CRS Rice Bowl: A Story of Hope from Honduras

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Each Lent, Catholic families across the country unite to put their faith into action through prayer, fasting and almsgiving. Through CRS Rice Bowl, families learn about how our sisters and brothers across the globe overcome hardships like hunger and malnutrition, and how through Lenten alms, we have the power to make the world a better place for all. CRS Rice Bowl shares stories of hope from CRS’ work around the world. These stories are examples of how your Lenten alms are helping communities find solutions to problems like hunger and malnutrition.

(CRS) — Rony lives with his wife Reina and their two sons, Emilson, age 14, and Maynor, age 9, about two hours from Tegucigalpa, the capital of Honduras.

Like many children in Latin America, Emilson loves to play soccer. And when his parents asked him about his future, he didn’t hesitate to say he wanted to become a professional soccer player.  

“We have to make an effort,” Reina told Rony. “I know that with God’s help, everything can be done.”  

So, despite the distance and the expenses involved, Rony took a leap of faith and enrolled Emilson in a soccer academy in Tegucigalpa.  

Rony is a farmer who grows corn, beans and bananas. But it’s hard to get good harvests working in the Dry Corridor – an area impacted by high temperatures and lack of rain. Droughts have become more frequent and storms stronger. “Nowadays, we don’t know when winter starts or when it ends,” Rony said.

Determined to support Emilson’s dream, Rony participated in a Catholic Relief Services project, which helped him repair an old reservoir and install a low-cost irrigation system with pipes and hoses that uses very little water to grow his crops. He also learned to let the harvest residue rot – instead of burning the land – because the residue becomes the soil’s fertilizer.

Thanks to the watering system and his new skills, Rony can harvest his crops even if it doesn’t rain. His produce and income are now enough to feed his family, pay the soccer academy’s fees and help people in his community.   

Today, Rony has even become an advocate for caring for the environment. And he feels it is his responsibility that others do, too.

“I have learned a lot about how to take care of, value and protect the natural resources that the Lord has given us, such as water,” he says. “That’s the best way to guarantee the lives of our families and the animals.”

Make a donation to CRS Rice Bowl to help communities in Honduras, the Philippines, Kenya and other countries overcome hunger and malnutrition, poverty and the impacts of climate change. Your almsgiving will make a difference for families trying to escape poverty and thrive.

To donate online, visit https://www.crsricebowl.org/.

To donate by phone, call 1-877-435-7277.

To donate by mail, send a check to  Catholic Relief Services, CRS Rice Bowl, PO Box 5200, Harlan, IA 51593-0700.