Catholic Relief Services Presenter is Part of Lenten Tour

The Office for Catholic Social Justice Ministry (OCSJM) of the Archdiocese of Hartford will sponsor a Catholic Relief Services (CRS) Lenten Speaker Tour on March 28th and March 30th  featuring Mr. Thomas Awiapo of CRS Ghana.

Awiapo will speak at area Catholic schools and parishes about his story of survival. He grew up in Wiaga, a village in northern Ghana with no clean water, electricity, or medical care. Orphaned before the age of ten, he survived poverty and hunger in his small African village. Despite his bleak surroundings, he was able to attend school, and eventually earned scholarships to attend college. His message to everybody who will listen is that: “Education changes lives.”

On Friday, March 28th, Awiapo will visit 1) St. Paul Catholic High School, Bristol, at 8:00 a.m., St. Bernard School, Enfield, at 10:30 a.m., and St. Timothy Middle School, West Hartford, at 1:00 p.m. He will join St. Francis Xavier Church in New Milford for a Friday evening Mass, Stations of the Cross, and Lenten Supper, beginning at 6:30 p.m.

On Sunday, March 30th he will speak at Corpus Christi Church in Wethersfield at 1:30 p.m.

Awiapo has a Master's Degree in public administration from California State University. He is a global solidarity coordinator for Catholic Relief Services and trains community leaders throughout Ghana, where he lives with his wife and four children.

For additional information, email the Office for Catholic Social Justice Ministry at: lynn.campbell@aohct.org.