The past two years since the March 11 tsunami have both been a challenge as well as a blessing for the CWS team in Japan. Back in March 2011, when our first team arrived to the affected areas in north-eastern Japan, all we could see were scattered mountains of debris in coastal cities. That made it hard to imagine that …
Fundraising Safari: From New Bremen with Love
Nick Kiger | March 9, 2013
CWS field staffers get to work in a variety of settings. We work in big cities and small towns, urban areas and rural areas. No matter the setting, the people we meet care about the world outside of their communities. New Bremen, OH is home to 2,970 people according to the 2011 U.S. Census. Known as a historic location for …
It’s time for a new relationship between the U.S. and Cuba
Rev. John L. McCullough | March 5, 2013
In fulfillment of its humanitarian mission, and with the involvement of U.S. churches, CWS has for many decades maintained close relationships with the people and churches of Cuba. A little over a year ago I traveled to Cuba with a delegation of distinguished religious leaders. Our delegation met with religious and government officials, both Cuban and American. I noted a …
A Place at the Table
Chris Herlinger | March 4, 2013
My CWS colleagues know I am a film buff. Happily, living in New York City, I am in the right locale for indulging that passion, including documentaries, a particular favorite. Luckily, my work life merged with my love of film a few days back when I saw the New York launch of “A Place at the Table,” an unusually fine …
#EndHungerNow
Angela Rupchock-Schafer | February 28, 2013
“One of the most devastating effects of poverty is hunger, and we cannot End Hunger Now if we’re not talking about it. This is a big problem. This is a problem that is not going away unless we act,” says Rep. Jim McGovern (D-Mass.) in a series of speeches he’s making on hunger in America on the floor of the …
Immigration reform has mandate, momentum and movement
Rev. John L. McCullough | February 27, 2013
Elections matter – and no more so than when a pressing issue that the two parties can’t agree on hangs in the balance. At issue is the matter of comprehensive immigration reform, which gained major traction following the demographic truths unveiled by the results of the 2012 presidential election. We can’t allow that issue to be derailed or detoured now, …
An Oasis in the City
Amy Porter | February 26, 2013
When we drove into the CWS-supported Oscar Romero Center in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, I was immediately struck by the contrast. Outside, the city was still broken and bruised by the earthquake of January 12, 2010. Inside the center, the walls were whitewashed and framed by flowers, with inspirational quotations from scripture, Oscar Romero, Mother Teresa, and other peace and justice leaders …
The Broader Meaning of Our Work
Chris Herlinger | February 23, 2013
It’s not often that you get to write and explain the deeper meaning of your work. But that’s what happened to me recently when America magazine, a Jesuit magazine based here in New York City, asked me to reflect on my time as a “humanitarian journalist” for CWS and others. America published the piece in its most recent issue. The …
Giving Hope
Caroline Kuse | February 22, 2013
What do you think of when you think of Rwanda – giraffes? Genocide? Poverty? In all honesty, if you answered any of those items, you’d be accurate to some extent – but my experience with Giving Hope, a CWS program implemented by the YWCA of Rwanda at a grassroots level, allowed me to experience so much more than these superficial …
How the Dominican Republic Changed My Life
Krista Connelly | February 19, 2013
It had been a long morning in the Dominican Republic, visiting a local community called Antonci. We had just spent hours in the crop fields under the Caribbean sun, learning all of the wonderful ways in which CWS and our local partners have helped transform this community and the families who live here. We were just about to leave when …