Guatemala Delegation Visit from the Diocese of
Santa Rosa - September 20 2009
Santa Rosa delegation’s Visit – A joyful celebration with many topics to think about
Sunday, after the welcome at the 11:45 Mass, Queenship of Mary (QOM) parish hosted a lunch with the delegation from the Diocese of Santa Rosa (SR), Guatemala. A tasty and great variety of international appetizers, salads, warm and cold entrees and desserts greeted the Santa Rosa delegation, as they and their interpreters enjoyed lunch and conversation with over 100 QOM parishioners, Guatemala committee members and their families.
The parish also hosted a mid-afternoon circle of information sharing in the parish center, with the Santa Rosa delegation and parishioners who are part of the various Guatemala committees. The warm personal and spiritual connection that has grown among the QOM people who have visited and the Santa Rosa delegation set the tone for a relaxed meeting and thoughtful discussions.
Circle of Sharing – A Working Meeting with a Large Touch of Warmth!
From the mid-afternoon working meeting, it’s easy to remember the overall sentiment. Quoting so many of the Santa Rosa delegation, the repeated feeling from the people of this Guatemala diocese is that there is “such great gratitude for the efforts and prayers from our parish.” The informal gathering seemed to go so quickly, as our parish council and Guatemala committee members heard the stories and successes that are addressing the issues that exist in the Santa Rosa area.
Delegates from farm managers, to the diocese secretary, to the parish priests to the youth scholarship representative talked about the benefits of our partnership. After introductions, Father Bob (QOM) invited the visiting delegation members to share their thoughts and stories. One of the visiting priests said that the families in the small towns now are realizing the caring of the world outside of their diocese, and the efforts the benefit from have become a channel for growing their faith. Another delegate was surprised to see the number of parishioners who are involved but have not yet visited Guatemala.
Comments by the Delegates
Lucy’s Talk about Health
As the secretary for the diocese, Lucy referred to the spirituality that the delegations are showing in Guatemala and how “it has taught the people there that they have an opportunity to share the ‘culture of faith’ in a very open way”. After her five and a half years of experience with the Diocese of Metuchen, she said that one highlight is the health ministry - everyone is grateful for the five clinics that have opened (thanks to the help of St. Peter’s hospital in New Brunswick, NJ) and how the support that reaches 5,000 to 6,000 people is greatly treasured. She also explained that the efforts resulting from a grant from the US Agency for International Development has set the stage for successes of a program that teaches midwifery for women working in the clinics, along with supplying the equipment needed for good medical care.
The clinic serves the inhabitants along with one doctor and one nurse one day a week. The country’s health ministry has recognized the value of the midwives and the clinic work, and Father Bob highlighted that much work can be done within our diocese as more parish-to-parish work continues. His hope is for our 20 diocese parishes to collaborate with 20 Diocese of Santa Rosa parishes.
Raol’s stories about benefits for remote areas
Raol, who is part of the Santa Rose diocese staff, has been part of the partnership from our diocese since its inception. He wanted to explain that the benefits from such programs as the social Caritas group has meant that more remote areas of the diocese have received benefits like a water project for an area that has no potable water or electricity.
The people’s gratitude creates such contentment for them, because now they feel that someone has remembered who they are and their prayers are being answered. He talks about the “presence of spirituality” that has grown from a saying they have in that area of the diocese: “If you want to know me, come and see where I live.” With strong coordination, the families in these areas recognize that the efforts do involve a lot of work from their partners in the Diocese of Metuchen and parishes such as QOM.
What the micro-finance projects mean
Speaking to the intimacy of our learning about their problems, Raol referred to the possibilities and hopes that relate to the micro-finance projects. To have the potential for help with the complexity of their finance issues, can happen because a micro-finance project addresses, and can reach, a large population. The work of our committee replaces the bureaucracy of legal documents and government intrusion with a very different process – our approach that includes a coop is something they have only experienced and learned about in the last four years. Ed Klimek noted that an evening working meeting with the Santa Rosa delegates would focus on addressing the logistics that are needed to create less bureaucracy.
