Addressing a Bread for the World audience in Washington in June of 2019, travel writer Rick Steves spoke about a program he produced that connects the impact of climate change and hunger. To produce this documentary, Steves traveled to Guatemala and Ethiopia. We recorded a portion of his comments at a Bread Lobby Day reception.
"I want to empower development in the hungry world, to be able to develop in a way that is less impactful in a negative way to climate change. There are a lot of desperate people in desperate countries,..so that just to live, they have to deforest, they have to abuse their soil," he said.
The program, "Hunger and Hope: Lessons from Ethiopia and Guatemala," made its premiere on PBS on March 31.
In this hour-long special, Rick Steves travels through Ethiopia and Guatemala to learn about extreme poverty and its solutions, including smart development aid, empowering women, child nutrition, and education.
9:30-Noon All Saints Lutheran Church 4800 All Saints Rd NW, NE.Albuquerque (map)
Lupe Conchas, Bread for the World's Southwest Regional Organizer, will
provide an overview of this year's letter-writing campaign and answer
all relevant questions. He will tell us how you can get more resources
and information via regional webinars. He will
also give us information about Bread for the World's
Advocacy Summit and Lobby Day in Washington on June 8-10.
Thank you to Lucretia Tippit, Judy Messal and the team at All Saints Lutheran Church for hosting the event.
The Campaign
Last year, Bread focused our annual Offering of Letters campaign on
global nutrition so mothers and children could get the foods they need
to lead healthy and fulfilling lives. Because of your advocacy, both the
House and Senate introduced its own versions
of a Global Nutrition Resolution.
In 2020, we will again promote nutrition. In addition to continuing our
advocacy work around global nutrition, we will also turn our attention
to those experiencing hunger in the United States. Read
MoreGet Toolkit
Powerpoint Presentation
Join Us!
These churches
have set a date to hold an Offering of Letters this year: Albuquerque Mennonite Church, Our
Lady of the Most Holy Rosary Catholic Community, All
Saints Lutheran Church, St.
Paul Lutheran Church,
St.
Andrew Presbyterian Church.
Other congregations that have written letters in recent years and/or are
committed to writing letters in 2020 are Central United Methodist Church, First Presbyterian Church
(Albuquerque). First Presbyterian Church (Santa Fe), Immaculate
Conception Catholic Church, La Mesa Presbyterian Church, Peace Lutheran
Church (Las Cruces), Smith Memorial Presbyterian Church (Truchas), St.
John XXIII Catholic Community, St. Michael and All Angels Episcopal
Church, St. Therese Little Flower Catholic Church,
St. Timothy's Lutheran Church.
The City of Santa Fe Arts Commission has invited 17 local artists to participate in an exhibition that focuses on hunger in our state and around the world.
The artists, who work in a variety of media, will display their work at the Santa Fe Community Gallery, 201 W. Marcy St, which is inside the Santa Fe Convention Center. The exhibition, entitled “Longer Table: Food, Nourishment and Sustainability,"will be launched with a special reception today,
September 27, 5:00 PM to 7:00 PM, at the community gallery. The works of
the artists will be in display until January.
The artists were asked to address the myriad issues related to food production, sustainability, scarcity, affordability, safety, access and availability, and the ramifications of our food
policies in New Mexico.
"According to an article in 2016, the effects of climate change on food production around the world could lead to more than 500,000 deaths by the year 2050," said the Santa Fe Arts Commission in a Facebook page for this event. "Climate related impacts on agriculture could lead to an overall global decline in food availability. We are headed into a world food crisis and the evidence is mounting."
"If you are fortunate to have more than you need, build a longer table, not a higher wall," said Santa Fe artist Bette Yozell, who works primarily in watercolors and gouache, with explorations in glass, etching, and various other media. "I am grateful to have this opportunity to address the challenge of global food sustainability in a visual format."
