www.scross.co.za
April 18 to April 24, 2012
Parish of the Month from Pretoria
Page 10
Priest’s Titanic photos re-published
Page 4
R5,50 (incl VAT RSA)
Reg No. 1920/002058/06
No 4771
Catholic life and the rosary
Page 9
SA Catholic to represent Africa at South Pole BY CLAIRE MATHIESON
A Models pose with the various handbags wearing Rajo Laurel’s new sportswear line at the launch in Manila, Philippines. The high-fashion purses are produced by poor women living on the fringes of one of the largest dumpsites in the Philippines who, inspired by a Jesuit, started their own company called Rags 2 Riches. (Photo: Simone Orendain, CNS)
From rubbish dump to the catwalk BY SIMONE ORENDAIN
A
FASHION show in Manila’s business district was in full swing, with models walking the runway slinging brightly coloured purses of different styles from Philippine fashion powerhouse Rajo Laurel’s latest collection. The high-fashion purses have come a long way from their humble beginnings: they are made from floor mats that in turn were made of old rags discarded in one of the largest rubbish dumps in the Philippines. The evolution of the rags to riches started five years ago with a vision held by a Jesuit seminarian who was assigned to a parish at the Payatas dumpsite, north-east of Manila; about 60 000 people live around the dump’s fringe. Fr Xavier Alpasa said he saw exploitation flourishing as he ministered in this deeply impoverished community. Women were buying dumpsite scraps
that scavengers picked and sewing them into rugs to be sold commercially at a huge profit. Fr Alpasa took on the role of middleman for the women. He and several friends who wanted to help then tapped designer Laurel for ideas on how to make the rugs more marketable. Laurel took the rugs and created accessory concepts out of the big squares. Folding the material, he saw wine-bottle holders, wallets and purses. He said he no longer saw rags. So the for-profit fashion company Rags 2 Riches (www.rags2riches.ph) was born with a goal of doing good while also increasing its bottom line. Today the weavers fill orders for Rags 2 Riches, making quality rugs and high-end accessories out of garment factory leftovers, organic materials and indigenous fabrics. They sell at specialty boutiques in five-star hotels and high-end malls, so each piece is made to very high standards.—CNS
’60s recording nun gets a tribute CD BY MARK PATTISON
P
LENTY of well-known recording artists have been the subject of tribute albums recorded by all-star casts of performers doing cover versions of their songs. The tribute subjects have ranged from Bruce Springsteen to the Eagles to Sonny Bono to Woody Guthrie. Now a new tribute subject has been unveiled: the Medical Mission Sisters. The sisters’ first album, Joy Is Like the Rain, was released in 1966. It was certified gold for sales of 500 000 copies in the United States—unheard-of at the time for Catholic religious music, and possibly the only gold record for the genre until the Benedictine Monks of Santo Domingo do Silos’ 1994 CD Chant went triple platinum for sales of 3 million. The sisters were prolific, recording 15 albums in the studio—more than Madonna or The Eagles—before their songwriter, Sr Miriam Therese Winter, switched her writing to theological topics. Dan Paulos, head of the St Bernadette Institute of Sacred Art in Albuquerque, New Mexico, has an ambitious tribute plan. Of the estimated 250-300 songs the Medical
Mission Sisters recorded, he plans on rerecording 100 of them, including 12 songs Sr Miriam Therese wrote but never recorded. The first CD, Loving You, contains 21 songs, including three of the new tunes. Sr Miriam Therese even returned to the recording studio. “The first recording was 46 years ago, and four of the originals [sisters] went back and recorded more songs,” Mr Paulos said. Singing on Loving You are soul legend Melba Moore, the Limeliters and Elisabeth von Trapp, granddaughter of Maria von Trapp, whose story was told in The Sound of Music. Also performing is ’70s folk singer Janis Ian, who is Jewish. On the next CD release, Mr Paulos said, there will be “a Muslim woman singing a Christian song, which thrills us to no end” As with many such tribute projects, there’s a charity angle. “Every cent actually does go to the Medical Mission Sisters. It’s our way of saying we can’t do a lot, but at least we can give of our time and talent,” Mr Paulos said. “I’ve got it set up with iTunes and Amazon.com. It goes directly into their [the order’s] account, so we don’t have to go into the whole money thing.”—CNS
