HCA Mission News Focus: Peru Advent 2008

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1 HCA Mission News Focus: Peru Advent Did You Know? 2 Mission Snapshot 3 Peruvian History 4 My Mission Wish List 5 Geo Fact 5 Issue Alert: The Garbage Pickers of Peru 6 Calling All Artists 6 Be A Top Ten Giver this Christmas Life in the Rainforest Amazones is a region, or departamento (in Spanish), in northern Peru made up of dense rainforest. This area is far removed from the country s bustling cities some areas can only be reached by canoe and presents great challenges to the people who live here and the missionaries who serve them. Among these difficulties are malaria and malnutrition. In recent years, epidemic malaria has rapidly emerged in Loreto in this region. In fact, Peru reports the second highest number of malaria cases in South America. Most of these are from Loreto. Malaria is a potentially fatal blood disease caused by a parasite that is transmitted to human and animal hosts by mosquito. Thanks to your help through the Holy Childhood Association (HCA), missionaries there spreading the Good News of Jesus are also working to help reverse this problem. They provide medication and vaccinations to young people who are at high risk for this disease. In addition, funding from HCA helps support a food assistance program in Loreto. This program aids more than 300 children in 18 communities that display chronic malnutrition. Through this program, mothers are taught basic nutrition and sanitation, and receive supplies of rice, beans and flour. Although most their time is spent in the daily struggle to survive, the people of Loreto united in their faith in Jesus always make time for prayer and the celebration of Mass. In fact, in a recent letter to HCA the director of the food program noted that some of the most important holidays are the Feast Days of San Juan (Saint John) and Saint Rose of Lima, and Christmas. > (top) Children s weight is checked regularly through the Food Assistance Program in Loreto. > (Bottom) Judith is one of the hundreds of children helped by the local church in Peru.

2 Did You Know? In Peru, retablos (paintings done on multi-layered wood or metal carvings) of the Nativity scene are very popular. These decorative displays were influenced by the small altars that local missionaries and priests would carry with them as they traveled the country proclaiming the Good News. These altars gradually developed into portable boxes with saints pictured above the altar and scenes from everyday life shown below it. Today, these displays feature the story of the birth of Jesus. These religious education students from Loreto in the Amazones region of Peru are preparing to receive First Holy Communion (top). When a child is baptized in the Amazones region, the entire community gathers to celebrate the event. 2

3 Human history in Peru dates back about 10,000 years. These ancient Peruvians were farmers and fishermen who lived in simple adobe houses among the Andes Mountains. For the most part, these early Peruvians were unorganized, but some banded together into small, regional groups with individual leaders. These groups mastered agriculture, developed road systems, and built upon basic architectural concepts. Such developments were important to the success of one of Peru s greatest empires the Inca. The Inca civilization began in the area of Cusco in the 13th century. The Incas slowly included neighboring groups into their society through the 15th century. The Incas promoted a social structure based largely on sharing and goodwill. At the bottom of the Incas social structure was the ayllu, a community of self-supporting farmers. The farmers in the ayllu grew dif ferent crops and shared with each other according to need. Also, farmers from the ayllu were sent to more distant places to farm new areas. This system of remote farming was called mitmaq, and was important to the growth of the Inca Empire. By the 16th century, the Inca Empire was thriving. In 1532, the first Europeans arrived in Peru. The first European to set foot on Peruvian soil was Spanish conquistador Francisco Pizarro. Pizarro arrived from Spain with a crew of 180 men and 30 horses. Pizarro and his men were drawn to Peru by stories about the Incas great wealth. With the intent of taking wealth from the Incas, Pizarro and his men set off to meet with Inca Emperor Atahualpa. Pizarro demanded that the Incas denounce their gods and insisted that Atahualpa sign a treaty with Spain. Atahualpa refused and the Spanish attacked the Incas and took Atahualpa prisoner. Atahualpa tried to gain his freedom by giving the Spaniards gold and promising to convert to Christianity. Pizarro had him executed. Pizarro and his men overran the Incas and established a Spanish capital city in Lima in Spanish rule lasted until Modern, independent Peru continues to experience political struggles. However, the country s current leadership has set a goal of improving social conditions and stabilizing the economy. Now that you know a little more about the history of Peru, test your reading comprehension skills with these questions. 1. Peru has stayed isolated throughout its history. A. True B. False 2. Spanish rule of Peru last until what year? A C B D An Inca community of self-supporting famers is called: A. An ayllu C. A collective B. A tahualpa D. A mitmaq 4. Pizarro arrived in Peru with thousands of soldiers. A. True B. False Copyright 2008 edhelper 3

