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April 9, 2007 • VOL. 45, NO. 7 • Oakland, CA
San Ramon parish
campaigns against
global poverty one Easter egg at a time
 |
| Youth ministry leader Wendy Thompson (left) and junior high members of the youth ministry program at St Joan of Arc Parish wear bunny ears during a pre-Easter sale of Divine chocolate eggs and papier-mâché rabbits to promote Fair Trade products. |
On the fifth
Sunday of Lent, junior high students in San Ramon donned bunny ears to
sell Fair Trade chocolate eggs and papier-mâché rabbits to
members of St. Joan of Arc Parish.
Participants of the EDGE youth ministry program and parish team members
of the Catholic Campaign against Global Poverty joined together to raise
awareness about Fair Trade and to draw attention to the U.S. bishops’
call to global solidarity.
Each weekend during Lent, parishioners received an information flyer from
the Lenten Journey to Justice series. They examined key issues relating
to the root causes of poverty in our world and Fair Trade, debt relief,
foreign aid, and the Millennium Development Goals.
All Catholics are being asked to participate in this campaign and to help
eradicate extreme poverty by the year 2015.
By buying Fair Trade chocolate eggs and papier-mâché rabbits,
the parishioners were introduced to this alternative and viable model
for international trade. The principles of Fair Trade support the dignity
and right to self-determination by ensuring that artisans, farmers and
workers around the world earn a fair and stable price for their goods
and labor.
Fair trade programs also encourage sustainable environments and investment
into the local community. Yet the key to the success of Fair Trade is
to have informed consumers who care about the people who produce the goods
they consume and the resources used in production.
The cocoa beans used to make the Divine chocolate eggs come from the Kuapa
Kokoo co-op in Ghana (West Africa). The co-op was established in 1993
and today represents some 45,000 cocoa farmers.
It also owns almost half of Divine Chocolate, a Fair Trade company that
manufactures and distributes high-quality chocolate products in Britain
and the U.S.
Kuapa cocoa growers receive above-market Fair Trade premiums for their
cocoa beans and some of these profits are used to fund community development
projects such as wells for clean-water systems and schools.
The papier-mâché rabbit boxes were made in India by artisans
of the ASHA Handicraft Association. ASHA, which means “hope”
in Sanskrit, was started in 1975 by a group of Christian businessmen.
Today it successfully markets handcrafts from 1300 artisans all over
India.
ASHA welfare workers work closely with the artisans and their families,
providing medical assistance and educational grants for school fees, uniforms
and books for the children. Other benefits include interest-free loans,
facemasks for artisans working with dust or powders, advances to buy raw
materials, and clean drinking water.
The net proceeds of the Fair Trade sale at St. Joan of Arc will be donated
to organizations that operate Fair Trade programs for farmers and artisans.
Many schools and parishes in the Oakland Diocese are now beginning to
use Fair Trade coffee and tea at their parish events and also making it
available for sale to parishioners. The global poverty team at St. Joan
of Arc also plans to introduce Fair Trade coffee to its parishioners in
the coming months.
More information about the Catholic Campaign against Global Poverty and
Fair Trade products can be found at the websites below.
Catholic Campaign against Global Poverty: www.usccb.org/sdwp/globalpoverty/resources.shtml
Catholic Relief Services: www.crs.org
A Greater Gift: www.agreatergift.org/AboutUs.aspx
Divine Chocolate Company: www.divinechocolate.com
ASHA Handicraft Association: www.ashahandicrafts.org/communityproj.html
Diocesan social justice resources: www.oakdiocese.org/pastoral/SocialJustice
(Theresa Tavares is a team member of the Catholic Campaign against
Global Poverty and chairperson of Malawi – A Campaign of Hope at
St. Joan of Arc Parish in San Ramon. She can be reached at theresatavares@comcast.net
.)
