Bolivian fishermen and Catholic Relief Services (CRS) representatives walk through dried-up Lake Poopó in this CRS video screenshot.
By Lindsay Steele
The Catholic Messenger
Catholic Relief Services (CRS) has been committed to worldwide hunger relief efforts for more than 80 years. In that time, CRS partners and representatives have observed the ways in which changing weather patterns exacerbate hunger.
“The poorest countries that contribute least to global warming are hit hardest by it,” said Deacon Kent Ferris, diocesan director of Social Action and Catholic Charities. CRS has been helping people in these countries to “adapt to different weather patterns and changes” for years, he shared during a virtual Lunch and Learn session Oct. 3 that coincided with the month-long Season of Creation.
CRS, the international humanitarian agency of the U.S. bishops, works with the farmers, fishers and others to sustain themselves. “There are a lot of videos on CRS’s website about the effects (of climate change) and how to help,” said Deacon Joe Welter, whose diocesan assignment includes supporting local CRS efforts. Deacon Welter and Deacon Ferris shared some of these videos during the Lunch and Learn. The first video, released in 2016, explained that 1 billion people at the time lived with the effects of a changing climate. The video included a quote from Pope Francis encouraging Catholics to “rise above partisanship and controversy and heed the moral imperative to act now.”
Another video showed how Bolivian fishing communities are coping with the loss of Lake Poopó. Local economies were devastated when the saline lake dried up around 2015, the video stated. The melting of nearby glaciers might have been a factor in the lake’s disappearance, as well as the increasing scarcity of fresh water in the area. CRS worked with the communities to set up permanent water systems for residents and their livestock.
A video focused on Oaxaca, Mexico chronicled the repercussions of reduced rainfall in the region. CRS partners helped local farmers implement adaptive agricultural techniques. “Those who support us are giving us hope,” one farmer said in the video.
The task of helping countless farmers adapt to changing weather patterns seems daunting, but “we do not have the luxury of despair,” Deacon Ferris told Lunch and Learn participants. “There is a hope that is fundamental to our response, and CRS represents that well.” View the Lunch and Learn on the Diocese of Davenport’s YouTube page at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mpDEl7NI1Bw.
CRS welcomes donations to support its efforts. Donate online at support.crs.org or by mail at Catholic Relief Services, P.O. Box 5200, Harlan, IA 51593-0700 and during the annual Lenten Rice Bowl campaign. Deacon Welter noted that CRS has two campaigns, one focused on preventing and ending global hunger and the other on addressing climate change.