4 Imagine you have the opportunity to make a Christmas wish list for kids in the Missions. What would you include on your list? Use the space provided to create your own Jesus-centered list. 4

5 The Garbage Pickers of Peru Have you ever wondered what happens to the garbage after you leave it on the curb or throw it into your building s trash compactor? In developing countries, trash from the cities is commonly picked through by the poor. About 35 miles north of Lima, Peru, children live and make their living among the city s garbage heaps. The items these young people bring to local trash dealers help support their families. Every part of a soda bottle is worth something the lid, the label, the bottle itself. On average children can earn about five cents for about two pounds of glass enough to purchase one piece of bread. The garbage scavengers of Lima rarely attend school if at all. Most of their day is spent searching for items that can be recycled and exchanged for Geo-Fact The Andes Mountains run the entire length of South America, from the humid tropics of the Caribbean to the ice fields of Patagonia. The longest north-south mountain range in the world, the Andes encompass a tremendous range of ecosystems and are home to a rich variety of plant and animal species and human communities. The central Andes stretch from northern Peru to northern Chile and Argentina. The climate is semiarid, and the land is characterized by high altitude plains, known as the puna or altiplano. > (above) Huascaran mountain, the hightest in Peru at 6768 metres. Richard List/Corbis cash. The hazards of the garbage dump are many. Children have died by falling into the trash piles. Others have been injured by broken glass or pricked by used hypodermic needles discarded by city hospitals. Throughout Lima, the local Catholic Church operates health clinics and nutrition centers to ease the suffering of these young people. They provide healing and the hope of Jesus Christ. In addition, several missionary congregations run orphanages to care for babies and children who have been abandoned by families who simply cannot afford to care for them. Consider this! With your parents permission and supervision, gather a group of friends to collect recyclables throughout your neighborhood. After collecting the returns on cans and bottles, donate the funds to HCA. 5

6 Calling All Artists The deadline for entering the Holy Childhood Association Christmas Artwork contest is January 31, For more information or an entry form, visit Your artwork could be one of 24 designs displayed at the National Shrine of the Basilica of the Immaculate Conception in Washington, D.C., during Advent and Christmas It doesn t take much effort to give the gift of yourself this Christmas. Check out some of these ideas! 2 1. Organize a prayer circle and commit to praying for kids in the Missions once a week. 2. Save some of the money that you might get from relatives this Christmas and make a donation to HCA Invite missionaries to visit your school or parish to talk about their work. Then serve them a breakfast or lunch you have prepared Go to a nursing home and visit the residents there. Just talk to them or prepare a small gift to give them Reach out to elderly or disabled individuals in your community. Shovel snow from their walkways, mow their grass or offer to pick up groceries for them. 6. Get together with some friends and go grocery shopping for a needy family. Pitch in a few dollars each and see how far you can stretch the money. 7. Volunteer to teach a young child in your neighborhood how to ice skate, bowl, ride a bike etc. 8. Get together with friends or classmates and offer a date night or Christmas shopping day to parents in your parish. Provide babysitting at no cost. Prepare games, crafts and activities for the kids. 9. Go to a children s hospital in your area and visit the kids there. Many places would let you put on a small program (games, skits, etc.). Those who are sick really need a boost and this is a great way to do it Organize a bake sale in your school or parish and donate the funds to HCA. HCA Holy Childhood Association A Pontifical Mission Society 9