Charity begins at home. But as Christians, we are called to reach beyond our individual households and neighborhoods, and to live in spiritual solidarity with our brothers and sisters in our larger community and throughout the world. And as Catholics, we are given unique opportunities to make these broader connections through Catholic Relief Services (CRS), the official global outreach ministry of the U.S. Catholic Church.

We encourage you to check this page and the parish bulletin regularly for these opportunities to be the compassionate face of Christ to the world.

Please feel free to contact us with any questions or suggestions: 

Charlie and Dianne Gardner
Global Solidarity Ambassadors for Nativity Parish
gardner1947@gmail.com
317-407-9130

The Northern Triangle countries of Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador are among the world’s most dangerous countries for its citizens: the homicide rate for youth, at 90 for every 100,000 people, is nearly five times what the World Health Organization considers an “epidemic” and about 9 times the U.S. rate! Perhaps even more than the threat of gang violence, fear of starvation is motivating the current wave of migration to the U.S. southern border. The surge is coming largely from rural parts of Central America, such as Guatemala, where drought has killed the corn and beans people grow to eat. In Guatemala, 59% of families live below the poverty line and 23% of the entire population lives in extreme poverty. One of every 2 children suffers chronic malnutrition.
People fleeing Central American countries do so because of what’s happening in their home countries and not what is happening in the U.S. With continued violence and poor economic conditions, those fleeing often believe it is their only choice. When we understand the specific root causes of this latest exodus from Central America, we can see how counterproductive the decision is to dramatically reduce foreign aid to the region. Without this relatively small bit of assistance, even more poor rural families will succumb to desperation, and will migrate north. They will do whatever it takes to survive. Hunger does that. Utilizing U.S. foreign aid funds and donations from U.S. Catholics, CRS provides humanitarian relief and development assistance to deal with the root causes that are pushing people to leave their homes and countries in the first place.

LEARN MORE AT
www.crs.org/media-center/current-issues/central-america-migration-crisis-facts-and-how-help 
 
PRAY
 
MERCIFUL FATHER,
We know that Your love is infinite,
and that You care about all areas of our life.
Open new, safe opportunities for the Northern Triangle people,
and furnish the resources they need to live with dignity.
Encourage those who have enough to share essential resources
with those who lack the necessities of life,
and to do so with humble, grateful and loving hearts.
And, for those forced to escape from their homes and country,
protect them and all migrants in their travels.
 
TAKE ACTION
Contact your congressional representatives by phone or letter. Tell them you care about our suffering sisters and brothers and the humanitarian crisis at our southern border, and ask them to: 
a) Ensure that all who are at or within U.S. borders be treated with compassion and dignity; and 
b) Develop a just, bi-partisan solution to the humanitarian crisis that focuses on addressing the root causes that compel families to flee and enacting a humane reform of our immigration system.