at a five-hour concert in the middle of the jungle. The triumph of the teens’ performance is inspiring. But the triumph of the teens and their families in their everyday life will change your view of people living in poverty.

The five-minute trailer is on the film Web site at www.zamboangathemovie.com. Please take a look, let us know what you think and, while you’re there, sign up for Zamboanga e-news to receive film updates and alerts.

Currently: John is finishing the edit. We expect it to be done by the beginning of summer. We’ll keep you in the loop through this blog, the Zamboanga Web site and Zamboanga e-news.

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A reward beyond measure

By Miro Heyink

Miro Heyink arrived in the United States from Germany 10 months ago after graduating from high school. He came to volunteer at Shalom Catholic Worker House, a homeless shelter in Kansas City, Kan. and to learn about the country, culture and the English language. After hearing about CFCA from a friend who works there, Miro got an internship and learned more than he expected.

Here I am at CFCA working with beautiful, like-minded people who believe that we can make a difference in the world through compassion. It seems as if everyone here has been in a developing country, built relations with the poorest of the poor and made it their responsibility to change something.

I work in the child services department and most of the time I help update records and scan photos of children and elderly from 25 countries. By reading their stories and seeing their faces, their lives become part of mine. I care and pray for them, and when I hear that a child or a child’s parent dies, it strikes me just as if it happened in my own neighborhood. That thousands of children die from hunger everyday is not something I can ignore anymore, just like I can’t pretend there are no homeless in my city.

I was inspired when I learned about Walk with the Poor (WWTP), a youth movement started by CFCA. Students like me have financial aid and scholarships and often times, it is taken for granted. A lot of people our age in developing countries don’t have that aid and by joining the movement, we can enable others to achieve their full potential. Wherever I go, I tell people about WWTP and CFCA to hopefully inspire them the way I was.

Because of my experience working here, I decided that I want to go to college to further my education and become a part of the solution as a teacher. I realized that education can be the tool to break the cycle of poverty. Understanding that education in developing countries means supporting siblings, a meal for the day and a greater future for the entire family, made me choose my career path as a teacher for the neediest of society. I want to teach the poor to give them the tools to lift themselves out of poverty.

No matter where life leads me, I will work for social justice because I’ve learned at Shalom House and CFCA that we can make a difference and “gently shake the world”. We can volunteer in our local area, join student organizations, sponsor children, raise money for scholarship funds or help one WWTP student finish school and make a huge impact in their communities. Whatever we choose to do, once we decide to become part of the solution, nothing can stop us, because I have found that working for justice is rewarding beyond measure.
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Students' pottery helps WWTP student finish school

By Matthew Ryan, Rockhurst High School student and RHS Justice League member

When visiting the Walk with the Poor Web site, it becomes very evident that so many people need help in this world. The poverty, malnourishment and oppression of so many of my fellow brothers and sisters lead to sadness and grief. CFCA believes one of the best ways to counter these problems is through education. They understand that education is the root of most successes, and education plants a seed of hope. Without education, there is very little one can accomplish. With it, endless opportunities exist. Those opportunities and hopes can be witnessed in the eyes of every student sponsored by CFCA.

The Justice League at Rockhurst High School in Kansas City, Mo., believes in the message of CFCA. As a Justice League member, I am proud to say that we sponsored a child, Peter, from Kenya. Peter lives in extreme poverty, but with the strength and will of a handful of teenagers, we are able to support Peter and help him overcome his difficulties. We understand that the dignity of God is in all people. Peter deserves just as many opportunities as we have been given.

We raise our money for Peter through fair-trade coffee. Almost weekly, the Justice League serves fair trade coffee in the commons to all students. We accept donations. The money raised goes on to fund Peter. For two days before Christmas Break, we conduct a Fair Trade Fair. Under the motto “Christmas with a Conscience,” we invite local fair-trade stores to set up tables in the commons, where students can come and purchase their Christmas presents. The fair is a smashing success. This year, some of our fellow classmates were kind enough to sell their handmade pottery. With the proceeds, we were able to sponsor Aileen, a student from the Philippines.

Our mission is simple, and so is our means of accomplishing it. We wish to help one child at a time. We wish to give Peter and Aileen an opportunity to succeed, and we, like CFCA, believe that opportunity is through the hope of education. We do it by selling coffee and pottery. Yes, the poverty in this world is complex and difficult to overcome, but by simple means we are able to take one step in the right direction.


Ed. note: The Fair Trade Fair was held Dec. 9-10, 2008 at Rockhurst High School.
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