Amanecer - A new dawn for children and women in Cochabamba

My improving Spanish in this second half of the course here has meant that I’ve deceided to venture out more into the community where I can be of a little more use. Near to the language institute is one of the homes run by the local charity Amanecer (meaning sunrise). Faced with an increasing number of street children Sister Stephanie of the Daughters of Charity founded a charity in 1981 which has grown to accommodate over 450 resident children (as well as some mothers) and also serves other children who receive education, food and a warm, safe environment on a daily basis.



The home near to us caters for around 140 children under the age of 5 and relies on volunteers to help with basic care and feeding. Perhaps easily forgotten in all the activity of caring for such a number of children is the need of people to help with a child’s basic right to play, so along with other students from the institute we spend an hour or so pushing swings, see-saws and catching little ones hurtling down the slides - which probably aren’t quite up to current health and safety standards but serve to bring many smiles!

Whilst the charity is one of the few beacons of hope for many of Cochabamba’s street children, it is still sad to see the numbers of children and young people clearly without homes and without hope. All too often they are turning to the cheap escape offered by solvent abuse. After a while here I find myself less shocked daily passing groups breathing into the familiar plastic bag. It is strange how quickly we can become dulled to the reality of poverty and injustice. The Gospel of the Good Samaritan is a great reminder of the need to see clearly the suffering world around us even when our minds become skilled at filtering out images of despair and human pain.



Looking into the faces of those children starting out life in a precarious place, I wonder where they will be when they enter the adult world. Many, hopefully, will have found a new family and the ‘papa’ and ‘mama’ they call for in the playground. Some will have spent their growing years in the care of Amanecer. But all in Bolivia will face the uncertainties of employment here. Many will try their fortune in the United States or Europe. Between 200 and 300 mainly young people leave Bolivia daily to find an often hostile reception in a new country and greater hardships than they leave. A rich part of our Judeo-Christian heritage is our welcome of the stranger. How do we change the plight of these young people so easily destined to be the strangers of tomorrow? And possibly they will be closer to home than we imagine.

More Mountains

Since arriving in Bolivia I’ve had my eye on the snow- capped high peaks of the Andes. The end of our half term break gave an opportunity to spend a couple of days in La Paz acclimatising to the thin air before attempting a two day trip up the Huayna Potosi at 6,088m. I was fine on the first day’s hike up to 5,200m and a rustic stop in a mountain hut before setting off at 1.00am the following morning. We were just on the snow line there and from that point onwards we would need full solid mountain boots, crampons, harness and an ice axe.



One of the great lessons to learn on mountains is when to turn back - and often that’s after a long hard graft but before the all too tempting peak. That day was to be one of those days. The combination of hired boots which seven hours later were agony, and a rare but frustrating bout of asthma in the thin air at 5,900m meant it was time to leave the mountainside, even if by then the peak was just 200m further up. A borrowed inhaler in La Paz cleared up the asthma but the marks of the boots can still be seen nearly two weeks on!



Still, dawn on the slopes of the mountain was spectacular and hopefully the photos bear out that it was a great trip!

Walk for Peace

One of the unexpected events of the trip to the Jesuit Missions was the Walk for World Peace that we came across after Mass in Concepción. In what was quite a small town it seemed as if almost everyone had turned out for the march followed by speeches. It’s always easy to think that my walking around a remote town in a remote country on a remote continent can’t possibly make a difference to the distant wars and acts of aggression going on in the world… and to stay at home. People there obviously thought differently and were present with great enthusiasm and energy to reflect on and pray for peace at all levels from the home to the world.


It was good to be somewhere that apathy hadn’t conquered and where there was a real confidence that MY presence, MY prayer, MY voice does matter.

Jesuit Missions

In keeping with being back at school, we also have a mid-term break! The Maryknoll language institute organises a five day trip to the lowlands’ region around Santa Cruz now designated a World Heritage site where in the 17th and 18th centuries the Jesuits worked establishing Christian communities which remain a fascinating and inspiring model of society. Anyone familiar with the film The Mission will remember that these were communities that worked cooperatively to establish centres of learning, productivity, care and the arts. They were known as Reducciones and they were to be found in the eastern area of Bolivia as well as parts of the adjoining Paraguay.


Politics were to bring an end to the presence of the Jesuits across the Latin American Spanish Empire in 1767 and the history of these towns was then dependent on local government. Many went into decline but in recent years much has been done to restore the buildings of the many towns founded by the early Jesuits and also to revive the artistic skills of art and music which characterised these communities. An inspiring German architect Hans Roth worked around Santa Cruz for several decades restoring these places to their original beauty and also providing new work and highly skilled labour for countless local people.






The Jesuit approach to evangelisation was one of invitation - reminiscent of the invitation to Nathaniel; ‘Come and see’ (John 1: 46). The local people gradually learned about Christianity through the experience of choosing to come to live in these new centres, they were not forced to leave behind former beliefs but instead were to find the presence of Christ in their lives in a gradual way - rather like the disciples who were to journey with Christ over three years in order to know him.






The restoration of these towns in recent years has revived just some of the skills which these early communities possessed. A sizeable quantity of music written in these places is a reminder of the rich musical tradition - all kinds of European musical instruments were made here as well as other local instruments. The music which has been revived testifies to the high standard of musical ability and creativity. We were lucky enough to hear one of the local choirs singing some of this early music and the performance was breathtaking as was the enthusiasm of young and old performers alike.


All in all the visit left me with an inspiring reflection on what it means to be a missionary - both here and back at home. Those early Jesuits were clearly great models of respect for those among whom they lived. They invited people to join them in a common life where learning, productivity, care for the sick, art and music played a central role. Christianity was characterized not by sudden conversion but by a steady and gradual journey where Christ walked alongside and became ever more present in the lives of those already guided by the Holy Spirit . And finally those early Jesuits were clearly inspired by those they evangelised. They were learners as well as teachers.