Each year, Operation Rice Bowl calls us to pray with our families and faith communities; fast in solidarity with those who hunger; learn more about our global community and the challenges of poverty overseas; and give sacrificial contributions to those in need.
Operation Rice Bowl: This week’s Rice Bowl country is Bolivia. It is a country of 10 million people located just west of Brazil. It is about three times the size of Montana. Bolivia is the world’s largest producer of tin and is the second largest source of natural gas in Latin America. At the same time, 40% of Bolivians work in agriculture. Small-scale farmers face the challenges of deforestation, degradation of natural resources, and unpredictable periods of drought and floods. Catholic Relief Services is able to help these poor farmers learn newer agricultural techniques.
Part of the work of Catholic Relief Services with the Bolivian farmers is to reflect the call of Catholic Social Teaching to care for God’s creation. Helping Bolivian farmers to yield crops that are more productive includes providing an understanding of how to farm in a way that sustains the land. Protecting the environment reflects respect for the goodness of nature, a gift God has given.
This Week: Place 40 cents a day away for Rice Bowl in solidarity with the Bolivians who earn their living from the land, and in turn, seek to steward it.
