A Lenten Journey with Harambee
The three pillars of Lenten devotion are prayer, fasting, and almsgiving. Catholics typically give alms throughout the year, but during Lent, we try to make our almsgiving more significant – giving even more in reparation for our sins. Families looking for a meaningful almsgiving opportunity that can involve the whole family need look no further than Harambee.
Harambee Africa International is a nonprofit worldwide organization founded in 2002, on the eve of St. Josemaría’s canonization. Harambee’s goal is to benefit the people of Africa, “taking into consideration the enormous diversity of talent and resources within independent African countries.” The word, “Harambee” means “all together for one” in Swahili. This spirit of solidarity imbues all the projects that Harambee funds – so far, they have completed 66 projects in 20 countries. Since 2002, Harambee Africa
International has grown to include a network of national associate nonprofits, including Harambee USA Foundation.
WIT spoke recently with Isabel Macalintal, the President of the Board of Harambee USA. She reported that the projects Harambee USA has funded have ranged from micro-business training, to a nursing scholarship program, to providing emergency supplies. Macalintal added, “We’ve improved access to healthcare – our maternity program, which provides prenatal and postnatal care, has improved the infant mortality rate, and we’ve had no maternal deaths.” When asked where the need was greatest, she responded, “The schools are very poor – in Nigeria, students have to share desks. And in Ivory Coast, many women are still illiterate.”