Father Walter – Hope from the Beauty and Blessings of Partnership
Father Bob stressed the growth of vision from the mission committee – that the delegates felt openness and trust in discussing sensitive issue and the continuing commitment to build on that trust. Raol’s response was to emphasize the feeling in Santa Rosa that bringing together the positives of the micro-finance program would build more benefits. With no payments to officials that create conflicts of interest, the principles of the QOM proposal are going to help a targeted population who has repeatedly been told that they do not qualify for loans or support.
Father Walter then added that the close ties with QOM are helping people in Santa Rosa in so many ways. He said that the residents of these areas have long felt that they are “choked” by the idea that they are a group not worthy of being helped so they can get ahead in even the smallest ways. Now there is greater hope.
Ed Klimek’s Guatemala story - A Memory and a Message - “Much Like We Do”
Ed recalled an evening after a beautiful day with an almost cloudless sky. He walked into the partner town where people on the streets proudly shared their homes. They told the QOM delegation about the history of their town. With the faint small of wood-burning stoves in the air, at the end of the day two women of La Morena told them more stories.
After a meeting at the church, much like our meeting on Sunday, there were three more hours of talking – also in a circle much as we were doing – learning what drives the people there and what they are all about. As a celebration in the evening, much like our lunch for them earlier in the day, the townspeople gathered as our parish just had – doors opened and food was shared. He shared the thought that he hoped the Santa Rosa delegation would take back this memory, since it was much the same feeling of connection for everyone who was there on Sunday.
QOM’s proposals are really an expression of information that was gained and heard during meetings in Guatemala - about what the La Morena and Santa Rosa people want and need, and what we think we can do. They love their town, their children and their community, much as we do ours. Creating one community with the Santa Rosa diocese and the town of La Morena connects us with each other because there is so much that is the same. We share a joint desire to succeed at this partnership.
Most important, is having the communities come together in ways that create hope. We have come together, we are listening to each other, and we are looking to commit to what they are want the most, which is the lasting connection. A saying that is shared and wise: “The proposal allows for togetherness; the rest is details!”
Women Growth and Children’s Education
The two female delegates, Lucy and Estella shared some news about the women’s concerns and especially the happiness for recent improvements in the women’s role in the town and in their family. Since there had been little opportunity historically for family development, Lucy explained that women have begun to look forward to seeing what they can do to contribute more. For example, a big positive change would be for women to be able to purchase fruit and then resell it or learning to sell beauty products to women in the larger towns.
With unemployment affecting their towns also, there are areas where men can only work for two hours a day and the maximum pay comes mainly through the harvest season, when they are allowed 15 days to two weeks of steady work). For them an eight-hour day means the ability to provide but the prices of staples (even like tomatoes) is high.
Women who can contribute to their families’ nutrition and health feel that they improve the family. They are now living to have the opportunities they want and with anticipation of how much better it can be because of our parish’s efforts. To these women, the time and commitment we spend is priceless.
The scholarship program that feeds 11 children who benefit now from this important component to their school days. Estella shared the contentment and gratitude of the recipients’ mothers for the food and goods provided. The children themselves were so excited that a delegation from their towns was coming to our parish. Parents and teachers of this group remind these children of how far they can go in life now. Their gratitude comes from the feeling that they are not alone in caring for their family and that people exist beyond their boundaries who are reaching out and making spiritual ties. With more education, if a mother loses her husband for any reason, she can turn to the offers that are growing and become sure that her family can still go on and survive changes.
Farm History – Much Like Our Local Area
The history of the farm community, much like the delegate who told us his crop is corn, dates back to when plantations were numerous in the area around La Morena and Santa Rosa. The plantation owners would parcel out plots for sublet to local farmers, who although they could never own a farm, could work and find housing for their families on the plantation property. As our parish learns more about the micro-finance of the farming in the area, the partnership can make some good strides in improving the lives of the farmers.
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