Information service of the Pontifical Mission Societies since 1927
Madrid (Agenzia Fides) – On Monday, February 2, the Catholic organization “Manos Unidas” presented its campaign “Fighting hunger, a task for everyone,” which this year is of special significance, as it is the 50th anniversary of when a group of women from Catholic Action started the first campaign against hunger with the battle-cry: “We declare a war on hunger.” The campaign “Fighting hunger, a task for everyone” will work towards the first of the Millennium Development Goals: “Eradicate extreme poverty and hunger,” in a world in which nearly 1 billion people suffer from chronic hunger and 1.4 billion lack the means for meeting their basic needs. Begoña de Burgos, President of Manos Unidas, thanked the media for its role in transmitting the messages that Manos Unidas uses year after year in an effort to change a unjust world.
“We know it is not easy,” she said, “but the greatest obstacle in eliminating hunger in the world is believing that it is impossible.” “At Manos Unidas, we are convinced that we will achieve it if we all have the will to do so and we put all our effort towards this end.”
The President of Manos Unidas also offered an update on provisional economic results for 2008, which show a total of 53.6 milion Euros in donations, which will probably reach 100% of the objective that the Manos Unidas General Assembly placed in October 2007, of 54 million Euros. Of the 53.6 million Euros collected, 41.5 million (77.5%) is from private sectors and 12.1 million (22.5%) is from the public sector. The collection of donations from residents has increased 4.4% in comparison with 2007 and the number has increased 1%.
Maria Giovanna Ruggieri, Representative in the FAO, from the World Union of Catholic Women's Organizations (WUCWO) and Vice-President for Europe of the same foundation, mentioned the direct connection between Manos Unidas and WUCWO and the essential role that, for many years, the woman has played in the fight against hunger and poverty in the world. Ruggieri also mentioned several statistics from the FAO that demand a commitment in the areas of education, human rights, and the fight against violence towards women, such as the one taken up by the 90 organizations from all of the world that form a part of the WUCWO. Among the data offered, it shows that: 26 million children die every year from hunger, diseases, and war; there are 127 countries (European nations leading the way) in the world implied in the various forms of trafficking of human persons for sexual exploitation, for forced or illegal labor, for the human organs market and for the “market” of child-beggars; 165 million children between the ages of 5 and 14 are used as “small slaves.”
Nieves Crespo, Salesian missionary in Zway (Ethiopia) since June 2002, has performed a study on the famines that Ethiopia suffers and that this year are especially hard due to the rise in basic food costs. However, according to this Salesian Sister, hope cannot be lost. “Just in trying to offer the best we can to those most in need, we can change their situations and help them to dream of a different future.”
The National Day of Manos Unidas will be celebrated on February 8, at 10:30am with a Mass celebrated by Cardinal Antonio Maria Rouco Varela, Archbishop of Madrid, and concelebrated by the Bishop-Counselor of Manos Unidas, Bishop Juan Jose Omella, in the Cathedral of the Almudena in Madrid. In addition, as is tradition, February 6 will be a Voluntary Fasting Day in all Spain, as a symbol of solidarity with the many people in the world who must fast for necessity during the entire year. The bells in all the Churches will toll at 12 noon, as a reminder on this day.
The Manos Unidas campaign will run in all the Spanish diocese and the various delegations will organize activities to spread awareness on activities and alert the society as to the needs and situations of those most in need in our world. A group of missionaries has also decided to travel throughout Spain, to offer their testimony of their work and how they face daily difficulties. (RG) (Agenzia Fides 04/02/2009)
