the CRS Campus Connection
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Going Global With Youth: Water for Life
Volume 7, Issue 8
April 2007
In This Issue:
Water for Life
It is no secret that our global community is at a crossroads with respect to the decisions and actions we make on behalf of the environment. News reports on global climate change often chime the warnings of doom. The recent call for attention to changing weather patterns or melting polar caps is often underscored by a heightened sense of urgency.
One simply needs to further study various environmental issues, and often the alarming statistics validate the concern. For instance, examining water, as we invite you to do in this issue, we discover that most people know that 75% of the world's surface is covered by water, but few people know only 2.5% of that is freshwater. 75% of the freshwater is in the ice caps leaving humans with less than 1% of the world's water to use for drinking, washing, irrigation and manufacturing. Water is not necessarily renewable at the rate of human consumption; thus, water use exceeds available quantity, making it a scarce resource. The United Nations Water Department reported in 2006 that almost 20% of the world's population lack access to safe, potable water. The UN observes this water scarcity is due to failed local, national and global water policy, lack of good water management and lack of prioritized water resource development, all of which have negatively affected entire geographic regions.
The good news: there is a new and distinctive faith-filled voice raising awareness that environmental stewardship is a human responsibility, our responsibility. Catholic spirituality and social thought place the human person in a unique position in the larger web of life: as caretakers, stewards, "keepers of creation" (if you examine the roots of the word, "stewardship"). This tradition does not divinize nature, but calls for a deeper appreciation of the sanctity of all creation, an exploration of our connectedness with each other and creation and a lived response committed to protecting the common good and dignity of each person, particularly the poor and vulnerable.
The time is ripe to truly embrace our faith call to be good stewards — of the environment, of each other. Doing so will lead to a deeper understanding of our journey toward wholeness. As Christ demonstrated in his journey to the cross, learning to give all of ourselves through relationship with others and the world gives way to our hope realized in resurrection, new life and the fullness of life.Life In The Field
Sharing the Gift of Water: For 60 years, CRS and the National Council of Catholic Women have been working together to bring the gift of water to poor families all over the world. To celebrate the 60th anniversary of this partnership, the National Council of Catholic Women has produced a new DVD highlighting the water program. Entitled Water for Life, the DVD explores why more than 1 billion people around the world do not have adequate access to clean water, such as those in Sudan, and highlights CRS water projects in Malawi and Brazil. Preview the DVD and download a discussion guide for use with the DVD.
Solidarity Springs from Water: The Archdiocese of St. Paul/Minneapolis, MN and the Diocese of Kitui, Kenya, with the facilitation of Catholic Relief Services, established a Global Solidarity Partnership in 2004. In addition to sharing models of small Christian communities, fostering women lay leadership, connecting like groups in both dioceses and offering prayers for each other, the two dioceses committed to engage together on a water project. Read their story, "Solidarity Springs from Water," for a deeper understanding of CRS water projects and, perhaps more importantly, how solidarity can be achieved between two dioceses on opposite sides of the world.
Ayo's Secret Garden: Do you know what an arbor loo is? Read about this initiative in Ethiopia that aims to provide hygienic sanitation, fertilizer for plantings and erosion control.
Lessons From Kenya: CRS Midwest staff member, John Taylor, recently visited Kenya and shares a reflection on the scarcity of water.
Called To Action
Stewardship/Care for Creation:
A new compilation of resources on Stewardship/Care of Creation available through CRS, the U.S. Catholic Conference, their partners and other organizations, both faith-based and secular, is now available on the CRS Education website. Resources focus on environmental justice, water and environmental education, and serve to foster a deeper understanding of our faith call to be good stewards of all creation. Some resources that may inspire action in young people include the following:
The H2O Project:
By drinking only water for two weeks, participants are encouraged to save the money that would be spent on other beverages and donate the money to well drilling projects. You can even designate 100% the donations to go to CRS water projects.
USCCB Climate Change Justice and Health Initiative:
In light of the increasing concerns about climate change and its impact on all life, but in particular the poor and vulnerable, the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops provides a wide array of resources designed to foster dialogue, education and action on environmental justice.
Earth Day Network:
Earth Day is April 22! Initiated with the first Earth Day in 1970, this network promotes environmental responsibility and maintains a comprehensive listing of resources appropriate for both faith-based and civic settings.
