A Home of Her Own: Girli’s Story

Go FAR With CRS

See how the Go FAR campaign is creating transformational change for our sisters and brothers around the world. Through the generosity made possible by our Go FAR donors, we are bringing CRS’ Vision 2030 strategy to life, inspiring innovation and driving impact like never before.

Campaign Co-Chairs: The Call to Go Far

As co-chairs for this campaign, we are inspired by this moment of opportunity to drive impact like never before. It is time we transform the world, because we should and because we can. We ask you to join us.

Young People Are Building Stronger Societies

Through youth programs that provide job skills and prepare youth for adulthood, CRS is helping to build stronger, more resilient societies around the world.

Transforming the Land and Futures

Farmers in El Salvador are using water-smart agriculture techniques to protect the land, increase production and generate more incomes.

Water-Smart Agriculture in El Salvador

Farmers in El Salvador are tackling land degradation and transforming livelihoods with water-smart agriculture practices.

Building Safe and Dignified Homes

CRS Uganda Country Representative Niek de Goeij discusses CRS’ shelter building approach.

Building Homes and Communities in Nepal

As part of CRS’ Vision 2030 strategy, we are expanding shelter programming in Nepal based on our core values—focused not just on building roofs or walls, but safe, dignified homes and communities.

Area-Based Approach in Humanitarian Response and Recovery

An area-based approach puts people’s capacities and priorities at the center of the humanitarian response, building on existing government structures, and working in partnership with local government and communities to effectively meet people’s needs.

Portraif of Bayron Alejandro Cazún Castro, 26, in charge of communications of Raindrop Company. “For me Raindrop is to inform and give good information to farmers about their lands and agricultural companies so that they can take the best decisions. It’s a great experience to work in agriculture not in the traditional way, but using other methods and technology. We have all grown in our areas were we work”. Raindrop is a company committed to the restoration of landscapes. They give their services to farmers, which include the mapping of vegetation, technical advice for better soil health and productive water in it. It was formed with the help of training of Raíces Ahuachapán that is a 12 year project from CRS El Salvador, Caritas and other partners, that works with small holder farmers to help them survive drought, restore their plantations soil and renew ecosystems.

Go FAR: Meet Bayron

Hear the story of Bayron Alejandro Cazún Castro, a young man living and working in El Salvador.

Participants from the Muslim and Christian community take part in a Trauma Healing Workshop as part of the the Central African Republic Interfaith Peacebuilding Partnership (CIPP) project supported by USAID and partners in Boda, Central African Republic on September 13, 2019. The exercise involves linking hands to form a ring of unity that represents social cohesion between different faith groups in the community.The town was torn apart by inter religious violence in 2014 and with the support of NGOs assisting with shelter, medical treatment, social cohesion and trauma healing projects, is slowly rebuilding towards a lasting peace. Blaise Ndoïna, CRS Trauma Healing Animator says, “I am from Boda, I first worked with Caritas and then I started working with CRS in 2014. I was working on rebuilding homes for those whose homes’ had been burnt down after the initial violence struck our town. Before 2013, there was harmony between the community but after what happened this division was formed. People were suddenly labeled ‘Seleka’, ‘Christian’, ‘Muslim’ or ‘anti-Balaka’. At the beginning in 2014 with the kidnappings, the Christians fled to seek shelter at the church and the Muslims around the mosque. Despite that it was difficult to find something to eat, move around in the town..little by little the NGOs began to establish themselves within the two communities, they distributed food aid and medicine for everyone. At the moment that the two communities saw they were suffering the consequences on each side because of this violence, people realized there was no advantage in staying divided. Today, there has been an improvement in the relations between the communities. There are traumas that people have not been able to overcome. If we don’t help them, they will keep this with them until their deaths. We try to help them understand trauma and how to manage it in the different phases. Certain youth experienced parents who were killed on both sides.

Go FAR: Empowering Youth

Young people are our future. Through the Go FAR campaign, CRS will give young people the chance to pursue safe, productive futures in their home community. Together, we can transform a generation.

