A PILGRIMAGE OF FAITH TO A PILGRIM COMMUNITY

La Sagrada Familia Parish in the Dominican Republic receives visitors from Milwaukee

This year Catholics in Southeastern Wisconsin commemorate the 35^th anniversary of the twinning relationship between the Archdiocese of Milwaukee and La Sagrada Familia parish in Sabana Yegua, Azua, in the Dominican Republic. During all of these years, priests from Milwaukee have run the parish, sharing their faith and love with the people of Sabana Yegua and its surrounding rural communities. Since 2003, members of the Community of Saint Paul, lay and ordained, have been in charge of the parish on behalf of the Archdiocese of Milwaukee.

In order to commemorate these 35 years of partnership, different activities have been organized, so that people can participate and experience this partnership of faith. In late June and early July we have had two groups of pilgrims from Milwaukee visiting the parish.

The first was a group of 25 young adults, plus 7 seminarians from the archdiocese, who spent a week in the parish and were immersed in different activities with children, youth and the community at large. It was a great experience for the young adults coming from Milwaukee and the youth from the parish who came together to interact and share their talents and faith. The group was a coordinated effort put in place by the World Mission Office of the Archdiocese of Milwaukee, Catholic Financial Life Insurance company and, also, the archdiocesan office for Young Adult ministries. These three organizations came together and worked hard to make a wonderful pilgrimage of faith for the young adults participating on the trip. The seven seminarians held reflections and activities while sharing with the 25 young adults, who expressed that they were going back home transformed by this pilgrimage.

The second was a group of six men, five of whom are in training to be ordained permanent deacons in the archdiocese of Milwaukee. They visited La Sagrada Familia parish as part of their formation plan. They stayed with families in their Sabana Yegua homes, got to know the different ministries and then in the evenings reflected theologically about what they were seeing. It was a wonderful combination of theological reflection, prayer and sharing faith and love with the local community.

INAUGURATION OF A NEW WATER PIPELINE AND BASKETBALL COURT

On April 29 we celebrated the inauguration of two new infrastructures in our parish in the Dominican Republic: a water pipeline for the rural community called Km. 8 and a basketball court in the neighboring village Km. 7.

With the completion of these two infrastructures a project that lasted for three years reached its final goals. It has been an integral project for the development of five rural communities, carried out by the Community of Saint Paul, FUNDASEP (the development agency of the Diocese of San Juan de la Maguana, DR), Manos Unidas and Nuevos Caminos (these two organizations are from Spain).

The project benefits over 2,000 people and it touches on education, health, income generating initiatives and, specially,infrastructures—such as the basketball court and two community water pipelines, one in Cañada de Piedra/Altagracia, that was already completed last year, and this one we just finished in Km. 8.

For these rural communities the endemic lack of water is over, as is the harsh task of having to carry water in five gallon cans, weighing over 40 pounds, for long distances under the scorching hotsun. Now the water reaches each and every home thanks to many people’s efforts, particularly that of the beneficiaries of this project.

The inauguration ceremony included music and songs, dancing, a blessing by the bishop, food and much joy. Thanks to all who worked in this endeavor, now the lives of many families have significantly improved.

MOTHERS STUDY AT THE UNIVERSITY

 

In the far off town of Barrera (Azua, Dominican Republic), where men subsist by fishing, burning coal and farming, many women try, often in vain, to help with household expenses.

A few years ago we began to provide scholarships, especially for young mothers who wanted to improve their lives and those of their children. Up to this point, ten women from Barrera have pursued and completed a college degree; some are teachers, others nurses and others accountants.

Recently, Yudamaris and Yomaira Méndez, two sisters who are already licensed nurses, were able to earn a degree in teaching at the Catholic University in Santo Domingo. They finished a few months ago, and then Yomaira obtained a position as an educator in the high school in her town. In Barrera, due to the efforts of the government to extend the school day, they built a new school that has classes for seven hours daily (as opposed to four hours in the past) and the old primary school is now a secondary school. Before, young people had to travel to other communities for secondary studies. Because the government needs many teachers for the new extended education program, the two sisters, both nurse graduates, decided to earn a degree in teaching and transfer to the education sector to find work. As we mentioned, Yomaira has already found a job, and we hope that Yudamaris can do the same soon.

We encountered Yomaira a few days ago at a meeting to initiate microloans for women in Barrera. She continues to take care (as a volunteer) of the small first aid pharmacy that the parish runs in her town, and as you can see in the attached photo, she looked very happy and grateful as she showed us her newly obtained teaching degree. Congratulations, Yomaira!

 

 

Zika Virus in the Dominican Republic

At the end of January, the Dominican authorities confirmed the first ten cases of zika virus in the country. As it has been reported in the media, the disease, transmitted by the mosquito Aedes Aegypti, which also transmits dengue and chikungunya, is spreading in Latin America and the Caribbean.

There has been a lot of alarm about the disease, which provokes fever, rash, joint pain and symptoms which are similar to those caused by chikungunya. The most serious threat is the reported microcephaly in children in Brazil.

The Health Ministry has started an awareness and preventive campaign through talks, cleaning garbage, and advising pregnant women about the risks of this virus.

In the province of Azua, where our parish is located, there have been no cases reported so far. However, we are starting talks about zika. For us it is a good opportunity to insist on sanitation in the villages and houses, thus creating a culture of cleanliness. It will serve not only the zika prevention but also to avert future cases of dengue, chinkungunya, and so many gastrointestinal and skin diseases that normally affect the population.