Yozell is the only one of the 17 artists I know personally. I met
her and her husband on an educational trip to Havana, Cuba,in December 2016, sponsored
by the Latin American and Iberian Institute at the University of New
Mexico. I was one of the LAII staff people accompanying the group of
more than a dozen people from New Mexico and other areas to study art
deco architecture in the Cuban capital and to experience the Havana Jazz
Festival.
You can see more of Yozell's work via a separate exhibit, entitled Mixed Media, at the Jean Cocteau Cinema gallery in October. "The opening will be on
Thursday, Oct. 3, from 5:30-7. I am hoping you can make this, as well. A
videoed interview of me in my studio has been made in conjunction with
this exhibit," said Yozell.
A #ZeroHunger World Celebrate World Food Day in Albuquerque
Sunday, October 13, 2019 2:30-4:30 p.m. St. Therese School 311 Shropshire Pl NW Albuquerque
Listen to stories of hope, of individuals promoting environmental sustainability and addressing hunger.
This year, World Food Day calls for action across sectors to make
healthy and sustainable diets affordable and accessible to everyone. At
the same time, it calls on everyone to start thinking about what we eat.
Achieving Zero Hunger is not only about working to alleviate hunger, but also nourishing people, while nurturing the planet.
Photo: St. Therese School
Starting in the St. Therese school garden, we will hear from the East Valencia Urban Garden Project and from the students who tend the school garden.
We will then process across the street to Saint Therese of the Infant Jesus Church, where we will learn about The Garden's Edge and its Guatemalan partner Qachuu Aloom, about the South Valley farmers association Agri-Cultura Network, about a cooperative effort between the Lighthouse Muslim community and the Albuquerque Baha'i Community to feed people who are homeless in Albuquerque.
We also hope to hear from a local Jewish congregation that has been involved with helping Central American refugees and a student who urged the Albuquerque Public School Board to change the district’s policy of counting SNAP eligibility for Title I funding (as opposed to counting school lunch forms).
Please bring fruits and vegetables to share at a reception following the event.
Parking at St. Therese School and across the street at St. Therese Church.
Sponsors: Interfaith Hunger Coalition, New Mexico Interfaith Power and Light, St. Therese School, St. Therese pf the Infant Jesus Parish, Surgite: A Sacred Dance Company. World Food Day theme song composed and led by David Poole.
Recognizing the importance of sustained United
States leadership to accelerating global progress against maternal and
child malnutrition and supporting United States Agency for International
Development's commitment to global nutrition through its multi-sectoral
nutrition strategy. Summary ofHouse Resolution 189 and Senate Resolution 260
As of mid-July, Bread for the World members in New Mexico had written 29 letters to Rep. Xochitl Torres Small and 254 to Rep. Deb Haaland urging our congressional representatives to support efforts to boost our country commitments to global child and maternal nutrition. This ask is part of Bread for the World's 2019 Offering of Letters. Better Nutrition, Better Tomorrow.
Collage of Lobby Day Visits
The letters from constituents might have played a part in the decision of Reps. Haaland and Torres Small to cosponsor House Resolution 189. Our two members of Congress were among the broadly bipartisan group of 94 House cosponsors.
Of course, our Lobby Day visits to the Washington offices of the congresswomen might have helped, along with follow-up from Bread government relations staff.
We have also been in touch with Rep. Rep Ben Ray Lujan, who promised me during a conversation in Albuquerque that he would consider cosponsoring the initiative. This conversation came during the August congressional recess, and hopefully he will add his name when Congress returns in September.
On Lobby Day, I also visited the offices of Sens. Tom Udall and Martin Heinrich. We also requested that they sign on to the Senate version of the resolution. As of mid-August the two senators were not yet among the bipartisan group of 35 Senate cosponsors of SRes260. We are hopefully that they will add their names to the list.
