Lessons in DC

Father Mike, a Franciscan monk who has served in Bolivia, led a Day of Reflection that began our week. Some of his words of wisdom were: there are no such things as coincidences. Our God is a God of surprises. Mission is all about developing relationships. He echoed Saint Francis's words, "Preach the Gospel at all times but only use words when necessary."

Representatives from Action Aid, Catholic Relief Services, and Church World Service spoke to us on Tuesday. Action Aid is an international agency whose aim is to fight poverty and injustice worldwide. Catholic Relief Services assists impoverished and disadvantaged people overseas promoting the sacredness of human life and the dignity of the human person. Church World Service represents 35 Protestant denominations that work to eradicate hunger and poverty and to promote peace and justice around the world. (They are the sponsors of Crop Walk that many of us know.) All three agencies stressed the importance of empowering people of other nations at a community grassroots level. They identify needs of their own communities and develop programs to meet these needs. They all use as a foundation for their work the Universal Declaration of Human Rights adopted by the United Nations in 1948. These rights advocate freedom, justice and peace in the world including food, shelter, work, education, healthcare and a voice in the decisions that affect their lives. I thought it was interesting that CRS and Church World Service were begun in the 1940s as war relief to rebuild Europe.

Representatives from the Tanzanian and Bolivian Embassies also spoke to us. They have two very different views of US aide. The Millennium Challenge Corporation is U.S. foreign aid agency that is helping fight against global poverty. In February 2008, they signed a five-year, $698 million agreement with Tanzania aimed to reduce poverty and stimulate economic growth. It consists of three projects: improving roads, improve the reliability and quality of electric power and extending electricity service to communities not currently served, and increasing the availability and reliability of potable water. Tanzania is beginning to see results from these projects. Bolivia on the other hand is refusing to accept aide from the US. They feel that we are supporting the opposition group in government and are interfering with domestic issues that shouldn't involve us.

Several days were spent at the Maryknoll Office of Global Concern. MOGC works with the Maryknoll Sisters, Maryknoll Fathers & Brothers, Maryknoll Lay Missioners and the Maryknoll Affiliates to educate and advocate for social, economic and environmental justice. The have offices in New York and Washington that work with Catholic and other faith-based organizations for peace, social justice and the integrity of creation.

Later in the week those of us going to Kenya were able to meet with a representative from the US Conference of Catholic Bishops Africa and the African Faith and Justice Network. Both groups currently work in African nations including Kenya were able to give us some insight in the current situation there.

Our work week ended with visits with our members in Congress. We had appointments to meet with aides in Lynn Jenkins and Pat Roberts offices. Although we didn't have a scheduled meeting with Sam Brownback, we were able to see the aide that works with human rights in his office. Once upon a time she had applied to Maryknoll! We also stopped by Todd Tiahrt's office from my Dad's district.

After an intense week of meetings and classes we spent Friday afternoon and Saturday relaxing and sight seeing. Click here to view some of John's photographs.