The Many Faces of Poverty

Mahatma Gandhi is quoted as saying, ‘Some people are so hungry that they only see the face of God in bread’. One can witness this every day on the news from Yemen, Tigray, refugee camps in Kenya, Bangladesh, Haiti and closer to home in shelters for migrants in Western society.

Sometimes when I watch the news, I weep with the mothers who are desperately seeking food for their starving children walking hundreds of kilometers in hope.  Some stories are particularly poignant and remain with me:   a mother who set her dead baby by the side of the road, too weak to bury the body, as she struggled to get her remaining children to a camp in hope of help. Mothers who do not have the luxury of grieving the death of a child because her other children are looking to her for survival. The story of the father who had to make an unconscionable decision to leave his near dead child on the side of a road himself depleted from hunger and responsible for carrying his other children who were too weak to walk while being pursued by gruella warfare. Doctors at camps who cannot hold out hope for pleading mothers because they no longer have medicines or food for these extremely malnourished and starving children.

This is the chaotic world we share brought on by human activity: war, climate crisis, greed, and indifference.  However, it need not be the end of the story if we, you, and I, choose to make a difference, step out of our comfort zone and do that one thing of which we are capable and which we have been avoiding.  Listen to your heart and act now - later will be too late. 

-Sister Ann Marshall, csj

Resources of note:

• The Bible & Poverty - There are over 2000 references in the Bible to the poor.

• World Child Hunger Facts

• World Hunger Facts & How to Help

• World Food Programme

• Hunger & Undernourishment Data

• UN Report on Global Hunger

Remember your local Food Bank this season.

We Won’t Give Up: We Can’t Stop Now

It has been more than a year since several senior Sisters of St. Joseph began making approximately 130 sandwiches a day - Monday to Friday every week - since COVID-19 took our world by storm. Our assistance augments the reduced work of our soup kitchen help during the pandemic.

Sisters Stephanie and Mary Raphael hard at work

To expedite our sandwich-making project, early morning dietary staff set up several dining-room tables with the tools of our trade: white and brown bread, butter, meat, cheese, lettuce, wraps, etc.  At 9:15 a.m. the Sisters arrive on the scene and the work begins in earnest.  Three Sisters butter the bread, five build and wrap the sandwiches and one Sister serves as “gofer” running back and forth replenishing supplies.  Christian, our talented chef keeps an eye on production and listens to our advice and comments.  In less than an hour, the tables are laden with nutritious sandwiches and packed into sturdy brown boxes.  Mark, our trusty driver, hurries the boxes into the van and heads to our soup kitchen with the precious cargo.

There are unseen heroes in the sandwich-making process. Generous grocery store owners and private individuals donate the meat to our hospitality centre.  Bill, who supervises this downtown ministry in London, Ontario, sends these food donations to our home.  We supply the bread, butter, cheese, lettuce, various treats, drinks and especially, the labour.  “Sister-power” finishes the sandwich-making process in short order.

The ongoing community support of this ministry is such a continued blessing to our guests, our volunteers, and our congregation.

Yes, sometimes, like everyone caught in this pandemic, we sigh and wish that Mr. COVID and Mrs. Variant would pack up and leave town.  However, we are determined throughout the pandemic to provide our loving service to the dear neighbours who depend on St. Joseph’s Hospitality Centre.

-Sister Jean Moylan, csj

Sisters Loretta and Nancy continue the work

World Food Day

World Food Day

Children, thin and bone-weary, and mothers too emaciated to feed their young line up with empty bowls before a UN Food truck – a scene in too many countries in our world today. This is the stark reality for millions of people in our world, in our global community.

Recently the headlines gave us the glad news that the United Nations World Food Program had won the 2020 Nobel Peace Prize. It was a spotlight on the need to eradicate hunger, a mandate the UN has faithfully done its very best to fulfill for 50 years. It has been said that Canadians can rightly share in this recognition as our country has been the seventh-largest donor to this program for 50 years.[1]

But what causes world Hunger? Is it a lack of the right technological agricultural fix because we can’t grow enough food? No.  Here are some facts:

• The world produces enough food to feed everyone, yet, about 800 million people suffer from hunger. That is one in nine people. 60% of them are women.[2]

• Hunger kills more people every year than malaria, tuberculosis and aids combined.

