PRESS RELEASE

(Milwaukee, Wisconsin – June 2008) Mariah Mateo (age 18), a Senior at Pius XI High School will travel to Uganda, East Africa this summer to teach English at the Stella Maris Boarding Primary School for girls as a volunteer for CARITAS For Children, Inc.

Mariah had a passion for Africa already when she met Chris Hoar; the founder of Milwaukee based CARITAS For Children in the Fall of 2007. Mariah’s passion for Africa first led her to found a Pius chapter of STAND, a student organization that works to stop genocide, especially in Darfur, when she was investigating charitable organizations in the area for a class. When she met Chris she immediately knew she wanted to work with CARITAS. Through their Child Sponsorship programs CARITAS provides financial assistance for the health, education and general welfare of orphaned and disadvantaged children. In partnership with Catholic religious communities throughout the world, CARITAS brings a future and a hope to children who have been born into a cycle of extreme poverty. In Uganda they do this by sponsoring children at two levels, one provides an all inclusive boarding school program, the second is for a comprehensive day school program. Mariah will be teaching English to 2nd thru 4th grade girls as well as documenting the work that CARITAS is doing in Uganda while expanding her own knowledge about the cultures of Eastern Africa.

“Leaving the comfort of one’s home in the US to travel to Africa is a brave act for this young adult,” Chris told Mariah’s family at a recent planning session. “But the opportunity to learn and feel life from this perspective is uniquely incredible.” Chris further states, “Not everyone is up to the task; but not everyone cares as much about others as Mariah and other brave young people like her.”

If anyone would like more information about CARITAS, it’s missions in Africa and about volunteering to make a difference, please contact: Chris Hoar, CARITAS For Children, Inc., 7400 W National Avenue, Milwaukee, WI 53214 or email to: cthoar@caritas.us Additional information about CARITAS can also be found by visiting their website at: http://www.caritas.us