The parish of St Helen’s is found under the Chachani volcano on the outskirts of the city of Arequipa in Peru. It is presently made of 18 new settlements with a population of around 15,000 people. The furthest settlement is at an altitude of almost 10,000 feet above sea level. The area is very dry and mountainous.
The population is mainly made of people coming from the mountains to the nearest possible area of the city in order to improve their living conditions. Then there are other people coming out of populated areas of the city where there is no more available land for new buildings. So it is a mix of very poor people together with middle class people and even richer ones. Then we have un-educated people (because of the lack of opportunity in the mountains), together with professionals who finished their university education. People live in little shanty houses and others in two storey well finished buildings. There are no schools, no health centres and no proper means of transport. Some people have access to some amount of water from public taps for around two hours and from which they are allowed an average of five buckets a day, while others have no access to water at all. This water is not potable and has to serve for hygiene, cooking, laundry, cleaning, etc. The same thing goes for electricity. Some people have access to around three bulbs in the house while others have no access. There is only one paved road. The area can be very cold and for three months a year we have around three hours of very strong winds usually between 5.00am and 8.00am. Most of the houses consist of one room made of local stone called "sillar" (cut from volcanic ash quarries by hand) usually some 9 by 15 feet, with corrugated metal sheets as a roof. The toilet facilities are usually just a hole in the ground. Some people use gas stoves for cooking while others burn wood. A common kitchen is a corner outside the room. Given the size of the houses (rooms) there is no possibility of furniture or a number of beds. Usually it is a bed or two and they share beds; otherwise they sleep on the floor. The average family is made of five people, but at times there are other relatives such as the parents' parents, or even their grandparents who live with the main family.
Since many of these people are not skilled workers they end up doing very hard work for little pay. Usually they work very long hours for about £10 (GBP). The jobs they do are helping in construction, field work, carrying stuff at markets, loading and unloading truckloads of merchandise, and whatever opportunity comes along. In most cases all the family has to work, including small children as young as ten. The children clean or look after cars, sell sweets or simply beg. Women usually work in fields, clean houses, do laundry, etc. Since the majority of the people are daily workers at times they do not manage to get a day's work every day and so they have to return home empty handed. The fact that they are not regular formal workers they don’t contribute to health or pension schemes; this means that they do not qualify to any free health service or a pension for when they get old. There is now a very limited health care scheme for the poor, but it is very limited.
As for the pastoral care of the people there is still a lot to be done. Almost everybody considers himself to be Catholic since they come from a Catholic background, but a large number of people of all ages are not even baptised. They are slowly starting to come to church as we are still at the stage of first evangelisation. At times even starting Mass and doing the sign of the cross is too much; they look at each other trying to see how it is done and what is being said. On the other hand there is a big respect towards God, all that is holy or spiritual, and a great sense of solidarity. Devotions to their patron saints from their villages of origin are celebrated with great sincerity and with big colourful festivities. We are in great need of catechists in order to prepare people of all ages for the sacramental life, but it takes time to form catechists and leaders.
The parish itself is still being formed. We are working hard in having a presence at strategic points of the parish so the people have access to whatever we organise. Unfortunately the parish jurisdiction has three big ravines that separate settlements from each other. For the time being some Masses are celebrated on the road, in the dark and in the cold, because of lack of infrastructure. So far we managed to build a main church, and two multi-purpose halts, but we still need at least another two halls. The church and the halls are used for all activities that are needed, both directly spiritual and for looking after the daily needs of the people. The Church is the main thing that brings all the people together and the only formal institution in the whole area.
We are presently running a small pre-school in the morning for children aged between three and five years, and in the afternoon it becomes a child-care programme until the children are picked up by their parents after a day's work. In this programme we have 80 children. Then we have a church kitchen which is serving around 200 meals every day, from Monday to Friday all year round. We also managed to get a mobile unit to take some health care to the different settlements on a regular basis. Then there are people who come for help with different needs. There is a large number of single mothers and of elderly people who need all types of support. We do our best to give a helping hand in whatever way possible and within our limited capabilities.
In addition to the Parish, I am also responsible for the "Holy Family Children's Home”. At present I have 32 boys and girls aged from 3 to 18 years. This home has no income and depends only on God's providence touching generous people's hearts. I am presently working hard to make it a reference centre for all family needs. I intend to support families with all types of problems like addictions, lack of communication within the family, spiritual absence, abortions, etc. I am organising a group of professional volunteers and Church organisations to make this project come true. We'll offer preventive support, accompaniment and therapies according to need. The project will also include a small prayer room for spiritual direction and prayer.
One very positive thing to mention is that the people are very good and very thankful for all that we do with them. As said before they have a strong sense of God in their life and are always ready to help those less fortunate then themselves. This makes every sacrifice worth the efforts that we do every day. Perhaps they do not have much of the Catholic doctrine knowledge, but they definitely have God in their lives.
United in one mission of building Peace on Earth through Faith and Service,
Fr Alex Busuttil mssp