Meal helps students learn to be grateful

How do you teach an American kid about destitution and poverty half a world away?

For the Rev. Sean O'Brien, it starts with locro, a popular vegetarian stew of Bolivia.

"The idea is to bring the students into the experience," says the Franciscan priest, who teaches religion to sixth- and eighth-graders at Sacred Heart Academy. "Make it more personal, and it makes a bigger impact."

Earlier this week, his eighth-graders shared a lunch of locro with beans and rice to get a sense of what some children eat in other parts of the world. That's all they may get in an entire day, if that.

And so the lesson begins.

O'Brien's students are taking part in what has become the U.S. Catholic Church's biggest fundraising project. Catholic Relief Services' Operation Rice Bowl is a Lenten season endeavor that has raised more than $191 million for hunger programs worldwide since its inception in 1975.

It works like this: Substitute a regular meal for a meatless meal, preferably from one of the countries served by the church's humanitarian agency. Donate the money you would have spent on the American meal to Operation Rice Bowl. Do that several times during Lent, the six-week period of sacrifice and spiritual reflection that leads up to Easter.

Statistics can be mind-numbing, especially to kids who never have to worry about getting three square meals a day, and plenty of snacks in between. According to the relief service, 1.4 billion people live below the international poverty line, surviving on less than $1.25 a day. So as bad as our country's economy is right now, it doesn't compare to other parts of the world.

Sacred Heart Academy is one of 12,500 schools, parishes and faith communities taking part in the annual drive. The agency, which provides online resources, menu suggestions and other materials to participants, estimates that 8.2 million Catholics take part.

Seventy-five percent of the money raised goes to development projects in 40 countries, with 25 percent remaining in the local dioceses to fund hunger and poverty alleviation efforts. This year's theme is "Solidarity Will Transform the World."

And what better time for this program? Traditional Lent practices include prayer, fasting and giving alms. If you can make a sacrifice that changes your habits and attitudes, it could become a lifelong practice.

"What we're doing is planting the seeds to help them think of the larger world," O'Brien says. "Maybe this will help them recognize just how fortunate and blessed they are in their own life, and to be conscious of those less fortunate."

Already, the priest's classroom lessons are changing attitudes. Jodie Anderson says participating in Operation Rice Bowl has taught her to be grateful for what she has.

"I'm eating this meal for lunch today, and it may not be much, but at least I know I'll have a regular dinner tonight. Other kids won't be so lucky," she says. "I've learned not to take what I do have for granted."

There's still time to participate in the program. For information and materials, go to orb.crs.org.

LOCRO (Bolivia)

1 cup water

2 tsp olive oil

1 small red onion, finely chopped

1 red bell pepper, chopped

1 green bell pepper, chopped

2 cloves garlic, minced

3 cups butternut squash, chopped

1 cup of red potatoes, chopped

2 ears of corn, cut into quarters

1 lb queso blanco viajero, cut into cubes (substitute ½ lb Mozzarella cheese and ½ lb Muenster cheese)

Salt, pepper, and cayenne pepper to taste

In a large pot, fry onion, garlic, and peppers in oil until soft. Add the squash, potatoes, corn, and spices and mix well. Add water and simmer for ½ hour, stirring often. When potatoes and squash are tender, mix in cheese. Serve hot.

Source: Operation Rice Bowl