Active Solidarity
Midwest Cyber Bridges Water Project:
Mr. Marcus McKinley, environmental science teacher at Fenwick Catholic High School in Oak Park, Illinois, and his students are among the first group to connect to community youth centers in Jerusalem and the West Bank through the Cyber Bridges program. Mr. McKinley has taught at Fenwick for the past 20 years and developed the environmental science program that he is currently teaching. "I have always tried to impress upon my students the important link between justice and environmental stewardship. The relationship between peace in the Middle East and equitable access to water resources is a perfect subject for study." Students have been preparing for Cyber Bridges since the beginning of the year by researching water access issues and writing about their initial findings. Through Cyber Bridges, Chicago kids have been able to connect with the students of the Ibdaa Cultural Youth Center in the Middle East to further explore environmental and water issues in both countries. Water testing kits have been shipped to Ibdaa. It is a work in progress. Congratualations to Fenwick and to the Ibdaa youth for efforts at making an environmental difference.
Global Days for Darfur:
The Save Darfur Coalition is sponsoring a week-long awareness campaign, Global Days for Darfur. Use this week to sponsor an event to raise awareness and inspire action among the young people you serve. Resources are available through the Global Days for Darfur website. Additional information on Sudan can be obtained through the CRS Education Website and CRS Sudan Website.
Global Thoughts
(The following excerpt is from "The Human Person, The Heart of Peace," a message from his holiness Pope Benedict XVI for the celebration of the World Day of Peace, January 1, 2007.)
The 'ecology of peace'
8. In his Encyclical Letter Centesimus Annus, Pope John Paul II wrote: "Not only has God given the earth to man, who must use it with respect for the original good purpose for which it was given to him, but man too is God's gift to man. He must therefore respect the natural and moral structure with which he has been endowed". (No. 38) By responding to this charge entrusted to them by the Creator, men and women can join in bringing about a world of peace. Alongside the ecology of nature, there exists what can be called a "human" ecology, which in turn demands a "social" ecology. All this means that humanity, if it truly desires peace, must be increasingly conscious of the links between natural ecology, or respect for nature, and human ecology. Experience shows that disregard for the environment always harms human coexistence, and vice versa. It becomes more and more evident that there is an inseparable link between peace with creation and peace among men. Both of these presuppose peace with God. The poem-prayer of St. Francis, known as "The Canticle of Brother Sun", is a wonderful and ever timely example of this multifaceted ecology of peace.
9. The close connection between these two ecologies can be understood from the increasingly serious problem of energy supplies. In recent years, new nations have entered enthusiastically into industrial production, thereby increasing their energy needs. This has led to an unprecedented race for available resources. Meanwhile, some parts of the planet remain backward and development is effectively blocked, partly because of the rise in energy prices. What will happen to those peoples? What kind of development or non-development will be imposed on them by the scarcity of energy supplies? What injustices and conflicts will be provoked by the race for energy sources? And what will be the reaction of those who are excluded from this race? These are questions that show how respect for nature is closely linked to the need to establish, between individuals and between nations, relationships that are attentive to the dignity of the person and capable of satisfying his or her authentic needs. The destruction of the environment, its improper or selfish use, and the violent hoarding of the earth's resources cause grievances, conflicts and wars, precisely because they are the consequences of an inhumane concept of development. Indeed, if development were limited to the technical-economic aspect, obscuring the moral-religious dimension, it would not be an integral human development, but a one-sided distortion which would end up by unleashing man's destructive capacities.
Media Watch
Listed below are PBS resources that can be purchased or viewed on television in the months ahead. These documentaries focus on ecology, environmental justice and other issues related to global issues of particular concern to young people.
Journey to Planet Earth:
This educational video series explores the delicate relationship between humankind and the world we inhabit. It further offers hypothetical solutions to the environmental concerns of our times, serving as a motivational tool to engage young people to act on behalf of the environment.
Black Gold:
This documentary provides an eye-opening profile of the coffee industry and one man's struggle for a fair price. A resource that can serve to further educate about fair trade, it will be shown on PBS during the month of April and is available for purchase through PBS. Supplementary educational materials are available through PBS.
China Blue:
Journey with a 17-year-old Jasmine who left her village in a remote part of China to take a difficult job in a blue jean factory. Providing an in-depth view into the world of sweat-shops, this documentary provides a jump start for further exploration of human rights and responsibilities.