Two thousand years after Christ we find ourselves living in a new global community. 35,000 people die of hunger everyday. How do we respond? We are being called to global solidarity with our brothers and sisters in other countries. God so loved the world that he sent his only son. By sending his son he acted in solidarity with the human race. He asks us to do the same. He asks the strong to take care of the weak. These are not just today's issues but they are our brothers and sisters. In serving him, we serve others. The Poor are Jesus in disguise. The gospel instructs us to love our neighbor. We are hope to the world that is searching for Peace and Justice. Together we form the universal church, which transcends local borders and sees the face of Christ in all people regardless of faith, color or nationality. To support a mission of international justice and peace, it is not our mandate to support large agencies, but a challenge for every believer and every community of Catholics to pursue peace. There needs to be a greater awareness and integration into the parish community by members, who reach beyond themselves and their own national boundaries to be a truly Catholic community. If people want to work for real peace there has to be a real connection between them and other countries. Solidarity demands responses that are varied. Stewardship is about more than money and how we use it. Sharing in action is stewardship. Developing an on going relationship that will enhance a person's dignity is one method of stewardship. Together we can make a bigger impact, which brings me to the essence of this article.

I am often asked the question, 'Why did I start Books for Peace?' In 1999, while visiting El Salvador on a mission trip with the St. Robert's church group, I had a life changing experience. I wanted to make a commitment to help the people and country that so warmly welcomed me. At the same time I wanted to address a problem that I saw as a detriment to their development. The problems that face a 3rd world nation are monumental and I realized that it was only by being selective, that I could hope to make any difference. I was astounded by the utter lack of books that I saw while visiting schools and communities. The illiteracy rate in El Salvador as published by US AID is 33 percent. The drop out rate after 3rd grade is very high in El Salvador. One of my favorite memories as a busy mother of 4 is reading to our children. With my background as a teacher and the influence of our mother, who as an English teacher, instilled in her 7 children the knowledge that reading was the key to a keen imagination, a better life and education, I found the lack of children's literature a great need. Thus I found a topic near and dear to my heart and the organization Books for Peace was born. By hoping to get children 'Hooked on Books' we hope to have them become more literate and more productive students.

Not only did I hope to help them, but I also wanted to make a direct connection between myself, my family, and our church community and the people, who do not have the resources that we do as Americans. The Books for Peace foundation is a nonprofit affiliate of the Truman Heartland Foundation. Since it's inception, Books for Peace has had over 40 people form the SJL community, who have gone on a Books for Peace delegation. I have found that what we bring to them is only a tiny compared to the love they give to us and that love which we bring home to our families and our lives.

With that thought, I have to mention that while we visit schools with the main mission to bring books and help foster literacy, it is impossible to listen and dialogue with the principals and teachers and not feel a keen sense of wanting to do even more. Thus the Books for Peace program has paid 3 teacher salaries for 2 years, built 150,000 gallon water cisterns at two schools for water use during the school day and bought residential lots for a playground. Currently we have identified children who cannot read due to reading problems. These children are literally forgotten and shunted to the side and placed in even lower grades. With special help, who knows what kind of Einstein we may be helping? Do we support individual children? -NO. But, do we support whole schools and the betterment of children -YES. By consolidating our dollars, we have been able to more fully support many children. An added plus is that we know these children by name and these schools intimately. We know their needs. We have been to them, we have visited them, and we have listened to their teachers and principals and heard their stories. They are all the same. Even though a teacher may only make $300 a month in El Salvador, they still care about each of their students. Sometimes they may have over 50 students in one classroom, but they are still enthusiastic about teaching. So with one last thought, this is an organization with absolutely NO ADMINISTRATIVE COSTS. 100% of your donation goes directly to the child or the school. Your $10 donation each month combined with a few others' donation might provide a reading specialist, a teacher's salary, or a water cistern. Together we can! Our next delegation is June 3rd to the 13th. If you are interested or want more information please contact us.
Books for Peace
1209 Indian Lane
Blue Springs, MO 64015
etrak@aol.com