I innovated a way for me to be a more ethical travel company by
giving myself my own carbon tax...I'm creating a portfolio...What I want to do is empower development in
the hungry world...to be able to develop in a way that would not be
impactful in a negative way to climate change.... -Rick Steves, travel writer and television host
Rick Steves was a surprise guest speaker at the Bread for the World Lobby Day reception on June 11. Steves happened to be in Washington lobbying Congress on another topic, and by coincidence found himself on Capitol Hill on the same day that a few hundred Bread advocates were meeting with their members of the House and Senate to advocate for global nutrition initiatives.
So Steves, a very close friend and supporter of Bread for the World, came to our reception. His presence was serendipitous because it gave him a chance to tell us more about the television special on hunger that he plans to release later this year, entitled Hunger and Hope: Lessons Learned from Ethiopia and Guatemala.
Ending Structural Poverty
"I went down there not to do a tour show on Ethiopia and Guatemala...We didn't even go to the famous places..We can use those countries as a classroom for why there is poverty," Steves told dozens of people gathered in the It's structural. Bread for the World tackles the structural underpinnings of poverty and hunger."
As an example, Steves mentioned the global debt relief campaigns, that Bread and other organizations supported in 2000. "Bread for the World spearheaded this. We led the way in forgiving the debt of the more heavily indebted nations on this planet. That's structural poverty. And we took away that bit of structural poverty."
Climate-Smart Agriculture
In his comments at the Lobby Day reception, Steves spoke of the need to take climate change seriously when creating development programs for poor countries.
"I want to empower development in the hungry world, to be able to develop in a way that is less impactful in a negative way to climate change. There are a lot of desperate people in desperate countries,..so that just to live, they have to deforest, they have to abuse their soil."
Steves spoke of the need to develop "climate-smart agriculture," which would allow people to produce food and at the same time not contribute so much to the carbon problem on the planet.
To this end, Steves has pledged $200,000 for Bread for the World to support climate-smart agriculture in the hungry world. He is raising these funds by giving himself a carbon tax applied every time he travels to Europe or other destinations to produce his popular programs. Steves outlines his commitment in an article on his website.
This video contains about six-plus minutes of Steves' comments at the Lobby Day reception.
Recognizing the importance of sustained United States leadership to accelerating global progress against maternal and child malnutrition and supporting United States Agency for International Development's commitment to global nutrition through its multi-sectoral nutrition strategy. H.Res.189
Earlier this year, Rep. Roger Marshall (R-Kansas) and Rep. Jim McGovern (D-Massachusetts) submitted House Resolution 189 (H.Res.189). The measure was referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs, and also to the Committee on Agriculture
In the Senate, Republican Susan Collins and Democrat Chris Coons of Iowa put together a similar measure, which had not been assigned a number as of Lobby Day.
The Resolution is closely linked with Bread for the Worlds' Offering of Letters, Better Nutrition, Better Tomorrow.
Lobby Day
On June 11, Lobby Day, Bread for the World members met with aides (and sometimes with actual legislators) to urge them to cosponsor the two initiatives, and some cases to thank them for already having done so.
On Lobby Day, I met with Mary Nugent at Rep. Debra Haaland's office and Jake Jackson at Rep. Xochitl Torres Small's office (and dropped a package of information by Rep. Ben Ray Lujan's office) to urge their bosses to cosponsor the resolution.
In the Senate, I met with Adriana Mares and Blair Hammond at Sen. Martin Heinrich's office, and with Clint Cowan at Sen. Tom Udall's office. I asked that our senators cosponsor the Collins-Coons resolution, which did not have a number as of that date.
In all my visits, I handed aides letters that were written by members of Central United Methodist Church. The letters created a real connection with constituents back home.
Stay tuned for updates and follow-up action, including visits to the local offices.
Upper Left to Right: Jake Jackson, Blair Hammond, Andrea Mares. Lower Left to Right:Mary Nugent, Clint Cowan
Representatives of nine congregations gathered on Saturday morning, March 16, to discuss the 2019 Offering of Letters: Better Nutrition, Better Tomorrow and to hear from one of our newest members of the Bread for the World national board of directors.
