A Community 20 years young



The feast of St John the Baptist is popular in Peru for reasons yet undiscovered and as usual this means processions, bunting across the streets and, of course, all night parties. For the hillside barrio of Monterrey it is a particularly special feast as it marks the founding of their community 20 years ago. Photos from that time showed the arrival of people and their wicker houses on the barren hill including a community of sisters from the Little Sisters of Jesus congregation who have lived alongside the people here from its very beginning, sharing with them the slow progression from wicker walls to wood and finally to what is known as ‘noble material’ - to us bricks and mortar. Electricity was celebrated five years after the arrival, water and drainage is still a hope for the future although the government promised this a year ago.




We also celebrated First Holy Communion at mass that day in great festive style and although there is still a long way to go until this people can rejoice in what is taken for granted in so many places, there’s a great spirit here and a strong sense of community.