That's Where God Is

The guarantee of one's prayer      is very easy to know: How do I treat the poor?      Because that is WHERE GOD IS. What you do to them,      you do to God. The way you look at them      is the way you look at God. —Archbishop Oscar Romero (1917—1980)

Each day, 3-year-old Malifomo Rametsi and her brother Molefe, 4, attend a comprehensive preschool run by the Good Shepherd Sisters, a Catholic Relief Services partner working to give orphans and vulnerable children in Lesotho the benefit of early education and hope for the future.

That's where God is.

In rural Nicaragua, dad-to-be Balto Frank Orozco and his wife, Juana Victoria Gonzalez, attend prenatal checkups together—a rare occurrence in a place where many women give birth at home, without help from their husbands, let alone a doctor. The CRS-supported Child Survival project is working to reduce mother and newborn deaths in 125 rural communities. In 2012, the project reached 113,560 women and children by using a network of trained community volunteers—and emphasizing the role of dads.

That's where God is.

In Afghanistan, food and seed are often scarce by spring planting season. With just $10 in local materials, CRS is teaching potato farmers like Haji Mohammad Ali how to save their harvests from rot so they can feed their families during the long, harsh winters and have seed potatoes come spring.

That's where God is.

Today, I'd like to invite you to visit our interactive 2012 Annual Report, where you'll see bountiful evidence of God's presence in remote, destitute places. Yes, wherever people reach out with love to help one another, that's where God is. In 2012, compassionate donors like you improved the lives of more than 100 million people around the world.
Your gifts reflect the goodness in your heart and the breadth of your reach. In a challenging fiscal year, your faith provided a total of $196 million in private contributions. This allowed CRS to feed, care for, shelter, empower and protect poor children, women and men in 91 countries.
We cannot thank you enough for your incredible generosity. Your support makes our work possible.
May blessings overflow,

Dr. Carolyn Y. Woo President & CEO Catholic Relief Services