It comes as no surprise that the tragic earthquake in Haiti has attracted an enormous amount of media attention. In my own interviews, I’ve been asked by reporters how I account for the incredible and generous response of the American…

Kenneth F. Hackett - who has written 13 posts on Catholic Exchange.
Posted on 03 March 2010
It comes as no surprise that the tragic earthquake in Haiti has attracted an enormous amount of media attention. In my own interviews, I’ve been asked by reporters how I account for the incredible and generous response of the American…
Posted on 30 September 2009
As the summer was drawing to a close, we heard of the death of Norman Borlaug, the father of the Green Revolution, which lifted millions of people, mostly in Asia, out of hunger through the production of high-yield varieties of…
Posted on 01 July 2009
Dear Friend,
The answer is: Moldova.
The question is: What is the most destitute country in Europe?
And the category is: Needless Suffering.
That’s how it might go if this were the game show Jeopardy. But life in a place…
Posted on 19 June 2009
Not long ago, Aminata Yattara sat at home on a stool in the dirt, pounding millet and dreaming about the day she could toss the pestle and pick up a pencil. School dominated her thoughts on her way to…
Posted on 25 April 2009
The highly skilled professionals who work at international humanitarian organizations have developed our own “insider” language to describe the work we do. For example, many humanitarians refer to the people we serve as “stakeholders.” Others call…
Posted on 06 March 2009
I visited Zimbabwe a week before the swearing-in of the opposition leader as prime minister by his erstwhile enemy President Mugabe, which initiated the Unity Government. While there, I traveled to see Catholic Relief Services’ programs…
Posted on 02 December 2008
As we prepare to celebrate the birth of the Prince of Peace, violence and civil unrest continue to dominate the daily headlines. The people of the Democratic Republic of the Congo cry out for an end to their suffering. Our…
Posted on 04 August 2008
As we enter the height of the Atlantic hurricane season, disaster preparedness is very much on our minds at Catholic Relief Services.
CRS is known for our efficient and effective response to disaster. But a key aspect of emergency response…
Posted on 05 June 2008
I recently had the opportunity to visit Haiti, the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere and one of the places most affected by high food prices. I saw firsthand the difficulties the food crisis is causing and the choices it…
Posted on 01 March 2008
For the past several years, Catholic Relief Services has had the great privilege to be part of a miracle.
It was not long ago that we were forced to watch in despair as our brothers and sisters wasted away and eventually died from AIDS. HIV was running rampant, particularly in sub-Saharan Africa, and there was little we could do. A diagnosis was a death sentence. And HIV was having a crippling effect, destroying economies and breaking up families. Husbands and wives were widowed, children lost their parents.
New hope came through a miracle of science called antiretroviral drug therapy, which literally gives new life to people living with HIV. But this so-called "AIDS cocktail" of drugs is expensive, and at first it was only available to people of means. It certainly wasn't an option in the poor communities served by organizations like CRS. That is, it wasn't an option until PEPFAR.