Catholic Relief Services — Going Global with Youth

Volume 6, Issue 2

October 2005

Since its very beginning, the work and programs of CRS have benefited places that are recovering from or are on the edge of violence and war. As stated on our web site, "Over time we learned that the way we do our emergency and development programming helps prevent or transform conflicts. If we ignore conflicts and their underlying causes then our work prolongs the conflict by providing new resources to the warring parties (like food and supplies), or our programs are destroyed in the chaos and violence. If we help our partners address the injustices in their society that cause conflict and facilitate respectful relationships between conflicting parties then our work together builds sustainable peace. "

In the effort to foster a greater commitment to global solidarity and ultimately transform the relationships and conditions throughout the world and in ourselves, CRS upholds the following principles in its efforts toward peacebuilding:

To learn more about CRS Peacebuilding and the many ways you can get involved, be sure to read through this latest issue of Going Global with Youth which focuses on peacebuilding efforts related to Kosovo, the Sudan and Africa, and young people around the world. You can also visit the CRS Peacebuilding web portal by clicking here.

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Announements

2005 Hurricane Response In the aftermath of hurricanes Katrina and Rita, we are painfully reminded of the destruction brought by natural disasters. At CRS, our prayers are with all who are suffering in Louisiana, Mississippi, Texas and throughout the Gulf Coast region. Our gratitude goes to all those who have and continue to respond to those who have suffered greatly. If you would like more information about how you can still help, we encourage you to support the efforts of Catholic Charities USA who is leading the US Catholic community’s response. More information can be obtained through the CRS website by clicking here.

If you would like or need additional prayer resources, you may download the following prayer from CRS by clicking here or from CRS partner, Just Faith Ministries by clicking here.

National Catholic Youth Conference (NCYC) 2005 Winds of Change, the theme for the National Catholic Youth Conference (NCYC) 2005, will take place at the Georgia World Congress Center in Atlanta on October 27-30. These days are filled with celebration, learning, vibrant worship and energetic activities with over twenty thousand young people from all over the country. If you are planning to attend this year's NCYC, please come by and visit the CRS booth which will focus on Fair Trade. For more information about the conference, click here. Volunteers are also needed for the CRS /CCHD exhibit booth. If you would be interested in assisting, contact Ted Miles, Relationship Manager/Religious Education, by phone (410-951-7475) or via email by clicking here.

Fair Trade Chocolate Catholic Relief Services has launched a partnership with A Greater Gift to bring you Divine Chocolate. When you purchase Divine Chocolate, you are empowering cocoa farmers in the Kuapa Kokoo cooperative in Ghana. These farmers handpick the cocoa beans and are directly involved in the business decisions that affect their lives. Learn more about the world's best chocolate products and how you can support the world’s first farmer-owned Fair trade chocolate company in your community by clicking here. You can also visit the CRS booth at the NCYC to get materials on starting a fair trade chocolate fundraiser and to register for free raffle drawings for a case of chocolate.

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Life in the Field

Life in the Field: Youth Bridge the Divide in Mitrovica Mitrovica is the largest ethnically divided city in Kosovo. This city is literally divided by the Ibar river that runs through the center of the town and, since 1999, has separated Serbs living in the north from Albanians living in the south. The high schools are ethnically segregated as well and there is no real opportunity for Serb and Albanian youth to interact. The only area where they can openly meet and freely walk together is the "confidence zone" at the southern end of the main bridge guarded by U.N. peacekeepers and where the UN, CRS and other NGO offices are located.

Mitrovica presents unique possibilities for conflict transformation that, if successful, could have consequences for Kosovo as a whole. Kosovo has Europe's youngest population; the average age is 25. Kosovo's youth no longer want to dwell on ethnic slights that took place hundreds of years ago. They want to plan for tomorrow--where they will live, what they will study after secondary school, how they will earn a living and whether they will ever know the comfort of a real peace.

Since 2001, CRS' multi-ethnic staff has involved youth in peacebuilding projects and activities. Working with student youth councils at nine local high schools, CRS offered trainings on human rights, tolerance, conflict transformation and peacebuilding. In July 2003 during a weeklong workshop with 60 representatives from Mitrovica youth councils, the students founded the City Wide Youth Council (CWYC) and committed themselves to future joint advocacy action on social justice issues such as improved access to public services and respect for other religions.

With funding from the Swiss government in 2004 and in an effort to present Mitrovica to others through their eyes, the CWYC spent 24 hours taking over 900 photos to "show that our city is not just a place of tension and conflict, but it is our home. " The photos are available at the CWYC web site: www.mitrovicacwyc.org.

CWYC is currently implementing "Respect for Other Religions: A Universal Human Standard in Kosovo" with funding from the United States Institute for Peace. The project is designed to build respect for religious observances concerning death, support the rehabilitation of desecrated and neglected cemeteries and promote the freedom to visit the cemeteries by all citizens in Mitrovica.

To learn more about the work of CRS in Kosovo, click here.