About a dozen people attended the workshop, which included members of Albuquerque Mennonite Church, Annunciation Catholic Church, Immaculate Conception Catholic Church, La Mesa Presbyterian Church, Our Lady of the Most Holy Rosary Catholic Community, St. Andrew Presbyterian Church, St. John XXIII Catholic Community, St. Paul Lutheran Church and St. Timothy Lutheran Church. Most of these churches also participated in our 2018 letter-writing campaign, which yielded 1, 353 letters to Congress on protecting safety-net domestic nutrition programs.
Talking Child Nutrition
The topic of this year's letter-writing campaign is very straightforward. We are asking Congress to pass legislation to establish a new, scaled-up
approach to global nutrition. Passage of a bill or resolution will
strengthen U.S. commitment to global child nutrition and will lead other
countries to join us in the global effort to end hunger.
Still, there were some questions. For example, one participant asked whether the legislation Bread supports would target the health of a child before he/she is born. This would mean an emphasis on providing nutrition for expectant mothers.
The answer is yes, of course. The 1,000 Days Campaign, which provides a model for global nutrition initiatives, takes into account the health of a child from the beginning of a mother's pregnancy to the boy or girl's second birthday. "Nutrition programs for pregnant women and young children are highly cost effective. Every dollar spent on them produces on average a $16 return from reduced health care costs and people's improved ability to participate in the labor market," says the Hunger and Poverty Facts section of the four-page position paper on this year's Offering of Letters.
E-Mails, Handwritten Letters and Lobby Day(s)
There were also discussions on whether e-mails are effective, on the timing of letters, and on the mechanics of delivering the actual letters to Congress. We agreed that electronic communications are a relevant way to connect with legislators, but that messages should be personalized and that a postal mailing address should be provided.
St. Timothy Lutheran members
In Albuquerque, some congregations are planning to continue the tradition of delivering the letters to the local office and perhaps taking the opportunity to discuss global nutrition with a local aide. St. Timothy Lutheran and La Mesa Presbyterian Church have both recently organized visits to the local offices of our elected officials in downtown Albuquerque.
Along those lines, we are working on setting up local visits in Albuquerque to the offices of Rep. Debra Haaland, Sen. Martin Heinrich and Sen. Tom Udall, in conjunction with Bread for the World's Lobby Day, which is on June 11. At least two people from Albuquerque are planning to visit Capitol Hill on that day. Several churches and one synagogue (along with a national representative from MAZON: A Jewish Response to Hunger) organized a local Lobby Day in June 2017.
Board member Kara Bobroff
One of the two people planning to attend Lobby Day in Washington this year is Kara Bobroff, a new member of Bread for the World's board of directors. The visit to Capitol Hill would coincide with the summer board meeting. I (Carlos Navarro) also plan to attend Lobby Day.
Bobroff, founding principal of the Native American Community Academy (NACA) in Albuquerque, was a special guest at our Offering of Letters workshop. She spoke on strategies to engage Native American communities in our anti-hunger work in New Mexico and elsewhere. "As far as getting more Native American communities involved [in anti-hunger efforts], the focus on children is one of the primary ways to do that," said Bobroff. She pointed out that ensuring that children have adequate nutrition is a universal goal for communities across the globe.
In part because of her great success with NACA (which serves as a model for Native communities elsewhere in the country) and her 30-year track record in education, Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham earlier this year appointed Bobroff as one of the deputy secretaries of New Mexico Public Education Department (PED). "She helped to create a network school scorecard to provide a more
holistic view of school and student success in order to guide future
educational growth," said a press release from Gov. Lujan Grisham's office.
