Operation Rice Bowl: A Lenten Tradition
Week 1: Guatemala
The first stop in our Lenten pilgrimage is the rural village of Chanjule in Guatemala where we will meet Felipa Pérez. When Hurricane Stan destroyed Chanjule's water system in 2005, it left the villagers without clean water for two months. Community members such as Felipa and her family helped build their new system from the ground up, laying pipeline for distribution, constructing latrines, wash basins, and the sewage system, and installing faucets in every home.
Bordered by El Salvador, Mexico, Honduras and Belize, Guatemala is home to more than 12 million people – the largest population in Central America. The country struggles with a high unemployment rate. Approximately 76 percent of the population lives on less than $2 a day. That makes it especially vulnerable to the effects of natural disasters, such as Hurricane Stan, which took thousands of lives in 2005.
Pray - Lent has barely begun, and already we're reminded of the temptation that snaps at our heels, even as we try to walk a journey of repentance, self-sacrifice and prayer. In Sunday's Gospel we heard the familiar story of the temptation of Jesus in the desert, as the devil seeks to weaken Jesus' ability to love God with his whole heart, with all his soul and with all his might. In his earthly ministry Jesus expressed his deep love for his Father through his deep love of people, especially those whom society had forgotten.
Each year during hurricane season the world holds its breath as a new batch of storms takes aim at coastal countries. With a new threat each year, it is tempting to forget those still trying to recover from the storms of previous years. But since the poor are hardest hit by these natural disasters, it often takes them years to recover.
As you begin your Lenten journey, reflect on the temptations that weaken your awareness and concern for people in poverty. Ask the God of the poor to raise your awareness of poverty and its root causes, and seek out ways to participate in God's healing work.
Fast - With the presence of well maintained public water systems in the United States, it's easy to take the benefits of clean water for granted. Water from the tap means no one must haul the family water supply from the closest stream. Complex water purification systems keep water-borne diseases at bay. And yet this is a resource that can be so easily compromised by overuse, by toxic run-off from our roads and farm fields and by the chemicals that are dumped into streams and oceans. It is a global system, and what we do to the water quality in our own communities can harm water systems across the world.
In solidarity with all those whose water supply is in constant threat, make a commitment to care for the water sources that you benefit from. Limit overuse of water by installing low-flow shower heads. Don't leave the water running when brushing teeth or doing the dishes. Don't flush prescription medicines down drains or toilets. Use filtered tap water instead of purchased bottled water to limit the pollution caused by plastic packaging.
Learn - When the people of Chanjule wrote to Catholic Relief Services requesting help to restore the village water system, CRS and its partner Caritas responded with financial and technical assistance. Creating accessible and stable supplies of clean water is a key to strengthening community health, improving agricultural production and increasing opportunities for women and girls, whose access to education and work can be limited when they must spend so much time hauling water from far-away water sources. Catholic social teaching reminds us that "stewardship of the Earth is a form of participation in God's act of creating and sustaining the world. In our use of creation, we must be guided by a concern for generations to come." (USCCB Administrative Committee, Faithful Citizenship: A Catholic Call to Political Responsibility, p. 15).
Give - According to the University of Nebraska's water center, the average American pays about $2 for 1,000 gallons of water. Five gallons cost about a penny. The average American uses about 60 to 100 gallons a day. Consider the work that the members of the village of Chanjule put into restoring their own water system. Put $2 in your Rice Bowl in solidarity with those who do not have the luxury of a 10-day stretch of clean water piped into their homes.
