Recent studies reveal that as many as 300,000 Haitian children suffer from chronic malnutrition, and up to half of child deaths in the country are caused by starvation. Cross Catholic is addressing the immediate needs of poor children across Haiti by providing vitamin- and nutrient-rich food.
A simple plastic bag filled with food. It’s something I take home from the grocery store each week without really thinking about it. While I’m by no means rich and don’t buy extravagant grocery items, I’ve never had to worry about whether I have enough money to buy the food I need.
“Without this help, life would be very difficult,” 82-year-old Gustave Destave told me on my recent visit to Kobonal, Haiti. “I don’t have any money to buy something to eat, so this food makes me well and strong.”
“I dreamt Jesus was walking with me and told me, ‘It’ll be okay,” said smiling 66-year-old Aura, mother of six children and caretaker of 19. “So I know my God will always supply my needs.” Out of Christ-like compassion for the needy, especially homeless mothers and their children, Aura keeps taking them into her own home—including a young girl who expects to give birth any day.
There’s nothing better than seeing the smiling face of a happy, well-fed child…and it’s even better when you know God worked through caring Catholics to make it happen.
Fr. Montalvo is a recent arrival to the Santa Rosa Mission in Guyana. Originally from Peru, he tells us he is thrilled to be working in Guyana, and he stresses the continuing importance of the Cross Catholic-funded school feeding program he helps manage.