• Around 45% of infant deaths are related to malnutrition.

• 1.9 billion people – more than a quarter of the world’s population – are overweight.

• One third of the food produced worldwide is lost or wasted.

• War, climate change and troubled economies are the key reason for the rise of hunger in the world,[3]

So what can we possibly do, as individuals, as communities in the First World? Here are some words from an Eco-theologian Sallie McFague and Pope Francis for reflection:

First: The eco-theologian Sallie McFague tells us that,

“we cannot in good conscience ‘love the world’ -its snow-capped mountains and panda bears -while at the same time destroying it and allowing our less well-off sisters and brothers to sink into deeper poverty”[4]…hence I believe Christian discipleship for the 21st century North Americans means ‘cruciform living,’ an
alternative notion of the abundant life, which involve a notion of enoughness”[5]

She is calling us to a philosophy and practice of “enoughness” with limitations on energy and sacrifice for others. It is the call to turn back from a consumerist culture that always wants more -whether its variety for our jaded appetites of food, clothing, technology – and turn to the freedom of learning to live with less.

Second: In a recent speech to the UN, Pope Francis said,

The pandemic “can represent a concrete opportunity for conversion, for transformation, for re-thinking our way of life and our economic and social systems which are widening the gap between rich and poor countries with its unjust distribution of resources… or the pandemic can be an occasion for a defensive retreat into greater individualism and elitism.”[6]

What are some choices everyday people can make on World Food Day?

1. Listen to the above facts and pick one issue that you can pledge to do something about.

2. Eat leftovers – yes, they can be boring but be inventive or make it an act of prayer and solidarity.

3. Reduce food waste by the above or composting. Most urban centres now have a compost stream - or compost at home.

4. Have a Fast Day once a week for world hunger.

5. Eat less red meat or become vegetarian.

6. Buy local & organic if possible -transportation costs drive up the carbon footprint

7. Donate to your local food bank or support local food groups.

8. Enjoy your food and give thanks!

A Table Grace

We pray a blessing of gratitude in this season of Autumn

Our hearts are thankful for the breath of wind, the warmth of sun

The waving fields of grain, the landscape of hills turning gold

Giving light to our souls and wonder in our being

We give thanks to our Creator and all the Earth who hold us close

We give thanks for our friends- our Elders the trees, flowers of beauty and the sparkling waters, the soaring winged ones and the precious human friends who hold our heart

May our lives bring life to others and all the Earth

May our gratitude be a Thanksgiving for all.
Amen.

                                                                                     - Sister Linda Gregg, csj

[1] Toronto Star, World Food Program Wins Nobel Peace Prize, Oct.10,2020, A23

[2]  Kerry Health and Nutrition Institute. https://khni.kerry.com/news/articles/ten-facts-you-need-to-know-about-hunger-on-world-food-day/ 

[3]  The Star Tribune, “World hunger continues rising amid war, climate change, UN reports” July 16, 2019,  https://www.startribune.com/world-hunger-continues-rising-amid-war-climate-change-u-n-reports/512801492/  

[5] Sallie McFague, Life Abundant: Rethinking Theology and Economy for a Planet in Peril,(Minn.MN  Augsburg Fortress, 2001), 14. 

[6] Catholic Register, “Pope Charts a Post-Pandemic Course,” Oct. 4, 2020, 4.

Sex Trafficking

This is a topic that’s difficult to talk about.

As a father with a beautiful daughter of my own, just reading the words “sex trafficking” is enough to turn my stomach.

But I beg you not to turn away. Every single day, innocent and vulnerable Canadian girls are lured into Canada’s rapidly growing underground world of sexual slavery. It’s a psychological game played by master manipulators and the effects are long lasting and deeply damaging.

If you’re having a hard time believing this could happen in Canada, please watch Amy’s story here to see how easy it is to become a victim.