Louis Gama sits in front of his house in Saelai village in Timor Leste with his wife, Rosa Gama (beneficiary), 40 and his three children: Evangelina Gama, 6 months, Helio Gama, 5 and Aldo Gama, 7. Rosa has been part of the TOMAK CRS program for 6 months. They have lived in this village their entire lives. The family are farmers and tend to their crops daily. They grow maize, beans, sweet potato, vegetables and rice. They sell their vegetables at the local market or trade them for items like salt and oil for cooking. Before participating in the CRS nutrition groups, the mother only fed the baby porridge, but now she knows to mix in vegetables and other foods with protein like eggs that she knows provide vitamins and energy. She has also learned that if the baby is sick, she should continue to breastfeed. “I didn’t know what food my children needed.” The family also learned that visiting the health clinics for regular checkups is important. “I have seen improvement in their health because they now weigh more.” When Aldo’s grandfather passed away last year, he was very sad and did not want to go to school anymore so they kept him at home, but he is signed up for next year. Background Timor-Leste has the highest rate of child malnutrition in Asia with almost half of children under five stunted (low height for age). Research shows that rates of exclusive breastfeeding vary widely across the country (28-75%) and there is a lack of dietary diversity with only 13% of children under two years consuming a minimum acceptable diet. On a national level, widespread poor growth is attributed to limited availability of nutritional foods and high child illness burden. Previous research conducted in two (upland and lowland) populations in rural Timor-Leste indicates growth faltering in early development. In Timor-Leste, subsistence agriculture is the main livelihood strategy for the majority of the rural population. Subsistence in Timor-Leste is predominantly plant-based, with staple crops including rice, cassava, maize and beans. The country is food insecure, thus household nutritional security is difficult to achieve. TOMAK (To’os ba Moris Di’ak, or Farming for Prosperity) is an agricultural livelihoods and nutrition program supported by the Australian Government in Timor-Leste. CRS is working with local partners and communities to improve production of nutritious vegetables promoting appropriate nutrition for all age groups and increase access to savings and lending through SILC.

Go FAR: Strengthening Families

All children deserve safe, nurturing families. Driven by our faith to keep loving families together, CRS is poised to revolutionize the care and support of children and families worldwide.

Girlita “Girli” Ascalona, 37, will own one of seven pilot homes in the Anibong resettlement community. She is about to be evicted from her current home, one that floods in heavy rain and sits dangerously close to a main road with fast-moving traffic. She is most excited to have title to her land, something that felt out-of-reach on her own even though her husband has a steady job in sales. CRS is helping her to navigate the complicated, paper-based process of purchasing her small lot, which measures just 4x6 meters. She said that this land, which will belong to her free and clear in 10 years, will be her inheritance for her children, a place they can always come home. The house includes typhoon and earthquake-resilient construction, rainwater catchment system, indoor toilet, full electrical wiring, and is designed to safely hold a second story if Girlita decides to add another level in the future. This will be the first time Girlita lives in a home with running water. In these images, Girlita is taking care of chores around her current house. She also is pictured in a group portrait with 4 of her 6 children: Claire Ann, 17, black t-shirt Jielie Mae, 9, pink t-shirt Joshua, 6, yellow t-shirt Johnson, 3, red shirt Project background: Super Typhoon Haiyan, known locally as Yolanda, wreaked catastrophic devastation across the Philippine islands of Leyte and Samar on November 8, 2013, claiming more than 6,300 lives and leaving infrastructure and neighborhoods in ruins. At least 1.1 million homes were damaged or destroyed. Among the most devastated areas was the coastal district of Anibong in Tacloban, on Leyte island, where the super typhoon washed away or destroyed the vast majority of houses and local infrastructure. The damage was so severe, and the risk of further destruction in future storms so severe, that the Government of the Philippines declared it a “no-dwell zone” and compelled residents who had lived in the coastal area for generations to relocat

Your support is helping those impacted by Typhoon Haiyan recover, and build homes that will shelter their families for generations. Watch this video to hear Girli Ascalona tell her story of recovery.

Atoch Mawut Lat, 36, gestures on the farm of a vegetable producer group in Malou village, Bor county, Jonglei State, South Sudan, April 9, 2019.

Go FAR: Driving Mission

CRS transforms lives. For more than 75 years, CRS has assisted the poor and vulnerable around the world. CRS’ mission is both the inspiration and the fuel that propels our agency forward.

CRS is assisting Caritas Bangladesh in providing 265,636 Rohingya refugees with comprehensive support, including new safe, dignified shelters with support from local carpenters in planned camp areas; improvements in overly congested settlement areas to make it safer for families living there; construction gender-segregated toilet and bathing facilities; installation of tube wells and tube wells with solar-powered pumps; training of volunteers and development of messages to promote sanitation and hygiene; facilitating water and sanitation infrastructure maintenance; distributing hygiene kits, including female hygiene supplies; and protecting women and children through various activities, including: sharing protection and anti-trafficking messages; training community members to counsel and provide referrals for specialized help; constructing child friendly spaces where children can play and learn safely; bringing women together to discuss their unique challenges; and educating men so they can advocate on behalf of women. Photo by Ismail Ferdous for Catholic Relief Services

Support for Displaced Rohingya in Bangladesh

In western Myanmar, escalating violence has forced hundreds of thousands of Rohingya to flee into neighboring Bangladesh. CRS and Caritas Bangladesh are supporting their most basic human essentials, such as shelter, clean water, living supplies, protection and child safety.

Annet Konga(pictured), 16 is now the head-of-household for her three siblings - Emmanuel Longa, 13, Irene Kobang, 8 AND (Juru) Gladys, 6. Both of her parents died of HIV and TB in 2012, long before she and her family were forced to flee in 2016 from the violence of civil war in her native South Sudan.

Go FAR: Meet Annet

Hear the story of Annet Konga from Uganda.