Bobroff spoke enthusiastically about a new initiative in this year's 60-day session of the New Mexico State Legislature that created a new early education agency. The Early Childhood Education Department, which was approved by the State Legislature, would develop programs for infants and young children up to age 4. The programs would include home visits for families, child care assistance and
prekindergarten. "I think there might be way to have the efforts of [local Bread advocates] connect with some the programming with women and children at that age level," said Bobroff.
So how did Bobroff become acquainted with Bread for the World? She learned about the organization while serving with Bread president David Beckmann on former President Barack Obama's Advisory Council for Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships. Beckmann asked her to consider becoming a member of the Bread board, and she accepted an invitation to be part of the ballot for the board of directors. She became a member of the board, beginning on Jan. 1, 2019.
As a new board member, it was very valuable for Bobroff to meet with some grassroots members at our Offering of Letters workshop. "It's interesting to know the work that you're doing locally, but also what's happening at the other levels as well," she told participants at the workshop.
Here is a four-minute clip of Bobroff's talk at our local Offering of Letters workshop. (Ivan Westergaard of St. Paul Lutheran Church and Rena Dragoo of Immaculate Conception Catholic Church look on).
Bread for the World’s 2019 Offering of Letters: Better Nutrition, Better Tomorrow urges our government to accelerate progress toward ending hunger by increasing funding for global child nutrition programs. In this video, Bread President David Beckmann introduces us to the letter-writing campaign for this year.
I recently traveled to a mountain village in Guatemala called El Paraiso. In this country of great natural beauty, I saw the impact of hunger with my own eyes. Nearly all the children in this village are underweight for their age; they are chronically malnourished.In some
parts of the highlands of Guatemala, as many as 7 in 10 children suffer
from chronic malnutrition. It does not have to be this way. God has made it possible for us to end hunger in our lifetime.
-David Beckmann, President, Bread for the World (See USAID Nutrition Profile for Guatemala)
Join us at our Offering of Letters workshop in Albuquerque
Saturday, March 16, 2019 9:30-Noon La Mesa Presbyterian Church (conference room) 7401 Copper, NE
We will hold a conversation on the topic of letters for 2019, entitled "Better Nutrition, Better Tomorrow." The discussion will led by Carlos Navarro, volunteer state coordinator for Bread for the World in New Mexico. Here is a brief dscription of the campaign:
"Better nutrition today means a better tomorrow for millions of women and
children around the world," said David Beckmann, president of Bread for the World "That's why, beginning in 2019, Bread for the
World will work with you to mobilize the political will to make this a
policy priority and to take a new approach to scale up what we know
works in helping improve the nutrition of women and children — including making global nutrition the focus of our 2019 Offering of Letters."
Photo from NACA website
Special Guest
Our special guest at the meeting is Kara Bobroff, founding principal of the Native American Community Academy and a new member on the national board of directors of Bread for the World. Kara--who would have just returned from her first board meeting in early March--will offer additional information about the OL as well us tell us about her work to promote education among Native youth in New Mexico and elsewhere. She will also discuss her overall vision of how we can come together to address hunger within tribal communities, our state of New Mexico, and our nation.
On Wednesday, October 24, Catholic Radio broadcast an interview with Katie Morris on the Archbishop's Hour about her experiences working for Catholic Relief Services in sub-Saharan Africa, including her latest assignment in Ethiopia and her first posting in Malawi. Morris also spoke of her experiences in the Dominican Republic and Uruguay while volunteering with the non-profit organization Amigos de las Americas. At the beginning of the interview, she speaks of the influence that St. John XXIII Catholic Community, a parish that promotes the values of the Second Vatican Council, had on shaping her vocation to work in poor countries. Morris is currently back home in Albuquerque, on an extended leave from her work with CRS.
