Jen Redenius Joins CARITAS

Earlier this fall, my husband and I traveled to the Dominican Republic to attend a wedding. I remember getting off the plane after a long day of travel and being greeted by towering palm trees and warm sun— a welcome escape from the cool Iowa weather we had left earlier that morning. 

We had the most fantastic weekend at an all-inclusive resort in Punta Cana, getting to witness a wedding set on the stunning beach at the resort. I just kept telling my husband how blessed we were to have the opportunity to experience a trip like the one we were on. 

What struck my husband and I more than the beauty of our surroundings, though, was how kind all the staff members were. They were so appreciative and unwaveringly grateful for everything. I had the opportunity to talk with a few of them, and I became aware of how many people in the Dominican Republic live in poverty.

It is one thing to read about poverty in locations like the Dominican Republic, Haiti, and Uganda, but it is another thing entirely to go witness it. This was made especially clear when we would travel outside of the gated resort to other areas of the Dominican Republic. My husband and I were so moved by the people we met while visiting, that we made a promise to ourselves that when we got home, we would find a way to help.

Jeff and I returned to Iowa after our weekend away, and we were happily greeted by our four children. They are all under age seven, and they keep us quite busy! I was so excited to get hugs from them and get back into our normal “routine” after getting home. However, I could not shake the memories I had of what I had experienced in the Dominican Republic.

Here I was sending my children off to a great school each day, feeding them healthy meals, and giving them clean water to drink. The simple things we often take for granted were highlighted as such blessings after that trip. I had always been aware of poverty, but witnessing it on our trip was transformative. 

I spent the next couple of weeks researching different ways we could help. Jeff and I really wanted to find an organization that aligned with our goals of educating children and keeping our Catholic faith at the front of it. As a teacher and professor by trade, I place a high value on education. It is one thing to give money, food, and clean water. It is another thing to educate and teach those you are sending assistance to so that one day they can build a great life for themselves. I came across CARITAS for Children, and I knew it was the organization that matched our goals. 

Our initial goal was to sponsor a child. We wanted to involve our own children, so sponsoring a child was a great way to start that conversation with them. We started to talk to them about what we had witnessed in the Dominican Republic. We discussed the importance of helping when you have the means to do so. As James said in Chapter 2, Verse 17, “Faith without works is dead.”

While our kiddos at home are young, they can still understand how blessed they are to live in a safe place; attend a great school; be fed healthy meals every day; and have all their basic needs met. They were so excited to “meet” the child we were sponsoring by reading about him on the CARITAS for Children website, and they all had the chance to help write our first letter to him. 

My goal in volunteering with the CARITAS for Children organization is to hopefully spread awareness of the opportunity to help those who need it most. The impetus for my involvement with CARITAS for Children and child sponsorship was having the chance to see poverty in real life. I’d like to provoke others to explore the same calling to help others, even if they have not had the chance to visit first.