The Legacy of Mother Teresa
After mass today, the delegation went to visit an orphanage in Tema, outside Accra, run by the Missionaries of Charity, the Religious Order often known through the modest but influential work of Mother Teresa. The orphanage provides comfort, food and medical care to some twenty abandoned children. The Mother Superior of the congregation explained that in these days children and women are sometimes abandoned if they are found to have the HIV virus. We were asked not to share the photos of names of the patients because of the social stigma associated with HIV/AIDS.
We were able, however, to share smiles and songs with the infants. In tidy rows cribs were lined up with mostly smiling (although there was the occasional scream or two) babies wanting to be held and rocked. Some came to a mattress on the ground where we played with them.
Our guide, Thomas Awiapo, explained to the group that CRS has a long term relationship with the Missionaries of Charity, trying to provide food to orphanages like the one hosting us today. Unfortunately, cuts in Food Aid have resulted in a decrease the availability of food to share. By September 2008 CRS-Ghana will have to phase out its support for orphanages like the one in Tema.
One of our delegates, Barbara Budde, Diocesan Director of the Archdiocese of Austin, Texas, assured the Mother Superior that one of her goals for her trip was to learn stories such as those being told at Tema and take them back to her community in Austin. She promised to try and increase personal donations to CRS so that food aid can come from other sources than the traditional government funding streams. All at the Tema orphanage thanked us for our concern and commitment to the poor.
I worried a bit about how much poverty the group, some of whom have never visited Africa, would see this week and how many gaps in resources we would want to fill in partnerships with servants like the nuns of Missionaries of Charities….
Tragic to think that CRS-Ghana will need to phase out support for orphanages. What we can we do to stop this from happening?
Thanks for your reaction Joanne! One idea the delegation had was to contact Members of Congress to seek restoration of the funding. But in talking to the country director of CRS Ghana, Adjavon Vewonyi, the group was told that at this point in time, given the political calendar, there is not much advocacy to be done. The issue of restoring Food Aid to Ghana won’t be taken up again, it seems, until we have a new administration.
Meantime, what CRS and its supporters can do is share the stories of how essential food aid is to people like those our delegation met in Ghana. Spread the word about this blog! Also encourage folks to join the CRS Legislative Network (you can subscribe via crs.org) so they can stay up to date on issues of concern, even if not directly related to Food Aid.
Awareness might not bridge the $4 million gap faced by the country program but the more we help people understand food security the better prepared we will be to find new sources of funding in the future!