Going Global With Youth

Volume 6, Issue 4

December 2005

A year ago, December 26, 2004, the Asian Tsunami took the lives of nearly a quarter million people and dramatically changed the lives of millions more. In the year that followed, the world witnessed an array and scope of natural disasters seemingly unparalleled in their combined devastation and subsequent challenge to all nations to unite in response. And yet amidst the despair, confusion and extraordinary loss, prophetic voices proclaimed, "Rejoice! For God is still with us!" Just as we celebrate the coming of Christ at Christmas, we find that Christ already came in the abundant outpouring of love and generosity. Christ came through the courage in the face of brokenness, dialogue amidst the complexity of relationships, and solidarity inspired by compassion and empathy. Christ continues to come in our HOPE for a world restored.

When considering the events of the past year, there is no wonder many cling to HOPE this Advent and Christmas season. Indeed, HOPE can be elusive. To hold on to HOPE, it requires of us a willingness to embrace all of the journey - the struggles, the pain, the zigzags, the uncertainties. It also requires us to live in these moments with expectation of the possibilities, the potential, the joy, the resurrection - to live with the knowledge that grace is at work! This seems to be the preparation of Advent! And the journey of Advent mirrors the lifelong journey towards HOPE. the HOPE that arrived in the person of Jesus . the HOPE that says "I am with you! I will never leave you!"

When you look at the life of Jesus, clearly this HOPE does not result from the cheery optimism of clichés or easy answers to life's struggles. It does not guarantee a smooth ride without loneliness and pain. Nor does it always lead us to reconcile the present disappointment of life with what should be. But this HOPE is the fulfillment of a promise that God is always with us in whatever happens. This HOPE instills a sense of peace with true expectancy for a future of justice. This HOPE reminds us that in spite of our restlessness - our mingling of hope and fear, our uncertainty about whether or not we can take a next step - that God continually invites us until we are no longer reluctant, doubtful or scared. It is HOPE that reminds us it never too late to start on the journey. It is HOPE that is born more in the daily insights and small epiphanies of our lives. And it is HOPE that strangely enough, still comes - even if we are unaware of it - just as the Christ child still comes. HOPE comes and "will not disappoint (Rom 5:5).

One of our 20th century prophets, Henri Nouwen, once wrote. "To watch for Christ in the world is to see that the Spirit in us recognizes the Spirit among us!" When we watch, when we listen more carefully to the world around us, when we act and choose to live in solidarity with others, God captures our hearts and invites us into true communion. And we know, God still comes along us - Emmanuel!

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Announements

Regional Offices Catholic Relief Services announces the opening of its regional offices. A new section will be featured in Going Global With Youth that highlights regional information.

Advent Resources In Advent, we are called to create a home for Christ within ourselves and within our parish communities. While the Advent season is well under way, resources are still available that may help you pray during this season with a global perspective. For Advent Resources available through the Catholic Campaign Against Global Poverty, click here.

Frontiers of Justice 2006 In partnership with the National Catholic Educational Association (NCEA) Secondary Schools department, CRS offers an experience of global solidarity for a small group of Catholic high school teachers each summer. The 2006 Frontiers of Justice Delegation will connect with CRS' overseas work in Kosovo by visiting development projects, meeting with staff, partners and educators, and learning about the unique efforts that characterize the mission and work in Kosovo. The FOJ experience will include time for prayer, reflection on Catholic Social Teaching and discernment about how the experience can enhance one's educational ministry. If you are a high school teacher or administrator and interested in joining the 2006 FOJ trip, you must submit your application by January 4, 2006. For more information or to obtain an application, click here.

Catholic Social Ministry Gathering 2006 This year's annual Catholic Social Ministry Gathering, "Bringing Good News to a Broken World," gathers social ministry leadership throughout the nation for a conference that features challenging speakers, solid workshops, liturgical celebrations, strategy sessions and visits to Capitol Hill in Washington, DC. For more information on this event, click here or to register, click here or call 800/937-8728.

Work of Human Hands In the midst of our Christmas preparations, let us remember our brothers and sisters beyond our borders. We can impact their lives by exercising Fair Trade practices in our shopping. The Work of Human Hands Catalog contains beautifully designed crafts from merchants around the world who participate in CRS' microfinance programs. A Work of Human Hands Gift will shine under a Christmas Tree and bring happiness to global artisans. For more information, call 800/685-7572 or click here.

New Food Fast Materials The 2006 Food Fast Coordinator's Manuals and Videos are now available. Food Fast provides an experience of faith and education that inspires youth to live in solidarity with our brothers and sisters around the world who live in hunger and poverty. It is the only hunger experience program that is based on the principles of Catholic Social Teaching. To order free materials and to learn more about how you can sponsor this 24-hour retreat program in your parish or school, click here.

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Life in the Field

A Story of Hope and Renewal in Banda Aceh On the morning of December 26, 2004, the Kesehatan Blang Padang clinic in Banda Aceh, Indonesia lost 11 employees-including its director-in the aftermath of the earthquake and tsunami that struck just off the coast. More went missing.

