The Canadian Catholic Organization for Development and Peace had launched campaigns to raise funds to avert food crises in both the Sahel Region and the Horn of Africa in recent years. Prendergast was part of the delegation formed so Canadian Catholics can see what is being done with their money.
“Ethiopia was considered the safest option and, though (D&P) has had involvement there for many years, no one had visited,” he said.
Travelling with a delegation that included Valleyfield Bishop Noel Simard, several D&P staff including executive director Michael Casey and people from the Ethiopian Catholic Secretariat (ECS), Prendergast saw a range of projects involving drought recovery rehabilitation and improved agricultural techniques. The delegation also got to talk to the people who had benefitted from the programs.
“Time and again they told us through interpreters of their gratitude and joy at the blessings they are receiving through such projects,” he said. “They are quite articulate in telling how their lives have been changed and they give thanks to God in the opening sentences.
“When we would arrive, there would be hand clapping and singing and the women ululating. They are poor but proud and it is clear our projects do not offend their dignity but affirm it.”
Some of the women had received an “asset” in the form of a goat or other animal that allowed them to participate in local market days, he said, noting they “proudly” showed what they were being taught on keeping records for financial management.
Prendergast also reported no clash with Catholic teaching in the projects that involve co-operation among a range of Catholic charities under the Caritas Internationalis umbrella. D&P has come under fire in recent years, accused of funding organizations in several nations that condone or support abortion.
“During our meeting with the bishops of Ethiopia during a session of their plenary assembly, we were able to see how close they are to the funding programs and how interested they are that all be in conformity with Catholic teaching,” Prendergast said. “We sensed that they are pleased with the support they receive.
“The social/moral issue they are most concerned about is female genital mutilation and how to work with the other religious bodies to improve the lot of women in this regard. Each funding agency should strive to adhere to Church teaching on these crucial issues and in my discussions with representatives of (the U.S. bishops’ Catholic Relief Service) and D&P in this part of Africa this is not an issue.”
The various funding agencies’ work is co-ordinated through the ECS and strives “to collaborate rather than compete for the well-being of all,” he said.
“On the day I celebrated Mass at the ECS, many of the agencies came together to manifest their unity,” Prendergast said. “As president of CNEWA (Catholic Near East Welfare Association) Canada, I was pleased to see that, while it has a different mandate supporting schools, orphanages, parishes, priestly formation and even work with the Orthodox, they work hand-in-hand with the other bodies.”
Many of the projects the delegation viewed touched on accessibility to water, he said. The delegates visited two water-points set up to save women from travelling up to two hours each way to fetch water for home, nutrition and sanitation. Those who use these new water sources pay a small sum to the committee that manages them for the community.
“If it is too far and tiring to get clean water, they sometimes succumb to the temptation to use standing water shared with animals, which may be unsanitary, even contaminated,” he said.
Another project involved the creation of a containment pool for rainwater for watering cattle and smaller animals, he said. Prendergast also viewed reforestation and soil conservation projects “that show long-range thinking.”
These included terraced landscaping and tree planting to prevent erosion and mudslides. The avocado and mango trees draw fewer nutrients from the ground and provide shade in addition to bearing fruits that enrich the diet, he added.
“As well, the new circumstance allows the water table to be replenished so that the villages will have access to wells as the ground water is restored,” he said.
“One of the bishops has training in agronomy and intends this year to offer 250,000 seedlings to the people who live in his vast and diverse territory on the edge of Sudan and a million next year. Helping to ensure people have diversity in foodstuffs that grow well in the climate will help mitigate crop failure in the future. As well, we gave the families in one village on a fertile plain tools to plant and harvest chickpeas, which enrich the soil with nitrates.”
In 2011, D&P raised $7 million for emergency aid and rehabilitation projects in the Horn of Africa after the region suffered a food crisis due to severe drought.
“We are now in the rehabilitation phase, so our projects are more focused on helping communities recover and become more resilient to future crises,” said D&P communications officer Kelly Di Domenico. “There is a large focus on agriculture, livestock and nutrition.”
Prendergast said he was surprised to discover Ethiopia’s population of 86 million speaks more than 80 languages, including Amharic and English. Islam is growing there and its share of the population may be up to 40 per cent. The Roman Catholic population is tiny at about one per cent of the population, but it serves 15 million people through education and social outreach, many of them Muslim, he said.
“Mother Teresa’s Missionaries of Charity has 19 communities in Ethiopia and they with joy do remarkable work,” he said. “We saw them serve 400 persons in Jigjiga and 1,000 in Dire Dawa, many of them mentally ill or abandoned persons including the dying destitute.”