Here are a couple of excerpts from the interview
On her first assignment for CRS in Malawi
"..They call [Malawi] the warm heart of Africa. And I certainly found that to be true. [There was immediate warmth and acceptance from people] In a country that was profoundly affected by HIV. At that time, the prevalence rate was 18 percent. It's much lower now. CRS role was mostly working home based and paliative (minute 28)
On the steps that Ethiopia has taken to prevent the recurrence of the tragic famine that hit the country in the 1980s. "It's really important to know that famine is no longer a part of the vocabulary in Ehiopia. The government of Ethiopia took that experience from the 1980s very seriously and they deserve a lot of credit. It's a global model--this public safety-net program. Essentially, they identify who they think are the poorest of the poor, the most vulnerable households who can't rely on traditional means of subsistence agriculture to feed their family. A member or multiple members of the family will complete public works or social infrastructure programs as determined by the local government. And CRS and our local partners work with them which initiatives those are or maybe should be. They put in a certain amount of time and then receive six months of food or cash transfers in return for their participation." (minute 37)
Here is a Link to the audio of the interview, courtesy of host Mary Woods. (You might need a dropbox account to access the audio. You can access Dropbox via Google). The first 10 minutes are announcements, with background on CRS beginning at about minute 10. The interview with Katie Morris starts at about Minute 16.
Katie Morris also spoke briefly of her experiences with CRS at the recent World Food Day event in Albuquerque on Oct. 14. Here is a blog post with a video of her reflection.
Our Third Annual Albuquerque World Food Day was held at La Mesa
Presbyterian Church on Sunday, October 14, 2018. Our commemoration
featured stories of hope, offered by six inspirational individuals. Here
is Part 4 with a Closing Blessing by Imam Abdur Rauf, a brief comment from Lungile Sinandile and a song from the Matunda Yesu Refugee Choir (All four parts are consolidated in the World Food Day 2018 page in the IHC blog)
Song: Lungile Sinandile and Matunda Ya Yesu Refugee Youth Choir
World Food Day Chant (Composed by David Poole. Sacred Movement led by Surgite)
Our Third Annual Albuquerque World Food Day was held at La Mesa
Presbyterian Church on Sunday, October 14, 2018. Our commemoration
featured stories of hope, offered by six inspirational individuals. Here
is Part 3 with two more stories, the World Food Day chant and the prayer of commitment. (See Part 1 and Part 2)
Fifth Story: Katie Morris, MPH, has worked overseas for Catholic Relief Services in four countries over the past 10 years. Her most recent posting was in Ethiopia, managing an integrated food security program for over 240,000 individuals. She served in the Albuquerque chapter of Amigos de las Americas in several Latin American countries from volunteer, supervisor, Program Director, and Board of Directors from 1998-2007.
Sixth Story: Rachel White Sternheim is education director at Congregation Albert responsible for developing, planning and supporting youth and adult education programs. In addition, she is a local synagogue representative for MAZON: A Jewish Response to Hunger and serves on the Interfaith Hunger Coalition steering committee.
Prayer of Commitment: (alternate side beginning with right)
As we pray, Holy One, we ask you to keep us from using prayer as an escape; keep us from the temptation of uttering a few words, in the hope that you will swoop in and do the rest with no further requirement from us.
May our prayers be a constant, unending rhythm that drives not just our words, but our thoughts, our attitudes and our actions; may we never stop seeking, asking, knocking, pleading for justice,
wrestling with the call to love all of creation and humanity.
As we pray for our world, may we also live lightly on the earth, aware of the effects of climate change, may we use only what we need, and live lives so others might live.
As we pray for our nation, may we also live as good neighbours, protecting the weak and vulnerable, and celebrating goodness and grace wherever we may find it; As we pray for our community, may we also live with open arms and hearts, embracing both familiar companions and unknown strangers, and welcoming all as you do. As we pray for our friends and families, may we also live as those who lay down their lives, selflessly serving those in our care, and always choosing the sacrificial way of love. All: And so may our prayers be the catalyst, that changes us into little incarnations – ordinary people who manifest a holy life of love in action. Amen
Our Third Annual Albuquerque World Food Day was held at La Mesa Presbyterian Church on Sunday, October 14, 2018. Our commemoration featured stories of hope, offered by six inspirational individuals. Here is Part 2 with three more stories. (See Part 1)
Second Story: Abdur Rauf is Imam at The Lighthouse of New Mexico, a Muslim non-profit organization established in Albuquerque in May 2017. Community activities include the Homeless Feeding Program, where members distribute food to the homeless community Thursday, in addition to conducting religious Islamic services.
