In a globalized world of technological and scientific advances, it is painful to feel human suffering…hungry children and the elderly, the poor getting poorer, disabled without hope of a better future. Justice cries out from Patagonia, where the cry of the poor has been heard.
The community of “Francisco Palau” of Cinco Saltos, in a small agricultural town of the Province of Rio Negro, (Argentina) shares with you our experience in the Ministry of Social Development. Our specific task is to coordinate children’s centres, which receive children from poor families; meals are provided to the elderly, the disabled and some families.
Our work for justice encompasses the totality of the person, accompanying him to experience the saving act of Jesus in his life, through our loving and compassionate solidary service
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In Children’s Centres the task is large and can host a variety of activities: coordination of tasks, formation and training of staff, and care of the infrastructure. Networking with other institutions where we seek to address the various issues of violence such as neglect, malnutrition, sexual abuse and single mothers as heads of household.
We continually carry out interviews and personal accompaniment, counselling families to attend specialized centres; coordinated work with other professionals, referral of situations to specialized centres, along with workshops, formative and organizational meetings for the staff and parents. Aside from meeting the nutritional needs, special attention is given to housing conditions and health problems, sometimes caused by low winter temperatures that directly affect the poorest.
Experience in Bragado – Argentina
“HAPPY ARE THOSE WHO HUNGER AND THIRST FOR RIGHTEOUSNESS” Mt 5:6.
Since 1949, we Carmelite Missionaries have shared our life and mission with the elderly of the “San Vicente de Paul” Home for the Aged in Bragado, Argentina.
EVERY DAY JUSTICE IN LOVE…we commit to create a family atmosphere with the warmth of a home, where every simple daily gesture of love for the elderly becomes a reflection of the gratuitousness of the Father who cares for his children with fondness; he receives their lives offered and spent for good through time, leaving their mark in history…yet today they are the faces of the new poverty and loneliness.
This reality makes us defend what is theirs: a just and dignified life, as people who are part of a society that has the obligation and responsibility to care for them.
“Look at him in this body that is his Church, wounded and crucified, poor, needy, persecuted, re
jected and scorned.” (Fr. Francisco Palau. L 42).
This recommendation of Fr. Francisco Palau is for us a constant invitation to live by loving the Church,which leads us to live with hearts attentive to the Good News of the Gospel. It demands us to incarnate the attitudes of the Good Samaritan: to become neighbours to those at the wayside of our present society.
“But even if you do suffer for righteousness sake, you will be blessed.” 1 Pe 3: 14ª
Panambí is a land of great natural beauty; the fertile vegetation and diversification of the forest and red soils are characteristic of the landscape. Natural forests and woodlands cover almost half of its surface, but are disturbed by selective logging or agricultural use. It has a population of 7,500 inhabitants. Here, different nationalities come together: Brazilians, Paraguayans, Germans, Ukrainians, among others. They live along with our native peoples: the Guarani. There is no proper ethnic sector existing in the Province of the Missions in Argentina, which is why religious denominations and cults are diverse.
“Love does not rejoice at wrong” 1 Cor 13: 6ª
Labour exploitation, one of the most pronounced manifestations of injustice, is particularly felt in this rural ambience: working in the cultivation of tobacco, yerba mate, tea and sawmills is poorly paid.
The community is involved and committed to human development and pastoral guidance of small Christian communities that make up the parish. Risks are assumed, denouncing situations of injustice: sexual abuse, teen pregnancy, school dropouts, maltreatment, machismo, social rejection and exclusion, poor health care, rural isolation, unmet basic needs, corruption and political campaigning. Formation of the laity in the spirit of following Jesus Christ is fostered, providing resources to train the person to commit oneself to live one’s faith and to serve the community.
One of the areas where the community has chosen to promote education is the Escuela dela Familia Agrícola that receives teen-agers with low income who come from rural areas. They have no possibilityto study due to long walking distances from the farm. The alternative system is used: boys live in school for 15 days, and another 15 days at home where teachers visit them. The school provides tools for families for their progress, preserving their identity and fostering insertion to the ambience, so as to avoid rural exodus; it also aims to help them discover their capacity to relate with others and to dialogue with their families and community.
“That a person acts accordingly in the fulfilment of his duties towards God, himself and others; this is justice and the many more virtues which accompany it.” (Fr. Francisco Palau. JP II sec. 1, 24.6.52, 1. Writings 1533).
The presence of the Carmelite Missionary in the Escuela de Familia Agrícola (EFA) a
nd the Adult School, and educational support classes in the community, offered on days and times adapted to the reality of the children, youth and adults, enables many to start or to continue their education, equip them professionally and cultivate their social ties. It is a response to the cry of those suffering the consequences of a social structure of sin. It is an emergence of the Kingdomof God that humanizes through the integral formation of the person, based on building human and Christian values. We are convinced that it is necessary to form autonomous, supportive, prayerful and reflective persons capable of accepting and promoting change, and committed to God whoalways opts for life.
Nuestra Señora de ItatíCommunity - Panambí, Misiones, Argentina
