A Tribute to Mothers from CARE, Catholic Relief Services, Church World Service, Oxfam and Bread for the World

Oxfam: Ten Mothers Who Have Made a Difference

In honor of Mother’s Day, Oxfam offers 10 stories of moms from all over the world who are working with Oxfam to right the wrongs of poverty and injustice. Whether they’re transforming their countries, their communities, or their families, these powerful women are not only raising a new generation—they’re changing the future. Read the wonderful tributes to Josephine Alad-Ad in the Philippines, Laura Chavez in Guatemala, Dorothy Ngoma in Malawi, Harriet Nakabaale in Uganda, Virginia Ñuñonca in Peru, Elizabeth Missokia in Tanzania, Svay Mon in Cambodia, Emiliana Aligaesha in Tanzania, Delia Salminang in the Philippines, and Bertukan Girma in Ethiopia.

Church World Service: My 'Other' Mother in Eritrea

When I was 22 years old I moved to a small village in East Africa as a member of the Peace Corps. I rented a concrete block room which shared a courtyard with an elderly Eritrean woman whom I called "Adey" which is the T'grinia word for mother. As this Mother's Day approaches, I find myself thinking about this other mother of mine from so far and long ago. Despite the frailty of age, she offered care by feeding me dinner, companionship by teaching me how to brew traditional coffee and sharing it with me during the quiet weekends, hospitality by including me in village festivals and sanity by personally killing the rat that kept stealing my food at night. Mary Catherine Hinds, Church World Service

CARE: Our Strongest Protectors

Our mothers are our strongest protectors and most fervent supporters. For many of us, they're our first heroes. All over the world, our staff watches mothers in poverty move mountains to help their children survive and thrive. These mothers work long hours so they can feed their children, and come to us prepared to sacrifice everything for the sake of their families.&The mothers we work with – the mothers you're supporting by being a part of CARE – work hard to escape poverty. Their struggle is incredibly strenuous, and often heart-wrenching. -  Sign virtual Mother's Day Card from CARE  

Catholic Relief Services: Mothers Put their Children First

I'm touched when I watch women laboring in the fields with their children strapped on their backs, bobbing along rows of planting, stopping every minute or so to pat a leg, caress a cheek, reposition a sleeping baby. I'm touched by the way that children are taken everywhere—to meetings, work, the kitchen, to fetch water. The children I see are allowed to be children, given playthings made of scraps of cloth or fashioned from mud, or purchased at the local market with a bit of extra pocket money. Sara  A. Fajardo, Catholic Relief Services 

Bread for the World: Uniting Mothers Separated from their Children 

Speaker John Boehner
Washington, DC

Dear Speaker Boehner:

This Mother’s Day, I write to you in support of all of the mothers separated from their children by America’s broken immigration system.

I encourage you to hold votes on immigration bills so Congress can pass significant immigration reform into law this year. Our current system fragments millions of families, tearing mothers and children apart for many years — sometimes for the rest of their lives.

Our country can do better, and we look to you to get us there. Please hold a vote to repair our broken immigration system, a repair that could reunite mothers and their children.

Thank you for your leadership in pushing this issue forward.  Sign Petition here