Amy was just like any girl you know – a regular teenager who liked to talk on the phone and hang out with her friends. But like some girls her age, she was gripped with low self-esteem.

Amy yearned for love and approval. She met Ryan and he changed her life, but in the worst way possible. His once kind and thoughtful actions turned into demands and violent threats once he ensnared her in the world of sex trafficking.

These predators are slick manipulators. They understand that many girls can struggle with body image, self-esteem and self-identity. These girls are then vulnerable to luring and falling for a false sense of affection.

Sex trafficking in Canada is primarily a domestic problem. Some 90 per cent of victims are female and most are Canadian girls as young as 13, and on average 17. Police have identified Toronto as a major trafficking hub and estimate the number of victims could be in the thousands. These girls come from all over the country and are from every background. In the last four years, Covenant House has seen a 300-per cent increase in our caseload for victims of sexual exploitation and trafficking.

As a Catholic agency, Covenant House follows the church’s values in our work with the most vulnerable, recognizing the value of each person. Since opening our doors in 1982, we have welcomed almost 95,000 homeless and trafficked young people, ages 16 to 24, from all parts of Ontario, Canada and the world.

When a youth enters our doors, we make a covenant to support them every step of the way to independence. We achieve this with the support of our donors, volunteers and through sector partnerships, however, it mustn’t end there. Broad collaboration amongst community members is essential for ensuring our young people, and victims of sex trafficking in particular, truly receive the wraparound support they need to recover.

In Amy’s case, she had the courage to leave her trafficker on her own and seek out the support she needed to rebuild her life but we can all, as full members of our community, help victims while preventing greater victimization.

We cannot, as people, flourish in isolation and as Pope John Paul II said, “…a community needs a soul if it is to become a true home for human beings.”

It is only together as a community that we can create a home of love and compassion and effectively combat this devastating crime which touches us all.

Please help us raise awareness by educating others about this issue. If you suspect someone is being trafficked or groomed for trafficking, alert your local police.

Guest Bloger Bruce Rivers
Executive Director, Covenant House Toronto

Engaging South Sudan

From January 13-28, 2018, three Sisters of St. Joseph will be travelling from London to South Sudan with Canadian Aid to South Sudan (CASS), led by Jane Roy and her husband, Glen Pearson. Sisters Joan Atkinson, Joan Driscoll and Teresa Ryan will be with eight other members of CASS, some of whom have been to Africa previously.  The youngest of the group is a thirteen-year-old girl who will be accompanied by her mother.

The purpose of the journey is to support the people of the Awell area, letting them know that they have not been forgotten by the world as they struggle with the effects of civil strife, poverty and food shortage following several years of civil strife.

The CASS group will stay in a Catholic mission run by the Camboni Missionaries.  From there, they plan to visit schools, health clinics and small enterprise groups along the way.  They also hope to interact with their hosts, praying and celebrating together.

South Sudan is a landlocked country in North Eastern Africa which gained its independence from Sudan in 2011. It has a population of 13,000,000, the median age being 17.1 years.  Since 2013, South Sudan has experienced civil war caused mainly by tensions between the two main tribes, the Dinka and the Nuer peoples over political and economic power.  Despite vast oil reserves, the country is poverty stricken.  However, the CASS visitors will not see military conflict but rather will witness the impact of food shortage caused by years of war.

Regarding the effects of war and exploitation on people and their lands, Pope Francis, in “Laudato Si” states, “The human environment and natural environment deteriorate together; we cannot adequately combat environmental degradation unless we attend to causes related to human and social degradation.  In fact, the deterioration of the environment and of society affects the most vulnerable people on the planet”.  Chapter 5 #48.  Witnessing such deterioration and degradation will be evident to the group as they visit the Awell area and reach out to them in their need.

We here at home, stand in prayer and solidarity with our Sisters and their companions of Canadian Aid to South Sudan as they undertake their long journey to be a solace and healing presence with the South Sudanese. May we continue to look for ways to be ambassadors of peace.

Jean Moylan, CSJ