2015-11 -- 0105 St Francis St Xavier Feeding PP.indd

2700 N. Military Trail, Suite 240
PO Box 273908
Boca Raton, Florida 33427-3908
1-800-914-2420
PROJECT 0105
St. Francis Xavier Parish
Feeding/Incarnate Word
Institute Project
— Northern Guyana —
“If you offer your food to the hungry and satisfy the needs of the
afflicted, then your light shall rise in the darkness and your gloom
be like the noonday.”
Isaiah 58:10
WWW.CROSSCATHOLIC.ORG
INSTITUTE PROJECT
PROJECT 0105
Project Synopsis
Description
This project will subsidize a school
lunch program for 400 children
from impoverished communities.
Purpose
Increase school attendance by
providing a nutritious lunch,
enabling students to focus on
education without the distraction
of hunger, and increase the number
of children who pass on to the next
grade.
Location
The Arapiako, Marlborough, Lima
Sands and Charity townships in
northern Guyana.
Cost
$39,600 will fully fund grocery
transportation, meals, and salaries
for the cooks.
Summary
• Cross Catholic Outreach
supports four feeding centers
operated by the Incarnate Word
Institute and St. Francis Xavier
Catholic Church.
• Due to food shortages in the
region, children lack access to
balanced meals.
• Malnutrition can have a serious
impact on children, hampering
their ability to learn and, in
extreme cases, causing physical
and mental disabilities.
• The assurance of a meal will increase attendance, academic performance, and serve as a tangible
example to students and their families of Christ’s provision in their lives.
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INSTITUTE PROJECT
PROJECT 0105
The Need: A Balanced Meal
Like any mother, a woman who lives along the banks of the Pomeroon River wants the best for her
children. She wants to provide safe shelter, regular meals and the opportunities an education can
provide. But the harsh realities of life in this impoverished region of Guyana make life difficult —
and supplying even basic necessities a challenge.
Along the Pomeroon River, parents focus on where the next meal will come from, and many set
aside hope their children will be educated because most consider schooling a luxury they can’t afford.
This is especially frustrating since Guyana has one of the best educational systems in the Caribbean.
Natasha Roberts, her husband Johnrey, and their three boys live in Arapiako Creek on the northern
end of the Pomeroon. They drink collected rainwater. To bathe, wash and cook, they rely on the
murky jungle river. Johnrey, a carpenter, survives by doing odd jobs and working in hazardous gold
mines; Natasha stays home with the children. Their 7-year-old son Bretlee occasionally attends the
Kabakaburi School where headmistress Celia Jacobus estimates up to 50 percent of the students come
each day with no lunch to eat.
“Families are economically unstable,” Jacobus said. “Fathers work far away and cannot send money
home. If children are not fed properly, they cannot concentrate.”
Seeing this need inspired Cross Catholic Outreach to help, and Bretlee now attends school daily
and loves his hot lunch, served at Arapiako church. His favorite dish? Fried rice. Natasha is very
thankful. She even helps serve the meals.
This year, with your support, Cross would like to continue the program. Our goal is to help feed
400 children. Will you help? Your support will get children in the Pomeroon River townships back in
school and help them focus on learning — not on their empty stomachs.
Ro
loo
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INSTITUTE PROJECT
PROJECT 0105
The Ministry:
St. Francis Xavier Catholic Church
St. Francis Xavier Catholic Church has operated feeding
centers in Pomeroon townships since 1998. Most weekdays,
you can find Father Javier Correa on his small motorboat,
weaving in and out of the Pomeroon’s tributaries, stopping
in front of houses along the shore yelling, “Inside? Inside?”
It’s the local way of asking if anyone is at home.
Cross Catholic Outreach recently joined Fr. Correa on his
visit to the home of Arapiako resident Marlyene Jacobus.
Marlyene paddles her boat to Mass with her three sons. This
day, she greeted us with her 2 year-old, Raphael, wiggling in
her arms. Her older sons, she said happily, were at school —
thanks to the feeding program.
Like her neighbors, she hopes it will be continued for
another year.
“The program is very important because sometimes it is
difficult to have enough food,” said Marlyene. “It means the kids have better attendance in school,
and they learn better because of the program. Now they can pass the regional exams. They never did
that before!”
Roxanne Henry, a volunteer at the Arapiako church
kitchen, had the same experience. Four of her children
have passed high school entrance exams — one of them
qualifying for an advanced placement school — and she
credits last year’s feeding program for the change.
“Before the feeding program, my kids were cranky and
irritable. They got in fights. Now they are well-behaved.
Their appetites grew too! I feel like helping because I see
the benefit to the whole school, not just to me and my kids.”
If the program is funded again, hot meals will be
prepared by Incarnate Word Institute staff members and
distributed on foot or by boat to township schools and feeding centers. Teachers will screen students
to determine their level of need, and ensure the most needy are made the highest priority.
The menu will change daily and include an array of locally sourced food such as chicken, eggs, and
fish and plenty of vegetables. Some students will be eating these foods for the first time because their
families have never been able to afford such luxuries.
Roxanne’s willingness to work at the feeding center is an expression of her faith and she tries to
instill in her children the same gratitude to God. “They’re in church every Sunday,” she said.
Please support Cross Catholic Outreach and its goal of continuing the feeding program through
St. Francis Xavier Church and the Incarnate Word Institute. We can only provide this important
outreach to the Pomeroon River townships with your help!
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INSTITUTE PROJECT
PROJECT 0105
Help Now!
The children served by this important feeding program rely solely on the support of Cross Catholic
Outreach for their hot lunches, and we can only provide this vital outreach to the Pomeroon River
townships with your help!
For many of the children, this meal is the only nutritious food they will eat all day. They and their
families will be deeply grateful for your sacrifice, and your gift will have an important secondary benefit
by helping children make the most of their education.
In 1 John 3:18, the apostle told believers to “love, not...” in word or speech, but in truth and action.”
By seizing this opportunity to act mercifully on behalf of the poor, you can demonstrate the love of
God to those who need it most!
Our Promise to You!
Proceeds from this campaign will be used to cover any expenditures for this project incurred during the
current calendar year. In the event that more funds are raised than needed to fully fund the project, the excess
funds, if any, will be used to meet the most urgent needs of the ministry.
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2700 N. Military Trail, Suite 240 • PO Box 273908 • Boca Raton, Florida 33427-3908 • 1-800-914-2420
Copyright Cross Catholic Outreach. Cost-effectively written, designed and printed in-house.