ASHEVILLE — Parishioners and students from Immaculate Conception Church and Immaculata School in Hendersonville, and from St. Lawrence Basilica and Asheville Catholic School in Asheville recently had the good fortune to hear Catholic Relief Services speaker Thomas Awiapo tell his inspiring journey from extreme poverty and hunger, to a life of empowerment, joyful inspiration, and educational ministry. These events sponsored by Catholic Charities and CRS, and titled “Encounter Lent 2017 – CRS Rice Bowl,” helped to launch the 2017 Lenten CRS Rice Bowl Program in these parishes and schools.
Awiapo’s story to attendees began when he was a child. Orphaned with his brothers at a young age, they scrounged for shelter and sustenance. He watched as his two younger brothers died from hunger, and then saw his older brother just walk away to seek something better. He relied on the kindness of others for shelter and his day-to-day needs.
When Awiapo was about 12 years old, a CRS education and nutrition program began several miles from his village. He went to go to school for the first time and also received food from the school. Today, Awiapo continues on his journey of empowerment by taking his story of suffering, rescue, hope and gratitude to Catholics in the United States.
He says that his yearly eight weeks of travel to dioceses and archdioceses in the U.S., which he has been doing now for more than 10 years, are a necessity. He just wants to tell as many people as he can “thank you” for their support of the Lenten CRS Rice Bowl Program. Through funds raised by CRS Rice Bowl, charitable and educational programs, such as the one that rescued him from poverty and hunger, are made possible in many countries around the world.
For Awiapo, saying thank you to CRS and those who support CRS through their donations, is “easy to do, for CRS saved my life and provided me with a future.”
“Today,” he says, “I have a wonderful wife and four children, a master’s education, and a job that enables me to help others. I am truly fortunate and grateful.”
CRS has worked in Ghana since 1958. It is just one of 100-plus countries in which CRS operates, affecting the lives of more than 100 million people through education, agriculture, health, water and sanitation, and nutrition programs. CRS Rice Bowl, which has been a Lenten “faith-in-action” program in the USA for 42 years, is implemented in more than 13,000 Catholic schools and parishes throughout the U.S.
— Joseph Purello, Special to the Catholic News Herald. Joseph Purello is the director of Social Concerns and Advocacy for Catholic Charities Diocese of Charlotte and also serves as the diocesan director for Catholic Relief Services.
Learn more
At www.crsricebowl.org: It’s not too late to start your own Rice Bowl collection for Lent. Download the app, join in prayer and get more information at the official CRS Rice Bowl website.