Seated in the comfort of his office at the Helena Diocese, Bishop George Thomas smiled when reflecting upon his recent trip to Senegal, where he received a crash course in micro-financing and spent World AIDS Day visiting AIDS-infected patients.

Thomas, whose travels will include a second visit to Guatemala in January, participated in the Senegal trip with Catholic Relief Services earlier this month.

The international organization offers micro-loans to impoverished African women, creates dialogue between Christians and Muslims, and promotes AIDS education and care to those inflicted with the virus.

"There's a huge stigma for persons in Senegal who have AIDS," Thomas said. "Probably the biggest burden they carry is the societal stigma. To see people helping people with such compassion and ease of care is just wonderful. I came out of there so inspired."

With warnings of yellow fever and other ailments specific to the region, Thomas admitted his trepidations. But his anxieties quickly eased after meeting the local people and savoring their hospitality offered through food, dance and song.

According to the United Nations, when AIDS first appeared in Senegal, it was taboo to mention the virus publicly. Those infected were often singled out, judged and rejected due to misconceptions surrounding the virus.

But today, Thomas said, only 1 percent of Senegalese have AIDS or HIV. He credited the low infection rate to the country's promotion of fidelity and abstinence. The education program is working to help reverse old social stereotypes and undo the stigma long attached to the virus.

"We saw the work they do, the HIV testing they do, and what I call holistic care," Thomas said. "They administer to the body and the mind and the spirit."

CRS works in roughly 100 different countries, offering services to people of every faith and without prejudice. The agency also enjoys a strong reputation in emergency assistance. It is, Thomas said, one of the largest humanitarian organizations in the world, and it comes with its share of resources.

But CRS also offers every-day programs that include micro-finance bank loans. A few dollars in Senegal goes a long way. Thomas saw firsthand the program's successes.

"CRS runs a little micro bank, mostly in Africa for women who are unable to support themselves and their families without help," Thomas said. "The micro-financing gives them the opportunity to borrow money and have a very low-interest loan."

One woman used her loan to purchase 50 chickens. Over a period of time, she increased her 50 chickens to nearly 300.

Now, Thomas said, that same woman has launched a cosmetic business with the profits turned from her loan, not to mention the success of her small chicken operation.

"I went into a number of villages and the women greeted the CRS staff with this dramatic dancing and drumming," said Thomas. "They were so excited about how their lives have changed through this program. This is really the Gospel in action."

Rebecca Bassey, the CRS representative in Senegal, said the organization arrived in the country in 1960 - the first nongovernmental group to do so.

Since then, micro-finance projects backed by CRS have lifted thousands of women and their families out of poverty. The program has evolved into its own independent institution with more than 13,000 members, all of them women.

"It's organized into village banking groups," said Bassey. "Microfinance has had a huge impact on the lives of Senegalese women and their families."

Lane Hartill, a CRS spokesman in Dakar, Senegal, said the program works because the group selects its own members - neighbors, friends and community members. The desire to repay the loan is high.

"The women don't want to disappoint or let their friends down," Hartill said. "There is a zero default rate on the loans."

Even as CRS works to improve life in Senegal, the Helena Diocese maintains its own humanitarian mission in Guatemala. Thomas will return to the mission, located near Santo Thomas La Union, next month with five priests and a layman from the chancery in tow.

The mission includes a school for 750 children and a clinic that treats around 30,000 patients a year. The diocese also runs 40 missionary outposts to help those who cannot make the trip to Santo Thomas La Union.

The mission was launched in the early 1960s by then-Bishop Raymond Hunthausen. For the past 44 years, the Rev. Jim Hazelton has kept the mission running, living not far from its doors. In 2005, he expressed interest in retiring, though he has yet to do so.

"My task is to help the people of the Helena Diocese rediscover the mission," Thomas said. "I think Guatemala enriches Helena more than Helena enriches Guatemala. They have a love of the Lord and a love of the Church and a care for each other that would inspire anybody."

Reporter Martin Kidston: 447-4086 or mkidston@helenair.com