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As a child in Machakos, Kenya, in the 1950s and '60s, Peter Kimeu did whatever it took to avoid going to sleep hungry - even if it meant re-chewing a piece of sugar cane someone had spit out on the ground.

Today, Mr. Kimeu is a representative of the East Africa branch of Catholic Relief Services, the international humanitarian agency of the U.S. Catholic bishops. He visits American schools, elected officials, dioceses and parishes once or twice a year to raise awareness about hunger, relief and development.

Mr. Kimeu uses his story to introduce CRS' Operation Rice Bowl program, a Lenten tradition that offers U.S. Catholics a way to connect with people in need worldwide through prayer, fasting and almsgiving.

Last week, he spoke at Catholic Central High School in Troy, The College of Saint Rose in Albany, Siena College in Loudonville and the University at Albany. (Other planned talks at St. Thomas School in Delmar and Notre Dame-Bishop Gibbons School in Schenectady were canceled after winter weather brought school closures.)

Mr. Kimeu told The Evangelist his time here was "very encouraging.

"Nobody takes pride in eating garbage, but when you share that kind of story with people, you are not only sharing a story, but passing things onto people," he remarked. "There's no better time to tell the story than during Lent."

During his childhood, droughts often devastated Mr. Kimeu's area. Mr. Kimeu's mother, a farmworker, only earned money when crops could grow - and even then, she didn't always get paid for her labor. His father's forestry salary paid for Mr. Kimeu's school tuition, but he still missed school sometimes because other expenses weren't covered.

The seven-member family lived in a mud, grass and stick house along with seven chickens, six goats and a few calves. Selling five eggs would get the family a pound of corn, if it was available.

Mr. Kimeu finished high school and two years of seminary training before becoming a teacher, and later a principal, to pay for his sisters' education. For the past 30 years, he's been a regional technical adviser for CRS.

He vowed never to allow his own five children to go to sleep hungry; today, they all have master's degrees.

But what he experienced in Africa continues today. "Many millions of children in Africa suffer the same way," he told The Evangelist. "Very many people in [the U.S.] don't understand what's happening outside the U.S."

He advises Americans to educate others - including lawmakers - about global poverty; fight for more federal foreign aid; support fair trade programs and the native countries of illegal immigrants; and live the Catholic faith "in solidarity with the poor of the world."

Advocates can also visit more than 100 countries that CRS helps. That's an expensive but worthy investment, Mr. Kimeu said: "Everyone I've seen who has gone out comes back here and touches three others. You come back here appreciating the fact that you have resources."

Despite a struggling U.S. economy, things are worse elsewhere, Mr. Kimeu said, highlighting a "gap between your world and my world." In Kenya, he noted, "I don't need to walk a distance [to see hungry people]. I'd say practically out of every 10 people I meet, four require food."

CRS ensures donations go to things like irrigation systems and works to rid poor countries of corruption. Military conflicts in African countries and foreigners greedy for resources can compound the issue of hunger.

"I don't think Africa needs guns," Mr. Kimeu said. "I think Africa needs food. Africa needs peace.

"CRS is the best gift God has given me in my life," he concluded. "It gave me an opportunity of touching people [who] suffered like I did. In a very special way, it was a healing process for me. I thought I was in a poor family, but I realized that I have much more than many people in the world."

Parishes throughout the Albany Diocese will take up a collection for Catholic Relief Services March 17-18. For information about Operation Rice Bowl, visit www.orb.crs.org.[[In-content Ad]]

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