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Active Solidarity

Humanitarian Emergency in Darfur, Sudan & Cyber Bridges Humanitarian Emergency in Darfur, Sudan The death toll in the Darfur, Sudan crisis is estimated at 180,000 (UN figures) or even as high as 300,000. More than 2.4 million are homeless, and at least 2.6 million people are affected by the humanitarian emergency in Darfur. The World Health Organization estimates that 10,000 more are dying each month. Malnutrition, malaria and cholera are among the greatest health risks. Equally dangerous is the vast insecurity of the region, with continued attacks on civilians and humanitarian aid operations.

The Archdiocese of Washington, Save Darfur Coalition and Catholic Relief Services have teamed up to renew the call for attention to the Darfur humanitarian situation. Thursday, October 6, 2005 has been designated as Darfur Fast, a day to fast from a meal or luxury good and donate the money saved to relief efforts in Darfur. For information on Darfur fast, visit www.DarfurFast.org.

For more information and to raise awareness about the Darfur, Sudan crisis in your local community, please take advantage of resources provided by these organizations at the following websites: Click here for CRS' Sudan web portal or here for Save Darfur's website.

Cyber Bridges "We bring you the world as it is. Imagine how it could be. "

Cyber Bridges is designed to be a journey of discovery leading to cultural understanding and global youth leadership between selected countries throughout the CRS world and American Catholic secondary schools. Employing information technology as one of the links, youth participants will engage in dialogue, information sharing, collaborative activities, training and projects that work towards a shared vision of social justice and peace. Both youth and educators will develop skills in peacebuilding, conflict transformation, community engagement and cross-cultural communication. Common training events, collaborative project work and face-to-face interactions where feasible will be included. There will be exchanges using discussion forums, newsletters, group activities, common trainings in peacebuilding and collaborative actions. Cyber Bridges will be launched in January with youth centers in Jerusalem and the West Bank and several high schools in the Chicago area. On the drawing board is a connection between the Diocese of Metuchen and the Diocese of Thanjavur in southern India. For information on Cyber Bridges, contact Gloria Peterson-Ayigah, CRS School Linkages Program Officer, by phone (410.951.7412) or via email by clicking here.

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Called to Action

A Call to Conscience and African Oil Speaker Tour Darfur, Sudan: A Call to Conscience This fall, Catholic Relief Services (CRS) is sponsoring a speaker tour on Sudan to raise awareness about the humanitarian crisis in Darfur, western Sudan. Events will be hosted in partnership with Catholic schools, universities and parishes throughout the United States from October 12 until November 3, 2005. Ahmed Nour Elhuda Abbas (Huda), a Sudanese national and CRS staff in Sudan will talk about the crisis in Darfur. Huda helps plan, manage and implement CRS' emergency development programs and spent several months in West Darfur leading registration activities for the World Food Programme's food distribution. Before working with CRS, she spent a number of years with CARE working on the Displaced Persons Project in Western Sudan.

A final calendar will be posted on CRS' web site on October 7, 2005. Other materials concerning Sudan will be made available on the web site during the month of October. For more information, click here.

African Oil Speaker Tour The history of oil and gas exploration, exploitation and transportation activities have been connected with violence, dictatorships and even genocide throughout the world during the past century. In the effort to offer much-needed education and dialogue on this important issue from a unique and often overlooked perspective – the impact on the continent of Africa, Catholic Relief Services (CRS) and the Jesuit Conference (the national office of the Jesuits in the United States) are co-sponsoring an African Oil speaking tour to:

Austin Onuoha from Nigeria and Jesuit Father Antoine Berilengar from Chad will travel to Jesuit Universities across the United States to discuss this compelling issue.

To learn more about this tour, click here.

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Global Thoughts

How Do You Explain? The following poem is written by Saah Charles N'Tow, a peace activist and poet who fled the civil war in his native country in the early 1990's. The poem appears in the CRS-published book: Ballenger, Barbara (ed. ). Prayer Without Borders: Celebrating Global Wisdom. Baltimore, MD: Catholic Relief Services, 2004, (78).

HOW DO YOU EXPLAIN?

How do you explain peace to a child born in war? How do you talk about trust when hatred is all she knows? How do you talk about RIGHTS when WRONGS abound? How do you describe tomorrow, when today is such a mess?

How do you describe joy to an embittered child, a child accustomed to unparalleled horror and hate? How do you describe a home to a child living in war when life in temporary camps is so routine and real?

What do you say about having a family in the midst of chaos, when the family he knows are his abusers and users? When do you tell her about respect and love, when slavery and sex are the reasons she is kept alive?

What do you say about life and its attendant joy, when body counts are the only joys he is taught to share? What do you tell him about school, play and work amidst the heartless carnage and devastation around?

How can you describe trust when trusting no one is a matter of must? What do you say about friendship when the best friend he has is the weapon he carries?

What do you tell her about hope when all her life feels life sliding down a slope? How do you tell her she is a child, a beautiful child, when her beauty and age have brought her so much pain?

How do you talk about peace, joy, hope or love? What do you say about RIGHTS, friendship or family? How do you talk about life, school, play or work?

How do you talk about peace to a child born in war?

For a sampling of quotes by young people affected by war, click here.

To view drawings by children affected by the crisis in Sudan, visit the Human Rights Watch web site by clicking here.

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