Third Story: Albino Garcia,is executive director of La Plazita Institute, a non-profit organization engaging New Mexico’s youth, elders and communities in a comprehensive, holistic and cultural approach. One goal is to promote focuses on conversion of weapons of destruction (guns) to tools of construction (gardening implements).
Our Third Annual Albuquerque World Food Day was held at La Mesa Presbyterian Church on Sunday, October 14, 2018, two days before the actual World Food Day. The theme of the global commemoration this year was Greening the Blue. We chose the theme Food Sustains Us All for our local celebration, which was co-sponsored by the Interfaith Hunger Coalition, New Mexico Interfaith Power and Light, East Central Ministries and La Mesa Presbyterian Church.
Our commemoration featured stories of hope, offered by six inspirational individuals. The stories reached the ears and hearts of about 50 people who attended the event. We planed to start the commemoration outside in fruit garden/park located between La Mesa Presbyterian Church and La Mesa Elementary School, but moved the event indoors because of inclement weather.
In between each of the stories, the audience chanted a simple but beautiful piece that local musician David Poole wrote for our first commemoration (see words below), and which we have used for each of our three local World Food Day celebrations.
The Matunda Ya Yesu Refugee Youth Choir, led by Lungile Sinandile, helped us celebrate with two songs of joy and commitment at the beginning and at the end of the event. We have a video of the closing song (in Part 4 of this series).
The videos and images contained in this series of blog posts follow the sequence of the program.
Opening Song: David Poole started us off with a simple song
Welcome. Rev. Bre Roberts, Lutheran Campus Pastor at the University of New Mexico and Central New Mexico Community College, welcomed all participants and offered brief instructions.
Song: Matunda Ya Yesu Refugee Youth Choir led by Lungile Sinandile
First Story: John Bulten has lived and worked in the La Mesa neighborhood for 20 years. He is the Executive Director of East Central Ministries with a passion for cultivating Shalom within our community.
The local organizers of the Health Security for New Mexicans Campaign are recruiting congregations and people of faith to join the effort to bring health care to all New Mexicans. The campaign is promoting the The Health Security Act, which would enable New Mexico to set up its own health care plan.
Established in 1992, the Health Security for New Mexicans Campaign is
a broad and growing coalition of over 145 statewide and local
organizations representing diverse interests. Its members and supporters
include consumer, labor, community, health professionals, human rights,
faith-based, and environmental organizations; business owners; farmers
and ranchers; and groups advocating for low-income New Mexicans and the
homeless. The Campaign’s mission is to establish a system of
guaranteed, comprehensive, and affordable health care coverage for all
New Mexicans.
Become Involved
There are several ways to become involved in the campaign. A Presentation: If your congregation is not already engaged in the effort, campaign volunteers can make a presentation to members of your faith community In Albuquerque, contact Ester Griego (esterg15@gmail.com) 505 463-5343 to arrange for a volunteer to speak to your congregation. Outside of Albuquerque, contact Dana Millen 505 856-8359 or Mary Feldblum 505.897.1803.
Advocate in the State Legislature: As an individual, you are asked to contact your state representatives and senators during the 2019 Legislative Session urging him/her to support the Health Security Act. (You can also contact them before the session to put the issue on their radar). Find My Legislator
Details of the Campaign
The Health Security Plan will:
automatically cover most New Mexicans
offer a comprehensive set of health care services no less than what is currently offered to state employees
provide freedom of choice of health care provider and facility (no networks), even across state lines
-simplify administration, since providers will be dealing mostly with just one plan
How will it work?
