OFFICE FOR SOCIAL MINISTRY
“Along with vaccines, fraternity and hope are the medicine we need in today’s world.” (Pope Francis)
Pope Francis has long advocated for health as a basic human right and for universal access to basic healthcare, especially for the most vulnerable. This Lenten season, he has underscored this point with his “Fratelli Tutti” encyclical message that compassion for all our brothers and sisters will bring hope and healing to a world plagued by the crisis of hunger severely exacerbated by the pandemic. The pope has continually called all government and public health leaders to eliminate hunger as well as make vaccines available, especially to the most vulnerable.
Recently our Holy Father drew attention to the vital role of rural and indigenous women in growing and distributing food to communities in the struggle to overcome malnutrition and hunger. The pope praised these women for their valiant and self-sacrificing efforts to feed their children and other families, showing what it means to be One Ohana. He urged all to follow their example cultivating and protecting natural resources, so that everyone can contribute and benefit from our common home.
In our journey through Lent, Jesus calls us to prayerfully reflect upon our neighbors in need near and afar. This year’s Catholic Relief Service (CRS) Rice Bowl Stories of Hope help us focus on global solidarity in eliminating hunger in order to have healthy children and families. So many of our brothers and sisters do not have food security. Families both here in Hawaii and in faraway parts of the world face daily challenges of accessing nutritious and healthy food.
This year’s CRS Rice Bowl Lenten journey helps turn our attention to families struggling to overcome hunger in Timor-Leste, a small island country with one of the highest rates of child malnutrition in Asia. More than one-third of the population does not have reliable access to nutritious food. Many children suffer from stunted growth, which can cause major health problems for them and their future.
Because of extreme climate patterns throughout the year, many farmers find it difficult to grow enough sustainable food. With resources and training from CRS, Timor-Leste families like Eliza, Paulino and their seven children, have learned to start home gardens of their own. This makes it possible to grow a variety of vegetables, beans and other foods that provide important vitamins and nutrients to help their children grow up healthy. Members of the community also form nutrition groups where they share best practices and ideas for improving their gardens, and exchange recipes.
To try a special Timor-Leste meatless Lenten recipe of squash, corn and bean stew, and view the Stories of Hope and the Rice Bowl Calendar, please visit the website: ricebowl.org.
Feeding the hungry is one of the corporal works of mercy which the Gospel calls all to do, not only during Lent but all year long as we strive to live our Christian faith in action. Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, we’ve been providing regular updates for the hungry to access the food they need to sustain their families.
Please visit our website, officeforsocialministry.org/covid-19, for current listings of emergency food access points in communities on all islands and share these links with your community. Support these efforts to provide fraternity and hope, the medicine we all need and can share with each other.
Mahalo,
Your friends at the Office for Social Ministry
Paulino da Costa Ximenes, 53 pictured in Libagua village, Timor Leste, with his wife, Eliza da Costa Martins, 34, and their seven children: Leila, 12, Sandra Salleta, 7, Celcio, 5, Celcia, 3, Laurenfina, 2, Luciano, 2, and Cidalria, 1. (CRS photo)
CRS Rice Bowl story of hope from Timor-Leste
“I know the vegetables provide essential vitamins for them.” (Eliza)
Timor-Leste is a small Asian country, slightly larger than the state of Connecticut. Near Australia, it’s one of the world’s newest countries — only 18 years old. In comparison, the United States will be 245 years old this year.
Many families in Timor-Leste live in rural areas and work as farmers. But challenges like changing weather patterns make it difficult to grow enough food. They depend on rice as a main part of their meals, and hunger and malnutrition are big problems. This especially affects children and their ability to develop to their full potential.
With training from CRS, families are starting home gardens to grow vegetables, beans and other foods that are rich in nutrients. The gardens are built to withstand droughts and flooding. The families add the food they grow — such as spinach, cabbage, peanuts, carrots and tomatoes — to their daily rice staple, providing more nourishing meals that help children grow and stay healthy.
Parents attend community nutrition groups where they learn how to build and improve their gardens. They also learn new recipes that incorporate the produce they grow, and sometimes have cooking competitions to see who can prepare the tastiest meal.
Eliza and her husband Paulino have seven children. After joining her nutrition group, she and Paulino started a home garden and began growing crops based on the rainy and dry seasons. They also started raising chickens, which provide additional protein to their meals and income from selling the eggs. Eliza wants her children to be healthy and says, “I know the vegetables provide essential vitamins for them.”
