Milk and Sugar

Jeff Kaneb (left) with Fr. Jim Ronan, and our volunteers during his visit to Ecuador in 2017.

For three decades, Jeff Kaneb was an executive at the largest dairy company in New England and one of the largest family-owned companies in the United States. Working his way up in the company, he mastered the ins and outs, ups and downs of operating a big agricultural business.

Until—like many volunteers and visitors to Rostro de Cristo’s communities—he got ‘ruined for life.’

In 2017 Jeff traveled to Ecuador with Fr. Ronan to visit the Rostro de Cristo team in Guayaquil. “Fr. Ronan had been encouraging me for years to join him on this trip,” Jeff reflected. “I had no idea that this experience would change the course of my career.”

Jeff was initially attracted to Rostro de Cristo because of his deep admiration for Fr. Ronan, who has known for several years, and the remarkable mission of the organization. “Spending time with the volunteers in Ecuador and witnessing their impactful work with the local community was incredibly rewarding. One of the greatest benefits of this experience is that it nurtures individuals who will become leaders in their own right once they return home.”

In 2020, Jeff became one of those individuals. He went back to school at Boston College to study social work and is now working at Catholic Charities Refugees and Immigration Center in Boston. I help individuals integrate into society by providing the support and guidance they need to adjust to their new surroundings and become active members of their communities.”

This year, Rostro de Cristo is sending our first group of fellows to the Dominican Republic to partner with the organization ASCALA, (Asociación Scalabriniana al Servicio de la Movilidad Humana), an intercultural, faith-based NGO in Consuelo, Dominican Republic.

The community where ASCALA works has a large population of Haitian migrant workers and Dominicans of Haitian descent working in the international sugar industry. They live in settlements, known as batayes, away from the main roads often surrounded by fields of sugarcane. Because of a long history of racial discrimination, these communities and the individuals in them, continue to encounter significant hurdles in being recognized as full members of society. They are often exploited in their work and are forced to live far from critical resources like education and health care. Workers and their families, particularly those who have come from Haiti to work in sugar cultivation, live with the constant fear of unwarranted detention or even deportation to Haiti. They have had their legal status stripped away and even their children born in the Dominican Republic have been denied citizenship.

In partnership with ASCALA, volunteers from Rostro de Cristo will provide essential services aimed at defending human rights and promoting social development for vulnerable migrants. Their efforts will include legal support, educational initiatives, social services, community development training, and entrepreneurial programs assisting the development of small businesses, especially run by women.

“Rostro de Cristo’s initiative with ASCALA raises an important question about who we regard as our neighbor,” said Jeff.

As a former business executive in dairy and current migrant social worker, Jeff’s engagement and support of Rostro de Cristo will be a key part of our work to defend and protect the dignity of those whose labor sweetens our coffee.