Tuesday, February 20, 2007

An Inspiration from Trujillo

Last Christmas, a message that really moved and inspired me popped up in my inbox, it came from Bro. Miguel, a missionary from Spain who was my Spanish professor and a good friend. He is now in Trujillo, Peru. I asked his permission (which he agreed) to put his letter in my blog, so i can share with others also his beautiful inspiration. "A light must not be put under the bed, it must be put in the open so it can bring brightness to some dark corners of the world"......Read on please..............

Trujillo, Peru, Christmas 2006

Dear friends,

Once again, Christmas season brings to me the opportunity of being in contact with all of you. My first greeting and desire is of peace, “May the peace of our Lord Jesus be in your hearts and with your families. May all of you have peace and be builders of peace”...

I write you from Alto Trujillo, a human settlement of around fifty thousand people, built on a sandy area of the Cabras Mountain slope. From this place you can see the city of Trujillo. Most of people of this settlement are immigrants from the so called “Sierra Liberteña” and from other Peruvian provinces. Every day, four or five new families arrive here. They start building a humble shanty and when they get the official permit for settlement, they build a fence surrounding the 120 square meters offered by the municipality to each family. The first months in the city use to be hard for them because they have nothing and are jobless. The general situation of the settlement is hard: Only 50% of the families enjoy water installation in their houses and water is given only one or two hours every two days; drainage doesn’t exist; the fine sand on which the settlement is built invades all; garbage is a real problem because the collecting truck comes once a week; due to the lack of hygiene, breathing problems and infant mortality rate is the highest in the city; many people are jobless, but they get many ways to survive; the area is considered a “red zone” due to the level of delinquency, that’s why many taxi drivers do not dare to come here or demand an extra fare.

Despite the previous description, I’m living in Alto Trujillo one of the happiest moments of my life. I feel that my life is worthy here and that people I’m working with have a strong desire of improving their present situation. My work in Alto Trujillo is of evangelization and social promotion. Like in the Philippines, most of our work here is organized and done around the scholarship program of our NGO “Círculo Solidario”. This school year—from March to December—we had 90 scholars and the same number of non-scholar students from high school and college. The systematic and serious formation we give to them is giving its fruits. Those in college level must be involved in a weekly solidarity action. Through their action we reached an average of 350 children along the whole year every week. This number will be multiplied by six this coming feast of Christmas. We have also three schools for parents in Alto Trujillo. Through them and their children we project our influence in the whole area and even in the city of Trujillo. As samples of our actions, last month, our people campaigned an worked for a cleaner Alto Trujillo, performed a show in the main square of the city on the International day of SIDA demanding tolerance and care for those affected, and demonstrated along the streets of alto Trujillo on the International Day of Non-Violence against Women.

But, actions and demonstrations aside, the youth are the first beneficiaries of the Scholarship Program. As you know, my whole life has been dedicated to the education of children and youth because I believe that the future of a country depends on the educational level of its citizens. This is the reason why I want to empower our present Program of Scholarship, so more poor students will be able to continue their studies. I dream to double the present number of our sholars and beneficiaries along the school year 2007.

I know that most of you are persons of faith, that’s why I request from all of you to pray to the Child Jesus during this Christmas season that He may move the heart of many people who are in a comfortable economical situation to share their money with us so we can help more people. At the same time, beg you to make present in your prayers a very special intention: Ask to the Lord to send us many and saints vocations so we can multiply our evangelization and our actions of solidarity to other areas and countries. You are rich in faith and you can share your faith with us. Your prayers may reach the hearts of many people and make Jesus to be born in their lives.

My imagination brings me again to my beloved Philippines during this Christmas season. You know, since Christmas 2005 I introduced here in Alto Trujillo the Philippine tradition of the “Christmas novena”, but at night time, and we finish our daily novena with the “Kasadya ning takaa” song in Spanish version. My dear friends, all of you are in my heart. This letter will reach to those I have their e-mail address, but I request you to forward it of to read it to many other people you know I love and have no their e-mail.

To all of you I wish a very, very MALIPAYONG PASKO and a HAPPY NEW YEAR 2007 filled with the best gifts of God for you and your families.