It will also serve to educate young women about the risks of unwanted pregnancies. Azua is one of the provinces in the country with a higher number of pregnancies among teenagers. Awareness about the zika virus can help an always necessary awareness about pregnancy at a young age.

To sum up, we want to turn the zika threat and its extensive impact on the media, into an opportunity to keep talking and working for a better health of those we serve in Azua.

 

 

A SIP…

In 2004 priests and lay members of the Community of Saint Paul took over the pastoral and social care of the parish La Sagrada Familia (Holy Family) in the Dominican Republic, which is the sister parish of the Archdiocese of Milwaukee since 1981. All the priest who served here throughout the years have been diocesan priests of Milwaukee. 2016 is, thus, an important year, since we celebrate 35 years of partnership between the Archdiocese and the La Sagrada Familia. 35 years with plenty of experiences, lots of laughter and many challenges, but above all with many lives touched. It is impossible to summarize 35 years of human experiences as there is too much to process and too much to be left out. So we want to offer a sip, a glimpse, a preview of what our parish life may look like today. And besides, a general explanation takes for granted and thus forgets the stories, the names and the daily experiences of the families and people. Take some minutes to watch the video below, where instead of giving a general view we offer you “a sip” of parish life so that through it you can grasp what we live and breathe in La Sagrada Familia, and yet keep you hungry for the full taste. Enjoy the sip!

https://youtu.be/L7uDMUgaGhw

Thanks to All, Altagracia Has a New Heart

Last July, we reached out to find good hearted people to help save the life of Altagracia Pujols, a 27 year old young woman from the Dominican Republic who required an urgent cardiac surgery. We needed economic support to pay for her operation. The generosity of many friends of the Community of Saint Paul was well demonstrated again. We received the funds that she lacked for the procedure. The response was so overwhelming that the expenses of Altagracia's surgery were completely paid, with some money left over to for general use in our health center in Sabana Yegua.

There was a long waiting period, since Altagracia was underweight and had an infection that delayed the date for surgery. In addition, we had to find twelve blood donors. To those blood donors we want to express our sincere gratitude. Finally, on October 6, she had the operation in CECANOT, in Santo Domingo. The surgery was a wonderful success, and after some days of recuperation in intensive care and a hospital room, Altagracia was again in her home... happy with a healthy heart.

On behalf of Altagracia, her family and our team in the Dominican Republic, we thank you all... from the bottom of our hearts!

A new year is a new opportunity to see better!!!

Every year in January, Saint Mary’s parish coordinates a group mostly of people from the Kenosha area, with some others, for a week in the parish of La Sagrada Familia, run by the Community of Saint Paul, in Sabana Yegua, Azua. This year 29 people came for a threefold mission trip: eye surgeries, eye exams and a building project. They performed 122 surgeries, saw more than 900 people during the four day clinic and built a house for a family that has some members with disabilities. 

The people of La Sagrada Familia are grateful for the effort of these 29 missionaries who every year take some of their valuable time to share with us their talent and love.

These mission trips started eleven years ago and we have seen from the beginning that it was above all about creating relationships and creating partnerships that have lasted for several years. This has been a blessing for both parishes La Sagrada Familia and Saint Mary’s in Kenosha - with some relationships that have been be growing for over a decade. 

Thank you very much to all those who participated in Mission 11, and in missions past!

THE MONEY-BOX OF THE POOR

Carmen and Ramona are from Galindo Adentro, a small village in the province of Azua, in the Dominican Republic. Recently, they each received a piglet from the pig farming program of La Sagrada Familia Parish. One day, while we were talking about the care and maintenance of the animal, they mentioned to us that there is a typical saying in the Dominican culture that refers to pigs as “the moneybox of the poor”.

Many people from the parish territory, that comprises Sabana Yegua and its surroundings, do not have stable work that generates regular income for their family’s support. Therefore, the majority of the families cannot save for moments of crisis or scarcity. Generally, people of the region live frugally from one day to the next, earning their sustenance without being able to create any savings for the future. The idea of initiating the pig project to help families like that of Carmen and Ramona by giving them a pig was an attempt to answer to that situation. We know that for many of these families it is difficult to save and put money in a bank account for a future necessity. We also know that any family of scarce means can have a pig on their backyard that can be fed with leftovers or waste that they get from neighbors and their own home and crops.

The family receives the basic investment, which are the pigs, raises them to later sell them, thus generating a little income for the family. Thus, it fulfills the Dominican saying, and the pigs become the money box of the poor. If they don’t have an emergency that requires them to sell ahead of time, and everything goes well, the funds produce a benefit that the family knows well how to use!

MAKING PURSES IN ORDER TO GO TO COLLEGE

Perla Fernández is a motivated, talented and industrious young lady, as this story will show. In order to help finance her university education, she recently joined the purse course offered by La Sagrada Familia parish at its Training Center for women in Sabana Yegua (Dominican Republic). She had previously completed the general sewing and upholstery classes.

Perla’s father is an upholsterer, but they make little profit from his business. She wanted to support her father and also earn extra money to continue studying by attending the university. With a small child, she had to interrupt her studies, but recently she obtained a scholarship to go to college. However, she still needed to find the means to pay for her transportation and school materials, and that is why she registered in the purse course.

In the exhibition of projects completed in the Training Center, where one can buy clothes, sheets, quilts, purses and even upholstered sofas, Perla was able to sell a good number of the purses that she created: with this income, she will be able to pay for her transportation and materials.

Go for it, Perla! You have the energy to now go to College!