Fr. Herrlich remembered as a humble, quiet man

Photo by Oscar Leiva/Silverlight for Catholic Relief Services

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Ana Belén Mulul Yat, 27, and her son, Joseph Gael Joj Mulul, 1, receive vegetables from a producer in Pacacja Centro, Santa María Chiquimula, Guatemala. Producers and families who live in the community participate in Catholic Relief Services’ Learning For Life project, which was financed by the United States Department of Agriculture’s McGovern-Dole International Food for Education and Child Nutrition Program.

CRS Rice Bowl is the Lenten program of Catholic Relief Services, the official relief and development agency of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops.

Rooted in the history of the Eucharistic Congress, CRS Rice Bowl invites Catholics and faith communities in the United States to encounter God and our global family throughout Lent by practicing the pillars of prayer, fasting and almsgiving. Lenten alms donated through CRS Rice Bowl support the work of CRS in more than 120 different countries each year.

(CRS) — Ana Belén and her husband, José, have four children and a baby on the way. They live in a small house in Santa María Chiquimula, Guatemala. Francisco, their 9-year-old son, says his neighborhood is, “a very happy place to live, but sometimes it’s also very hard to live here.” He is not wrong. In their community, malnutrition affects over half of the population mainly because people can’t afford to put food on the table.

Almost five years ago, when the COVID-19 pandemic started, José lost his job as a driver. This created serious challenges for the family. Even after the pandemic, things never went back to normal. Food prices went up and eggs became twice as expensive. Bad weather made things worse – strong rains damaged the crops, causing the prices of vegetables, including tomatoes, onions and corn to go up.  

When Ana Belén went to the market, she could barely buy anything. The little money she had wasn’t enough to buy even the basics. “Sometimes I would cry because I didn’t have anything to give my children,” she recalls.

Now the family participates in a Catholic Relief Services project that helps fight hunger in places where people don’t have enough food. Through the project, Ana Belén goes every other week to her children’s school to receive food such as corn, beans, rice, vegetable oil and eggs. “It made me happy when they started giving me eggs,” she says.  

Her children really like eggs, especially hard-boiled with beans, so they make sure to remind their mom when it’s time to pick them up. Ana Belén’s family now eats nutritious meals every day. She also makes sure to take her children for monthly health check-ups, as part of the project.  

Donate to CRS Rice Bowl at https://www.crsricebowl.org/donate-to-crs-rice-bowl?ms=orbric0225rbl00but01