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en espaņol
Fifth Week of Lent: Solidarity Will Transform the World
 Ghana
Slightly smaller than Oregon, the country of Ghana in West Africa is resource rich, and enjoys a fairly healthy economy. Still, nearly 49 percent
of its people live below the poverty line. A large part of CRS' work in Ghana
is dedicated to helping children, especially by supporting education. This week
we meet Al Hassan Harouna, a teacher in Wayamba in northern Ghana. As one of the few people from his village to achieve a high school education, he learned that
he could give something back to his community by volunteering as a teacher. CRS
helped him develop the skills to make a difference for the children of his
community.
Pray
Jesus knew that those who really wanted to see him were
going to have to follow him to places where many would rather not go even to
death itself. The point of Jesus' gift of salvation is not that it prevents
physical death or suffering, but that it has removed the power of death and the
despair of suffering. The one who truly has the courage to seek out Jesus can
thus see him in the face of the dying, in the suffering of another, in the life
of the one that society rejects and respond with the love that flows from
recognizing Christ. Fear would be useless. Trust is a given. This is the kind
of world view that we're aiming for through our Lenten efforts to purify,
simplify and rectify. This is the Easter life that is on the other side of Good
Friday. This week, ask Jesus to show you the areas in your life that require
your compassion and fearless regard. How does your sense of community, and your
sense of Jesus' place in it, grow and change as a result?
Fast
Education is a basic building block to a life of
opportunity, to gaining the skills necessary to provide for self and family.
While literacy in the United States is practically a given, in Ghana 40 percent of the
population cannot read. This week, fast from the tendency to take some things
for granted - especially education. Spend some time serving those who struggle
to learn or for whom an education is not a given. Read to children in a
library, volunteer in a special needs class, visit a classroom in a
disadvantaged area.
Learn
Al Hassan Harouna of Wayamba in northern Ghana saw his
village with new eyes when he returned there after attending high school in the
city. He recalls that as a small boy his village school had very few teachers
and few resources. Classes took place outside under a tree. Most days, students
would get one or two lessons and then were sent home without books or
homework. After school, the boys would go to work in the fields and the
few girls who attended would help with chores at home. Hassan was
fortunate, and was able to attend high school. At 19, he returned to his
hometown and found that the school had not changed much. There were only
two teachers and no signs of real improvement. He knew in his heart that he had
to do something, so he volunteered to teach first grade. Things really
began to change when he participated in Catholic Relief Services' Quality
Education Improvement Program, which helped him to learn better teaching skills
and increase the community's involvement in the school. Now the school has more
teachers and better educational goals, as well as lesson plans and teaching
materials.
Give
How much education have you received in your life? Whose
sacrifice - parents, teachers, friends - made it possible for you to learn all
you know? This week put a dollar in your Rice Bowl for every year of
education that you have completed.
en espaņol |
