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Going Global With Youth: Empowering Women
Volume 7, Issue 7
March 2007
In This Issue:
In the Letter of Pope John Paul II to Women, written 29 June 1995, the Holy Father stated, "Thank you, every woman, for the simple fact of being a woman! Through the insight which is so much a part of your womanhood you enrich the world's understanding and help to make human relations more honest and authentic."
As we commemorate Women's History Month, we invite you to explore with the young people you serve the contributions, insights and giftedness of women throughout the world. Sadly, we struggle with the continued reality that women maintain higher rates of poverty and millions of women throughout the world spend a great deal of time each day collecting water. While rates have improved, women still lag behind men in literacy, and access to education and business opportunity. With the increasing prevalence of trafficking, women in developing nations face great threats to their security.
Despite such obstacles, women persevere and often serve as the foundation of family life and the revitalization of a community. Their stories embody a commitment to the common good. Their commitment to family and children engender hope for a world that truly safeguards the dignity and life of all people. CRS remains committed to its efforts to uphold the dignity of women and foster equality and participation in the effort to serve all who are poor around the world. In this issue and on the CRS website learn more about the principles that guide our work and the capacity-building, relationships and programs instituted on behalf of and with women around the world. An additional resource is Kathy Coffey's Women of Mercy, a compilation of prose and art reflections of women of faith throughout the ages.
As you celebrate Women's History month, remember to listen carefully to the stories of women, learn about their experiences, and celebrate the gift of women throughout history and in our world today.
LIFE IN THE FIELD
Stories of Women: In the effort to more fully share the courage, resilience and hope of women throughout the world, this new section has been added to the Stories & Photos page on the CRS Education website. Stories of women will be posted on a regular basis. The first three stories are listed below:
- More Than a Title: In the village of Chirwa, Niger, Ruga Ibrahim is known simply as Kungiya Mata — the leader of women. Learn more about what this means and the difference that she has made in this small village.
- A Refugee's Point of View: Sharing the Stories of Pakistan: Quhramaan is a former Afghan refugee who has been living in Pakistan since she was just 8 years old. She now works for CRS Pakistan, supporting women in education, business and leadership development. She will be traveling to the Southwest United States to share her story, but you can get a glimpse of her work and experience as a refugee in this interview available for copy and distribution.
- Triplets Thrive in Program Called 'Hope': The word Lusubilo means hope in the Malawian language, Ngonde, and aptly describes the community-based orphan care program sponsored by CRS in Malawi. Read the story of two women who re-discovered hope through the care provided through Lusubilo.
CALLED TO ACTION
Trafficking: One of the greatest threats facing women today, particularly in developing regions of the world, is that of trafficking — the transporting of persons for the purposes of forced prostitution or labor. Help educate young people and encourage prayer, response and action to help victims of trafficking with the resources listed below.
- Coalition of Catholic Organizations Against Human Trafficking
- School Sisters of Notre Dame: Shalom Trafficking Program
- Sisters of Mercy
- STOP Human Trafficking
- Prajwala
Comprehensive Immigration Reform: Contact your Congressional representatives and urge comprehensive immigration reform today. To learn more about this effort, join the CRS legislative network today or contact Tina Rodousakis, Legislative Network Specialist, 1-800-235-2772 x 7462.
ACTIVE SOLIDARITY
Microfinance Lifelines: The 2006 Nobel Peace Prize was awarded to Muhammad Yunus in large part due to his application of micro credit as a means for helping the poor. Microfinance, a system of lending to entrepreneurs too poor to qualify for traditional bank loans, empowers people, transforms individuals and families, and revitalizes communities. It is no secret that such programs have benefited women in particular. Over three-quarters of the more than one million individuals in CRS microfinance programs are women. Learn more about CRS microfinance programs and help foster increased awareness about this vital development tool through the stories that have unfolded through the work of CRS.
Help Women Through Fair Trade: Crafts from all over the world are available through the CRS Work of Human Hands Catalog. You also might consider supporting the Salvadoran Enterprises for Women — a non-profit organization initially funded by the Baltimore Province of the School Sisters of Notre Dame and that seeks to empower women in El Salvador.
GLOBAL THOUGHTS
(The following prayer is taken from Ballenger, B. Prayer without Border: Celebrating Global Wisdom. Baltimore, MD: Catholic Relief Services, 2004, p. 32. You can order your own copy of this prayer resource from CRS. A PowerPoint slide meditation is also available for download through the CRS Food Fast website.)
In My Prayer Attique Swati, Pakistan
In my prayer, make me a baby girl who when born is considered to be a burden or curse on the family — That I may know what it is to feel unwanted.
In my prayer, make a girl whose brothers are the only ones sent to school — That I may understand: before our Creator we are equal, still one is deprived.
In my prayer, make me a young girl who is not married — That I may know the fear of how property will hinder my choice for marriage.
In my prayer, make me a young girl married in a family exchange — That I may experience how miserable it is to marry a person of double or triple my age.
In my prayer, make me a widow who has no source of earning — That I may understand without any source of income, how can I bring sweets for my children!
In my fast, make me an empty bowl — That you may fill the hollow space in me with love.
In my almsgiving, make me a grain of rice — That in the company of others, my gifts may feed a starving world.
O our Lord, give me strength — That I can share the sadness of my fellow beings And bring a light of hope for them.
Amen!
MEDIA WATCH
World Water Day: March 22 marks in the International World Water Day, commemorated to help provide awareness and education about the scarcity of water. Earlier this year, in partnership with the National Council of Catholic Women, CRS released an educational DVD, Water for Life, suitable for high school and adult audiences. You can order a copy and download a study guide on the CRS Education website.