By the end of the day, the familiar red and white building located on Prof. A. Madjid Ibrahim road in the center of Banda Aceh, which had once served an average of 300 patients per day with medical and dental services, was saturated with water and mud, crammed full of debris picked up by the ocean and washed into its waiting rooms. Much of its equipment and supplies had been damaged or destroyed. Portions of the interior-windows, wires, pieces of the ceilings and walls-were barely hanging on. Nevertheless, the clinic accomplished a remarkable feat that day: It survived.

Catholic Relief Services' (CRS) involvement with the clinic . . . (To read the complete story, click here. For additional stories of hope and renewal, click here.

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Active Solidarity

Resources to Help Young People Cope with and Respond to Natural Disasters Aside from emotional pain and loss, natural disasters elicit confusion, fear and doubt in young people. Whether they have experienced a natural disaster personally, witnessed the event through the news or discussed it with peers or adults, young people are searching to make sense of such devastation, particularly from a faith perspective. In our roles as parents, teachers, youth ministers, caregivers, etc. , we must be willing to be with, listen to, pray with and offer hope to young people in their struggle to make sense of what they see and hear. Just as important is the need to mentor young people toward a compassionate understanding of the experience of those who suffer and toward hopeful action and response for those who suffer. Numerous resources are available that foster such hope and solidarity.

CRS has created a prayer service that commemorates the natural disasters of the past year. You might consider using this around the one-year anniversary of the Tsunami. Click here to obtain the leader's guide; click here to obtain the participant's sheet.

For updates on the Pakistan earthquake and opportunities to help CRS in its response, click here.

To obtain a DVD presentation, "Rebuilding after the Tsunami: A Photo Meditation to Thank Our One Human Family," and to be linked to the CRS Tsunami web portal, click here.

To learn about a multitude of other resources on the Tsunami designed with young people in mind, visit the site for the National Federation for Catholic Youth Ministry by clicking here.

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Called to Action

Catholic Campaign Against Global Poverty Natural disasters, as those experienced throughout our world this past year, are most devastating to poor people. In industrialized nations, the poor often lack the safety nets that foster complete recovery beyond those provided by governments and emergency relief efforts. In developing nations, years of economic and social development can be erased in a matter of days or minutes. Massive casualties are not uncommon because of these nations' reduced capacity to provide warning signs or to respond effectively. Moreover, it is not uncommon that such disasters exacerbate already existing problems associated with poverty, war, disease, hunger, etc.

While no one can deny the value of the generosity and outpouring of relief aid for those who suffered this past year, we must also continue to work against the causes of poverty that deprive so many of our brothers and sisters around the world a quality of life that supports and enhances human dignity. Our faith calls us to respond not only through charity and relief, but also through advocacy and social change. Click here to learn more about advocating for US policies that foster social and economic development for people living in poverty throughout the world and join the efforts of the Catholic Campaign Against Global Poverty sponsored by the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops and Catholic Relief Services. Special areas of focus include trade, aid and debt elimination.

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Global Thoughts

Play House for Children The Tsunami left emotional scars on children that may easily last a lifetime. To add to the difficulty for children, many were forced to "grow up" rather quickly in the months following as dead were buried and the work for reconstruction begun. It has been evident all along that if healing is to take place among children, opportunities that allow them simply to be children and to be with other children are imperative.

In response to this need, a unique initiative was established in the relief camps and settlements in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands. Activity centers, so named by the children as "bacchhon ka khel ghar" or "play house for children," were piloted in order to provide for children a haven, a place where they were safe and that they could come together and be children. Toys, games, books, art materials and the like were provided. Older youth from the same communities were trained as leaders to engage children in games and songs; adults are present merely to supervise. Yet, for all involved, the play houses for children seem to help in the healing because, for a little while, it removes the reminders of the devastation of the Tsunami.

Earlier in the year, a team from Play for Peace (link to http://www.playforpeace.org/) conducted an extensive training for the youth volunteers in order to help them facilitate games and activities that would benefit children. In the debriefing process that followed the training, participants were allowed to express challenges and joys as experienced in their work with the children and since the Tsunami. The sampling of quotes that follows provides insight into the lives, compassion and hope of some extraordinary young people as they reflect on their training and initial experiences with children.

In the beginning I was wondering where I have come. afterwards it was great. I can control my anger now. be a child when with child. I want to go to every school, every camp & play! ~ B. Ganpathy Rao, F/Gunj.

I have changed. now I think of myself as a child. I was so scared with the thought of conducting a play session.but they had come from so far off to teach us so much.I gathered courage.I feel the difference in me. it was so nice to play with children. . . ~ Reshma, 22 years, Baratang.

It was as if the child inside me was alive. and something was changing within. I got the joy that I had missed in my childhood. both physical & mental growth is possible through these games. I would definitely play with children. . .

~ Vishal, 17 years, B-Flat

To read more quotes from children, click here.

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CRS Region News

Catholic Relief Services upholds a vision that "Solidarity will transform the world," placing priority on relationships between the United States Catholic community and people overseas. In the effort to help US Catholics live in solidarity with others and to more fully express their faith with a global perspective, CRS has established four of five regional offices across the United States. The regional offices will bring a broader range of opportunities for engagement to dioceses, institutions and faith-based groups on a regional basis. The links below provide contact information for each regional office and highlight youth- related events and information within each region.

Click here for CRS Regional Office Contacts in the Midwest, Northeast, Southwest and West.

CRS West Learn more about two speaker tours sponsored by the CRS West office.

CRS Northeast

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