Helping Hands Reaches Out to African Nation

In the Bible, Jesus identifies "Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your strength" as the greatest commandment, and "Love your neighbor as yourself" as the second. Sunday morning volunteers put the gospel to work at St. Patrick's Catholic Church.

The Parish Hall was busy Sunday morning with volunteers of all ages, from those learning to walk to seniors morning comfortable with a chair. Each person had a task, from measuring and weighing food products to carrying the bags to be boxed and prepared for shipping. Food products were carefully measured into bags, topped with yet another ingredient until the pre-determined meal bag is full. The scales were busy, the bag sealer was kept equally busy and the runners earned more than their goal of steps that morning. From the front door to the back corner, the room was busy with volunteers focused on the task at hand. By the end of the morning, enough meal kits were completed to feed all of Cheyenne County.

While the program incorporates the assets of Rise Against Hunger and Catholic Relief Services, it is technically a Helping Hands program, according to Rise Against Hunger Assistant Community Engagement Manager Morgan Battes of Kansas City, Kan.

"We send meals all over the world, but this particular project is going to Burkina Faso," Battes said.

Rise Against Hunger orders the food in bulk, then partners in the program cover the cost. Rise Against Hunger has 21 offices across the country, according to Battes.

Cost of the project averages about 50 cents per meal; 29 cents goes to Rise Against Hunger and 21 cents for shipping, distribution and development.

The meal package contains soy flour, rice, dehydrated vegetables and a micro nutrient package. Each packages makes about six meals.

Burkina Faso is a landlocked country in West Africa bordering Ivory Coast, Ghana, Niger, Mali, Benin and Togo with an estimated 274,200 square kilometers of land. It is an area considered poor even by West African standards.

Burkina Faso, which means "Land of Incorruptible People," is a former French colony that gained its independence as Upper Volta in 1960. The name Burkina Faso was adopted in 1984. About three-quarters of the population live in villages. Most of the farmers operate a subsistence farm and are therefore vulnerable to sudden changes in the climate such as drought or flood. The Burkina Faso diet consists of rice, maize and millet, as well as sorghum, peanuts, potatoes, beans, yams an okra.

On Sunday, St. Patrick's Helping Hands packaged 20,000 meal packages. This is the church's fifth year in the program.