The Plan will be administered by a geographically representative citizens’ commission of consumers, business owners, and health care providers. The commission’s meetings will be open to the public, and its finances will be subject to public scrutiny.
The Plan will be paid for by using existing public dollars, along with employer contributions and premiums based on income (both with caps).
The Plan will provide comprehensive primary coverage, but individuals and employers may purchase supplemental private insurance policies if they wish to.
Join us for festivities and celebration as stories from the local and global perspectives and experiences of diverse communities and individuals are shared regarding food concerns, systems and sustainability. Hear stories from East Central Ministries (John Bulten or Morgan Attema), the Lighthouse of New Mexico (Abdur Rauf), La Placita Institute (Albino Garcia), La Cosecha (Caroline Hess), Catholic Relief Services (Katie Morris), MAZON: A Jewish Response to Hunger (Rachel Sternheim).
The Matunda Ya Yesu refugee choir (Lingile Sinandile) and David Poole will provide music. Surgite:A Sacred Dance Company will lead us in liturgical dance.
Sunday, October 14, 3:00-5:00 pm La Mesa Presbyterian Church 7401 Copper Avenue, SE Albuquerque
Join us for snacks and fellowship after the service
Co-sponsored by: Interfaith Hunger Coalition; NM Interfaith Power and Light; La Mesa Presbyterian Church and East Central Ministries
Matunda Ya Yesu Choir
Surgite Leads Procession at World Food Day 2016 (First Unitarian Church)
David Poole composed our local World Food Day theme.
In this video, he teaches the participatory song at our 2017 World Food Day event at Congregation B'nai Israel. Surgite joins in with sacred dance movements..
Every wave on the ocean is the whole ocean waving... So, the ocean of being waves every one of us, and we are its waves. Alan Watts
Photo: Albuquerque Peace and Justice Center
Dozens of ;people, young and old, came together at Johnson Field (University of New Mexico) on the afternoon of September 21, 2018, to create a giant peace sign to celebrate the UN International Day of Peace..
The Albuquerque Center for Peace and Justice and four other partner organizations invite the public to help create our city's first-ever Human Peace Sign. The United Nations Association, the UNM Peace Studies Program, the GenUN at UNM, and Nonviolence Training are cosponsors.
The building of the peace sign will take place at Johnson Field at the University of New Mexico Campus on Friday, September 21, at 4:00 p.m., culminating a week of events to commemorate ABQ Peace Week. A peace party will follow across the street at the the Albuquerque Center for Peace and Justice, 202 Harvard Dr. SE, at 5:00 p.m. For more info, call (505) 268-9557 or email abqpeaceandjusticecenter@gmail.com
The ABQ Peace Week events are very much in keeping with the UN Sustainable Development Goals, a global plan of action for people, planet and prosperityGoal 16 seeks to promote peaceful and inclusive societies for sustainable development, provide access to justice for all and build effective, accountable and inclusive institutions at all levels
The incomes of all but a small percentage of families in the United States have been stagnant for a generation. Since 1980, an overwhelming share of gains from economic growth in the United States has gone to the richest households, starting at the top 1 percent of all income earners. At the other end of the income distribution, the lowest-earning households have been losing ground. Incomes are worth less today than in 1980 when adjusted for inflation.
This year's report explores why millions of American workers and their families are hungry and poor — and how government policies can change this.
Decent jobs that pay a livable wage enable many of us to support ourselves and our families. Far too many people in the United States, though, have jobs that do not guarantee freedom from hunger. A full-time minimum wage worker earns about $15,000 a year — but the poverty line for a family of four is about $24,000 a year. Moreover, economists calculate that meeting a family's basic needs requires an income of approximately twice the poverty level.
"The Jobs Challenge" explains clearly why the United States needs better jobs and better work-related policies to end hunger. Read and explore the report to understand more about the root causes of hunger and poverty.
