Rice Bowl begins this Lent

02/08/2018

Image promoting the Rice Bowl
(Catholic Relief Services graphic) In the landlocked West African nation of Burkina Faso, nearly half of the population of 17 million subsists on less than $1 a day. About 80 percent are farmers who struggle to till a mostly desert soil with only about three months of rain a year.

“I grew up like that,” Jacques Kabore told FaithLife in a telephone interview during his recent visit to the northeast United States.

Kabore, 48, is a married father of four children who serves as the partnership and capacity building coordinator for CRS in Burkina Faso and neighboring Côte d’Ivoire. He spoke at several high schools, universities and parishes during his visit, discussing the importance of giving to Catholic Relief Services’ annual Rice Bowl campaign.

For more than 40 years, Catholics have dropped change into the cardboard Rice Bowl boxes, providing enough money worldwide to assist humanitarian programs and services in up to 45 countries.

The U.S. government, through longtime educational food programs, has assisted the hungry children of Burkina Faso, Kabore said. But Catholic Relief Services is using Rice Bowl money and other financial assistance to develop “new strategies” toward self-reliance.

Image of Jacques Kabore
Jacques Kabore Despite the semi-arid conditions in Burkina Faso, Kabore said, about 350,000 women are learning new agricultural techniques to grow certain vegetables. The women sometimes earn enough money to sell their produce and pay for their children’s schooling. CRS also assists with microfinancing businesses.

“CRS is convincing others that new strategies are possible,” Kabore said.

Despite small advances, countries like Burkina Faso struggle to keep people from leaving their homeland, Kabore explained. He asks people in the U.S. to give as much as they can because “Jesus is everywhere in this world.”

“Nobody in the world in the past, in the present or in a future time could convince me that help is not necessary in the world,” Kabore said. “No political system, no one, could convince anybody that we are not supposed to help each other.”

To obtain a Rice Bowl box or to participate in inspirational Lenten activities, go to www.crsricebowl.org/families.

To download the CRS App, go to www.crsricebowl.org/about/app