Go FAR: Building Homes

Home is everything. In following our Gospel mission, CRS is ready to deliver safe and dignified housing to millions of people uprooted by crisis. CRS is ready to put faith into action and expand shelter programming based on our core values—focused not just on building roofs and walls, but homes and communities.

May 21, 2019 - Ifanadiana District, Madagascar - Photos from the office of CRS partner agency ValBio, which CRS is supporting through the SPICES project, aimed at creating a more sustainable use of Madagascar’s forested areas.

Rainforests: The New Frontier

CRS is transforming livelihoods by restoring degraded land. Through a global land restoration movement, CRS will help farmers around the world adopt practices to protect soil, water and trees. In Madagascar, for example, CRS is helping farmers grow trees and valuable crops to reduce poverty and protect rainforests at the same time.

Madame Félicité sorts her vanilla beans and prepares them to be curated.

Rebuilding Forests in Madagascar With Vanilla and Spices

Learn about farmers in Madagascar rebuilding their unique forest systems with vanilla and lots of other amazing spices to improve their lives, build habitat for the unique lemurs on the island and produce more nutritious food for their families. Your gift will help farmers send their children to school, fight malnutrition and live in harmony with the unique biodiversity of Madagascar.

May 23, 2019 - Ifanadiana District, Madagascar - Scenes from Ranomafana National Park, which displays Madagascar's unique biodiversity. With less than 10% of native rainforest left in Madagascar, CRS is implementing the SPICES project in Ranomafana in part to help reduce deforestation rates. Implementing through local partner ValBio, CRS efforts through SPICES are aimed at reducing deforestation by providing local access to a range of tree seedlings, and bolstering livelihoods through training and access to valuable cash crops like vanilla, pepper and cacao. The goal of the SPICES project is to improve local management of forested and agricultural landscapes, strengthen adaptive capacity and reduce exposure to climate risks of agricultural households, improve health and nutrition and improve education.

Go FAR: Transforming Livelihoods

It starts with the land. The world’s most vulnerable depend on farming for food and income. But far too many live on degraded land that cannot produce crops—poverty, unemployment, conflict and migration all escalate as a result. CRS is poised to strengthen our agricultural programming to transform livelihoods and landscapes on a regional scale.

Chief representative and the elder of Tinguri Community Seidu Adam (65) wears a cloth face mask at Tinguri Health Clinic in Tinguri, Northern Ghana during the COVID-19 pandemic on June 15, 2020.

Staying Strong, Together

The COVID-19 pandemic has forced us all to see things differently. In a time of uncertainty, we encourage you to watch this video through to the end, to see how hope can arise from fear.

Cardinal Dolan: Because We Should. Because We Can.

Cardinal Timothy Dolan, Archbishop of New York and Honorary Chair for the Go FAR campaign, talks about how we are called to help our most vulnerable brothers and sisters overseas.

Fishermen Moussa Maï, 60 years old, and Hassane Issa, 28 years old, take their boat onto Lake Chad to fish. They arrived in Kaya village 12 months ago, after fleeing Boko Haram violence in their home village. "This is the land of the peace," says Moussa. "When we arrived, we went to the traditional chief and he gave us land so we could start a life here," he adds. Lake Chad has shrunk up to 90% over the last several decades. Moussa and Hassane will be participating in a food fair organized by Catholic Relief Services and local partner SECADEV. Background: The "Food Security and Resilience in the Lake region” project seeks to improve the food security situation of more than 1,000 of the most vulnerable households in the Kaya, Mamdi, and Fouli Departments in the Lac Region near Lake Chad. With this project, CRS and our local partners SECADEV will organize a food fair, where beneficiaries receive vouchers to choose non-perishable food items from 27 different vendors. The project will also distribute corn seeds to 400 people and fishing equipment to 250 people, which aims to help improve livelihoods over the long-term.

Cardinal Dolan: Go FAR Campaign

Cardinal Timothy Dolan, Archbishop of New York and Honorary Chair for the Go FAR campaign, talks about casting out to the deep to help our most vulnerable brothers and sisters overseas.

CRS interviewed Cardinal Timothy Dolan about the Go FAR campaign in New York on CRS February 24, 2020. The Go FAR Campaign highlights five priorities: 1. Transform livelihoods by helping 1 million productive farmers grow better crops, feed their families and overcome poverty and hunger. 2. Empower 5 million young people to thrive and lead by providing training and opportunities. 3. Build homes for 1.5 million people affected by crisis so they can live with dignity and begin to restore their torn lives. 4. Help 1 million children live in strengthened families so they can reach their full potential in a safe and nurturing environment. 5. Drive our mission to go where need is greatest and put people’s God-given dignity at the center of all we do.

Cast Out to the Deep

Cardinal Timothy Dolan, Archbishop of New York and Honorary Chair for the Go FAR campaign, talks about casting out to the deep to help our most vulnerable sisters and brothers around the world.