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IN THIS ISSUE
From the Desk of
Fr. John Madigan, O.M.I.
An Oblate Partnership that Endured
Feeding the World's Most Vulnerable Children
The director of a small Zambian hospital arrived at Sr. Pat Hanvey’s office in desperation. He had four orphaned infants with him, and he told Sr. Pat he feared that they would soon die.
Their mothers had all died
in childbirth. The hospital had
no milk for the babies, and the
families had no money to
purchase any.
So Sr. Pat reached out to friends on the other side of the world, and “milk money” came in for her four little angels. The babies, supplied with milk for the next six months, survived the riskiest time of their lives.
The rescue of the four Zambian babies gave birth to
an infant milk program linking Sr. Pat, the Missionary
Oblates and a small, non-profit organization based in
the United States. Today, that partnership is providing
60 Zambian infants with milk that is improving their
chances of survival in a country where malnutrition
claims the lives of far too many infants.
“Our program is being administered by a team of 20 volunteers here in Zambia,” says Sr. Pat. “These volunteers serve as the ‘eyes’ in the community and identify those infants in need of care. The babies are provided with milk on a weekly basis and their guardians are required to bring the infants to the clinic for monthly weighing and monitoring of their health.”
Sister Pat’s milk program operates in partnership with the Missionary Oblates, who have an extensive presence in the Lukulu region of Zambia. The Oblates oversee a variety of nutritional and medical programs in the area for some of the world’s poorest people.
“The maternal mortality rate is so high during childbirth because
most mothers are malnourished and births take place in unhygienic villages without access
to medical care,” says
Fr. Jim Chambers,
O.M.I. who helps to
coordinate the Mustard
Seed Peace Project in
Zambia. “This results
in a high proportion of
undernourished babies
without mothers. These
babies are then being
cared for by extended families who can’t even meet their own basic
needs and now have an infant to care for.”
Playing a key role in funding the Zambian milk program is a non-profit organization based in Godfrey, Illinois – the Mustard Seed Peace Project. The project is providing a triangle of healing and hope that extends from Godfrey to Guatemala to Zambia.
Terri Cranmer attends the Oblates’ St. Peter and Paul parish near Godfrey where she met Peter Weiss, an Oblate novice at the time. When Peter was ordained in 2002 he went to work with the poor in rural Guatemala.
Terri organized a group of lay people from the area to support Fr. Peter’s ministry, and thus the Mustard Seed Peace Project was born. The group expanded to Zambia after learning about the milk crisis there. “When we started funding the milk program last year, we prayed that it would be the start of more outreach for our organization to the poor in Zambia,” said Terri. “And our prayers have come true.”
Earlier this year a school lunch program was started at the Lukulu School, thanks to a partnership between the Mustard Seed Peace Project and Chefs For Humanity. Each school day about 100 students are fed a nutritious lunch - for many their only meal of the day.
The cost to run the school
lunch program has amazed
members of the Mustard Seed
Peace Project. Each meal costs
the sponsors less than $1.00.
Father Jim explains that children in rural Zambia usually travel great distances to attend school. Many of the children attending the Lukulu School even rent small nearby huts to live in during the school week.
“Since most of the students live on their own, they don’t always have the resources to provide themselves nutritious meals,” says Fr. Jim. “This in turn impedes their ability to learn.”
Providing a bottle of milk to a malnourished infant. Providing
a hot lunch to a student who has no food in his tiny hut. These
accomplishments may seem small, but they are life-changing gifts for
some of the poorest children on earth. They are gifts being provided
through love, compassion and a little faith – the size of a mustard seed.