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October 14, 2008 |
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WHEN JOHNNIE DORSEY and the Catholic
Relief Services group arrived in the Ethiopian village of Kufansik, an elder showed them how the village’s water had recently changed. Their water was brown and dirty like that in the bottle on the right. However, thanks to a new source of water developed by CRS and its local Church partners, the village now has clean water to drink, cook with and bathe in. (Photo courtesy of Johnnie Dorsey)
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On his drive from the Addis Ababa Airport to his hotel, Johnnie Dorsey could see homeless people in one darkened impoverished neighborhood after another wrapping themselves in paper and plastic for their night’s sleep.
It was a prelude of what he would experience in days to come. Dorsey, the diocesan director of the Office for Black Catholics, was part of a 14-person Catholic Relief Services (CRS) delegation on a visit to its programs in Africa to raise awareness and encourage advocacy of issues affecting the continent’s poor. The delegation explored issues surrounding the delivery of humanitarian and development assistance during a weeklong journey on Aug. 23-31.
Dorsey stated that "Since 1958, Catholic Relief Services has been providing relief and development assistance to those most in need in Ethiopia. Working side by side with the government and local partners, CRS helps Ethiopians cope in the face of emergencies and build the foundations needed to ultimately improve their overall quality of life. CRS programs help ensure that poor Ethiopians have enough food and can earn sufficient income, even in times of crisis”.
Ethiopia, with a population of 82 million, is the oldest independent country in Africa, and at 2,000 years, one of the oldest in the world. While 60 percent of the population is Christian, only a little more than half a million(1%) are Catholics spread over 10 dioceses. CRS plays a major role in the delivery of emergency and long-term humanitarian assistance in the impoverished country.
"In Ethiopia, close to a million people are living with HIV, and it is estimated that an additional 125,000 including 14,000 newborn babies have become infected in 2007,” said Father Juan Molina, CRS Southwest Region director. Father Molina added that the trip to Ethiopia examined many issues, including the following:
- Food security and food aid programs that have been adversely impacted by recent spikes in food and commodity prices.
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- Development assistance programs such as education, peace-building, microfinance and agriculture, which have recently been cut in favor of new programs, such as the Millennium Challenge Account (MCA) and the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR).
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- Building civil and military relationships to deliver humanitarian and development assistance and the role of the U.S. military, whose goal is to prevent conflict, promote regional stability and protect Coalition interests.
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- HIV and AIDS treatment access and antiretroviral medications provided by the Ethiopian government.
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"Housing is a major problem in Addis Ababa,” Dorsey noted. "There was a proliferation of homes which use corrugated metal for makeshift roofs and walls. The population in Addis Ababa [currently 3.8 million] has doubled in the last 20 years and is expected to double again in the next 20 years.”
From the Ethiopian capitol, Dorsey and the others in the CRS team flew 300 miles to Dire Dawa, a city of 400,000. From Dire Dawa, they drove in a caravan of Toyota Land Cruisers to visit several rural villages. During one of their visits, the rains came and the vehicles became stuck in the mud, so he had to walk in the mud to one of the sites.
"By the time I arrived back at the vehicle, I was caked with mud, but this was a wonderful experience.” Dorsey found the experience "humbling” because "we had been always riding in the vehicles and waving to the Ethiopian people as we passed by them on the various roads, now we were experiencing what the Ethiopians experienced.
As the group entered the remote village of Kufansik in eastern Ethiopia, a village elder waving two water bottles met them. The water in one was brown and reflected the water that they previously had to use. The other bottle was filled with clean and clear water drawn from a new source of clean water developed by CRS and its partners. CRS has been able to teach villagers the value of clean water for drinking, sanitation and irrigation. In these rural areas, CRS has worked with locals on watershed management, flood control and soil and water conservation.
"Villagers brought injera bread, small fruits and boiled milk for us to share with them. This brought to mind that we were sharing Eucharist with the poor,” Dorsey said. Back in Addis Ababa, the group visited the Sidist Kilo home for the destitute and dying run by the Missionaries of Charity(Mother Theresa’s Order). Ethiopia has the world’s third largest HIV-positive population. Of the estimated 14 million children orphaned by AIDS in the world, almost a million are Ethiopian. The disease infects tens of thousands of these Ethiopian children, and projections are that the AIDS cases will double within the next five years.
"Sister Benito (a nun at the Missionaries of Charity home) advised us that there is much joy in the misery that we will see,” Dorsey said. "As we went through the facility, there were many, many smiles in spite of the severe medical and mental conditions that afflicted the patients. This was the most moving portion of our journey as we experienced those with little or no hope for recovery. Death was very much a part of this facility, but there was much joy there also.”
Father Molina said much of the funding for these lifesaving programs comes from the U.S. government and from parishes throughout the U.S. One of the purposes of the trip, said Father Molina, was to highlight the works of CRS and to strengthen the relationship between U.S. diocesan leaders and CRS staff. Dorsey still carries images of the Guardians Club consisting of grandmothers who have lost their children to AIDS and are now taking care of their orphaned grandchildren, and the 12-year-old orphaned girl who was raising her brother and sister in the slums after both of their parents succumbed to AIDS. A nun at the home for the dying told the group about the bodies of AIDS victims they often find at their doorstep when they open in the morning. The story is seared in Dorsey’s thoughts.
"The world needs to be a village which will help each other,” said Dorsey, pointing out that there are many needs left unmet in Ethiopia despite the work of CRS and other such organizations. Dorsey kept a journal of his weeklong trip and took many pictures. He plans to develop a presentation to share with parishes and church groups throughout the diocese.
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