Witness to History, Compassion, Healing

By Walter Blake

I began my career with Catholic Relief Services in Peru on October 1, 1983. It was a year visited by the infamous El Niño phenomenon, which alters rainfall patterns and impacts the fishing industry. Massive flooding was taking place in the north of the country while severe drought plagued southern Peru.

CRS Peru worked to help mitigate the impact of the shortage of rain in the southern highlands, which is historically the poorest part of the country. You say the word "flood" and a person immediately conjures up images of overflowing roads, people wading through knee-high waters, and waterlogged buildings. Drought, however, is a whole different matter. Drought is not something you can easily picture, but its impact is just as devastating as a flood's: crops wither, livestock dies and communities experience massive hunger.

Seeds That Grow

We provided seed for potatoes and Andean grains and supported pre-Columbian ways of planting and cultivating, working on ways to preserve the little water that was available. We also worked with communities so that they were stronger and more prepared for the onslaught of another natural disaster. CRS plants seeds that grow, that help people make the crucial government and local connections that enable them to get the assistance they need and become advocates for change.

Over the years I've seen CRS adapt to the needs of the people we serve. During my more than quarter-century tenure with CRS in Latin America, I've seen us change our focus from principally working to improve agricultural production to also helping people get their goods to market. We work to help them link to consumers and help them see the need to advocate with government for the resources to expand programs that CRS supported. We're like the Gospel parable of the mustard seed that grows into a full bush. It's how our work, many times beginning on a small scale, can be replicable and enlarged when it reaches beyond individuals and fosters change in public policy or government intervention.

A Beacon of Hope

Over the years, I've spent time in all of the CRS programs in Latin America, supporting a variety of programs including emergency response, peacebuilding, human rights and microfinance. We always work to strengthen our relationships with local partners, who are our key to successfully serving local communities. During times of conflict, CRS served as a beacon of hope for those we serve. We've worked with local church partners to create community alert systems that saved thousands of lives. We've shared in the heartache of our Peruvian brothers and sisters when their buildings were burned down, or all the animals in an alpaca production program were slaughtered during the height of the Shining Path insurgency.

I've witnessed the incredible resilience of the Salvadoran people as they rebuilt their country in the 1990s after the peace accords ended a civil war that claimed the lives of 75,000 people and displaced more than a million more. I've seen our partners' village banking programs blossom from a handful of participants into a formalized institution that serves around 25,000 clients.

Much to Learn

I've seen warfare and natural disasters, hunger and hope, and one of the first things I came to understand is that neither CRS nor any aid agency, for that matter, is going to be able solve the problems of the world alone. A problem has to be solved through the direct participation of the local community. We all have to work together. Our success really hinges on the community members themselves becoming direct and active participants in changing their lives. They have so much knowledge and experience to share, and we have much to learn from them. It has to be an equal partnership between us, our Church partners and the community; the people have to make the decisions themselves because they are the ones who have to live with the results. They are also the ones who will continue to sustain the project long after we've reached out to another community.

So many of the problems we face have developed over more than 500 years. We aren't going to solve them in three to five years. The local church has been here for centuries and they have told us so many times that we have to be in this for the long haul, that there needs to be a real commitment to support communities' efforts for change. We help our partners get the pieces together and support them as they fall into place. Over the years I've seen so many courageous people put their lives on the line to work for change, and the question we always ask ourselves at CRS and as Catholics is how do we champion and help with this work?

A Just and Peaceful World

We are all seeds in the constant process of making this a just and peaceful world. U.S. Catholics have played a crucial role in mobilizing over the years to get much-needed supplies and medicines to victims of disaster. Even the smallest efforts can have a huge impact. More recently, we've asked U.S. Catholics to become conscious consumers, and to ask themselves and their government that any free trade agreements not make things worse for people in places such as the Peruvian Amazon, that the rights and properties of everyone are respected. There is so much that people can do regardless of their income or where they live. Every seed planted can grow into monumental change.

As I face retirement, the thing I'll miss the most is the community of friends and fellow workers that are engaged in building a better world. I feel that my connection to CRS and the Catholic Church has allowed me to be part of something very big. I will continue to champion the same causes that I've promoted for CRS over the past 26 years. It's part of who I am. Through my interest in people and what I do to benefit them, I've gained so much that I want to continue giving back all that I've received.

Walter Blake is the country manager for Catholic Relief Services Peru. He is one of the longest-standing staff members working in the region. During his 26 years of service he has worked on reconstruction in Peru and peacebuilding and human rights programs throughout Latin America. He retires in early October.