SOUTH AFRICAN Catholic will be representing Africa as she embarks on an expedition to the South Pole to mobilise international interest in water issues by creating conversations to inspire action. “We want the world to recognise that there is a problem and that if we do not start changing our behaviour now then it may become too late,” said Kim Smith, a parishioner of Ss John and Paul in Belhar, Cape Town. She will leave for the human rights expedition, called Your Expedition, in November this year. Ms Smith will join renowned polar explorers and educators Liv Arnesen and Ann Bancroft who will lead the team of six women, from six continents, covering approximately 1200km over 80 days to the South Pole. “The idea is to spend ten days focusing on each continent’s water issues and the respective women will communicate with the world during this time. I will be communicating Africa’s problems,” said Ms Smith. She hopes that “people will realise that clean water is not an unlimited resource”. Ms Smith, a recent convert to the faith, said her involvement in the project came through her involvement in volunteering for non-profit community organisations in Khayelitsha, a township in Cape Town. During this time, Ms Smith received a scholarship at the University of the Western Cape to do her masters in development studies. It was there that she learned about the expedition through Norwegian funders, who encouraged her to apply. “I sent the application and forgot about it until a few weeks later when I received a book in the post from the expedition leaders, Ann and Liv. I went to Norway to meet them, skied for the first time and never looked back. Ask Liv and Ann why they choose me and they’ll say that this project is about everyday people who have the passion and willingness to want to change the status quo. We want to inspire ordinary people, especially women, to do a similar thing.” Ms Smith said water is a difficult topic to raise awareness about because it is very difficult to understand that there is a problem when you are not directly affected by it. “The access to clean water is a basic human right. If we all have the right to life then we have the right to water because water is life. Water is embedded in every aspect of life. It is an economic and political issue and so it does affect all of us directly and/or indirectly whether we like it or not. It is what connects us all and therefore the usage and conservation thereof becomes our issue,” she said. Ms Smith said while she is anxious about the trip, she is also very excited. “I have an idea of what to expect in terms of the routine and protocol, but I have never experienced such cold temperatures and long hours of physical activity yet. I guess I will only know what it is like when I get there but in the meantime I will train and find ways of assimilating the actual conditions so
Kim Smith, who will join a South Pole expedition in November. that I am well prepared.” Ms Smith said she is currently preparing both physically and mentally for the expedition. It is more of a mental challenge than it is physical “I am cycling, hiking, running and hitting the gym regularly to strengthen my back, legs and arms. Closer to the time I will pull tyres on the beach and up hills.” But the biggest challenge will be the cold. To prepare, “I will sit in a cold room and do some exercises in there to practise my motor ability. In such cold temperatures your bodily functions decrease so I want to practise to move in the cold. “I also need to gain at least 15 kg before I leave for insulation from the cold and I’ll lose so much weight it's best to start off with much more. We will be pulling our sleds for up to eight hours a day so a strong body is vital and, even more so, a strong mind to get me through those long, gruelling hours in solitude.” Ms Smith said the expedition hopes to raise water as an international issue. “We need to start thinking about future generations and as Christians we need to realise that valuing and respecting the planet is just as necessary as being kind towards each other.” She said water consumption, accessibility, quality and scarcity are becoming issues that world leaders are considering as one of the greatest challenges of our time. She said the Catholic community can support her by becoming aware of these issues and taking action. “We also need your moral support by keeping our team in your prayers for a safe and successful expedition,” she added. “My goal is to make this experience relevant and meaningful in our context.” Ms Smith welcomes suggestions and can be contacted on k-smith1@live.com n For more information and to follow the expedition visit www.yourexpedition.com or www.facebook.com/yourexpedition