Catholic Relief Services ‘Rice Bowl’ feeds multitudes

On Feb. 7 at De La Salle High School, Catholic high school students from Archbishop Rummel, Cabrini, De La Salle and St. Katharine Drexel learned to be advocates for the world’s hungry by hosting a Rice Bowl program at their respective schools. 

“We want to get the word out and help students understand about CRS’ Rice Bowl and get them engaged in global solidarity (with the hungry in the world),” said Kevin Fitzpatrick, archdiocesan director of Catholic Charities’ Office of Justice and Peace.

Global solidarity is a shared idea by Fitzpatrick’s office and CRS.
The presentation began with students and their teachers (or club moderators) participating in “Power Walk,” a game that illustrates who has power and who is marginalized and identifies the different forms of power in a community based on age, gender, race, education or class.

Individuals stood side by side, representing someone with a particular job. As Amelie Desormeaux, local CRS coordinator, made statements, individuals who identified with that statement took a step forward. 

By the game’s end, the undocumented immigrant and a trafficked cargo ship worker landed at the back of the line, while the U.S. president, a government employee and an athlete ended in front.

“Why were there gaps between the front and back?” Desormeaux asked. “When we think about the gaps, what puts somebody in this position? Say the trafficked laborer. There are circumstances that might have put them in these circumstances. What responsibilities do the people in the front and middle have to those in the back?”

A Rummel student interjected that those on a level to help others should. 
“Even the people in the back have rights to food because we were all born children of God with human dignity,” Desormeaux said. 
 

How the Rice Bowl works

Fitzpatrick said while most high school students can’t physically help their brothers and sisters overseas, they can show support through the Catholic Lenten practices of prayer, fasting and almsgiving – all relating to the CRS Rice Bowl.

The cardboard “rice bowl” has facts about CRS and how it helps people worldwide. Those using the rice bowl are asked to fast with a lighter-than-usual meal and drop into the slot any money saved by not preparing a regular meal as a Lenten almsgiving.

The bowls are collected at the end of the 40 days of Lent for the hungry worldwide. Fitzpatrick said 25% of the money remains for local needs, while 75% feeds others overseas.

  
Speaking directly to the student representing the trafficked person on a cargo ship, Fitzgerald said there was an incident of workers aboard a ship docked at the Port of New Orleans who hadn’t been paid for six months or eaten in three days.

 
“These people are being trafficked, and a lot of the time we are unaware of how close they are to us,” Fitzpatrick said.

Through the Rice Bowl program and other efforts, children can access proper nutrition, education and even environmentally clean air and water “so they can thrive.”

 
He read a Bible verse from the Gospel of St. Matthew about how Jesus multiplied five loaves and two fish to feed 5,000 people and told high schoolers how they can help build strong families around the world. A CRS video highlighted “stories of hope” of children from Honduras, Kenya and Vietnam. Local students noted their cheerfulness, even though they heard about chores before and after school, no access to clean water and having to sleep on the floor.

“I was thinking how lucky we are to have access to water and food every day,” said Amelia Haynes, a De La Salle student. “There are many people around the world who don’t.”

“It made me think how spoiled we are,” said St. Katharine Drexel student Bri’An Anderson. “The girls have to do chores every day, and it takes my mom days to get me to clean my room.”

St. Katharine Drexel students discussed making CRS Rice Bowl a friendly competition among the grades “to raise as much money as we can,” Anderson said.

Priest shared experiences

Josephite Father Etido Jerome, chaplain of Xavier University of Louisiana, is a CRS Global Fellow who has visited Syria and Lebanon with CRS to understand the important role the Catholic nonprofit plays worldwide. 
He saw students in foreign lands grateful to have school; they weren’t the stereotypical idea of a refugee. Playtime was used to help the students recover from trauma.

 

Students from Syria and Lebanon co-mingled, something that never happens since these countries are enemies. He saw amazing CRS peacebuilding efforts occurring with limited resources. 
 

“CRS helps by partnering with native people,” such as supporting local women selling fair-trade products through grants and providing emergency relief in disasters.

“The thing is we are Catholic, but no one is excluded (due to their religious beliefs),” Father Etido said. “Everyone is helped. … We walk in solidarity with the people and meet their real needs. Rice Bowl really helps.”  

Today, millions of Catholics participate in CRS’ Rice Bowl. Since its inception, more than $250 million has been raised. The teens hope to make a difference.
 

“I think it is important to show the rest of the student body how lucky we are and how much we can contribute to other countries with just a penny or dollar,” De La Salle student Theresa Nguyen said, who had participated in the Rice Bowl at St. Jerome Church in Kenner.
 

Cabrini has circulated rice bowls for several years, said Missionary Sister of the Sacred Heart Renee Kittelson, assistant campus minister.  The all-girls’ school creates posters, makes announcements and hangs a world map in the cafeteria to highlight focus countries and holds contests to create awareness of world poverty.
 

“It is important to connect to Mother Cabrini,” said Cabrini senior Nina Kellum. “The pope told her to go to America to help people. If we can’t go down there to help, we can give money to help, knowing it would have been something that Mother Cabrini would have done.” 
 

“It correlates to Matthew 25: ‘When I was hungry, you gave me something to eat,’” Sister Renee said.
 

For details, visit www.crsricebowl.org or to give to CRS, call 1-877-435-7277 or visit support.crs.org.
 

Christine Bordelon can be reached at cbordelon@clarionherald.org.