Lamud through the eyes and ears of a newcomer.

By Mary Elizabeth Kirke, April 2006

Lamud is a town, in the north of Peru, 7ª from the equator; temperature 12º - 20º: it nestles comfortably in a saucer of low hills, 2,400 feet high in the Andes.

What have I learned about its people, since I arrived here a month ago, and about the lives of the sisters here?  One thing is that, in this IBVM house, there is a knock on the door every hour of the day, usually followed by warm greetings, hugs and kisses; and many conversations take place on the big red couch in the hallway.

From this house there is an outreach in all directions, to young, to old, to couples, to women and children, to outlying parishes hours away; and there is an inward flow of people who come to visit, for all sorts of reasons: to arrange to take part in, or help to organise, one of the many programmes and groups and parish events run by Marie Carmen, Irene and Miros; to seek counselling; to get medical advice; or to bring gifts from garden or kitchen, to show their love and appreciation for the presence of the sisters here over 25 years.

Lamud, with Chiclayo, was one of the early Spanish IBVM missions in Peru, at a time when the ´terrorismo’ of the Sendero Luminoso, and of another less known group, the MRTA, was at its height. On one occasion, in 1992, Anne O Connell and Anne Donnelly were marched at gunpoint to the square here, with many townspeople following them, not knowing if that day would be the last for them, or for others around them. In the early days of the mission, Irene went into the hills on foot or by mule, bringing medical care and nutritional information; Marie Carmen and others walked for hours on end to outlying pueblos. I do not always understand the Spanish spoken here; but I know that the very warm welcome I have received, expressed in hugs and kisses, is due to the sisters, who have lived here over the years, Evangeline, Incarnation, Josefa, who has since died, Irene, Anne Donnelly and Anne O’Connell and Carmen Hormaechea. I have been told by women and men in the street (where many conversations happen) about the windows´ of opportunity they have opened and the ‘values’ they have helped to strengthen. I was told the other day, and took it as a great compliment, that I was like Winnie, not least because of the warmth of the smiles, which lit up the faces of the young women, who were recalling her time here with them.

The many projects begun by the sisters, in the greater Lamud area, and now, usually, run by the local women, are financed by the Mary Ward Foundation in Spain and, also, by many friends of Loreto in Ireland and around the world. These projects are all part of a relationship between the sisters and the people. There are workshops with knitting machines, two small Pharmacies, a Ceramics Workshop, an orchard and a field of maize. Each of these projects has helped to improve the quality of people’s lives by making goods or services available; but also, and of equal importance, by involving the local women in its running, has raised their self esteem and their awareness of their own competence.

Perhaps it is a sign of improved living standards that the Children´s Dining Room, which was washed away by the river, some years ago, has not been replaced. Certainly there are signs of such rising standards in Peru, although, I have heard that 60 % of families, mostly in remote areas in the mountains and in the jungle, are very poor. I have been given some insight into what is meant by ‘very poor’. 

A few visits to Olto, another pueblo about five miles away from Lamud, and at an altitude of 2600 metes, where Irene and Miros are involved in a variety of ways, gave me much food for thought. Irene brought me to the Knitting Workshop, where local women can come and make clothes for their families and other villagers. Then there is a government building where Miros works on a programme for the defence of children and teenagers. As we walked around the pueblo, Miros made a few house calls, in her role as nurse, and I asked about housing, about parenting, about nutrition,  I had my eyes opened to a situation of great and widespread need and to problems which are endemic and related, not only to government neglect, but also to the circumstances and culture of the place.

For example, these days, people in the countryside are usually out on their farms, chasing away the parrots, which prey on their corn, at this time of year. So, children are kept away from school. People chew coca leaves to get the energy they need for hard work in the fields; as a result they do not feel hunger and so do not cook meals for their children. A new baby is sometimes a problem rather than a blessing. A father recently took his wife and toddler from hospital, although the child needed life saving surgery, because he needed his wife at home, to help with the other eight children and the crops. His bull which he needed to pull the primitive plough he uses, had died the day before and he was desperate.

We visited a few mothers with young babies and I saw what passes for housing in the case of many of the poorest families: almost all building is of adobe bricks, a mud and straw mix, which can be quite comfortable; but where there is no solid flooring, the mud floors are rutted by water which flows over them in the rainy season. As I sat there on one of the benches against the wall, getting used to the dim light, I eventually made out three beds at one end of the single roomed house, and then, what seemed like lots of things, clothes and bits of food among them,  hanging from cords, strung from end to end of the house; I learned later that this prevents the rats from knawing at them. The baby, a little boy, was lying very snuggly in his swaddling bands, in the biggest bed.

Peruvians are in process of electing a new president and government, and people hope, just a little, for a better future; but it seems to me, that people like Irene and Miros, who work in the villages, to raise awareness and to improve health and nutritional standards, may well have more impact on the lives of the children, here, than any government in far away Lima. Because, surely, the changes, the necessary developemnt, must come, to a large extent, through the people themselves.

It seems that through the centuries, to this day, the Christian faith has been a great resource for the people. Like a fire in the hearth which is always kept alive. It is very strong here and it is very public. On Palm Sunday we had a procession in which the local devotion of El Senor de Gualamita was prominent.  Let me try to describe it: A large crowd gathers on a road above the town, at approximately 4pm. Inside a house a woman who is designated for the task, this year, prepare the beautifully atired figure of El Señor de Gualamita on a small platform with a canopy. Outside, in the crowd which has gathered, there is a live donkey scrubbed down and adorned with flowers and ribbons. When the procession begins the local band strikes up with much vigour and leads the hymn singing. It is beautiful to see the little children being lifted up to throw petals in the direction of El Senor: not so appealing to me the noise of the fireworks.

The statue of Christ has a lovely expression of sorrow and gentleness and love.  It must have influenced people deeply over many years, since, on its way to Ecuador from Cusco, in the south, it suddenly became extremely heavy a few miles from Lamud, and its carriers decided that here it should stay; it is thought that it may have been brought from Spain by the conquistadores.

Holy Week had many variations on the usual Liturgy, the additions and adaptations coming from years of folk drama or popular religion. On good Friday a very special piece of religious drama follows the liturgy. There is pin-drop silence while a group of older men, dressed in white outfits, reverently take the body of Jesus down from the cross, holding up the instruments of his torture for all to see.

Saturday 8, I went with Marie Carmen, to Trita, one of the outlying pueblos, to a meeting of couples and teenagers, who are engaged in handing on the faith to the children of their parish, as they prepare, over two years, to make their first communion, between the ages of nine and twelve. The programme is called Catechesis Familiar. With the leadership of these couples and teenagers, groups of families meet once a week, share their week’s experience and listen to the Word of God. Then, they do this at home, during the week, with the family. Miros is involved with the sixteen-year-olds who follow a two-year programmes in preparation for Confirmation.

Many pueblos have Mass only occasionally, and no resident priest. Schools play no formal part in the work of catechesis. As I listened to these couples, who are called guides and to the teenagers, who are called animators, I felt as if I were in the early Church again. I was filled with admiration for these people; they produce all their own food on a mountain top that, for months on end, is cold and wet, and have to travel miles side to a town, to buy and sell; yet they take time to keep the faith alive. The catechists, in particular, are outstaniding people, who are deeply committed to developing Christian community, where the Word of God can be at home. They are often heard to pray for wisdom.

Easter Sunday and Marie Carmen took me to Cuemal, another outlying parish for a Eucharistic Service. A splendid drive as we sped up 600 feet, further into the mountains. There was almost no one waiting for us at the appointed time, of course; only a few faithful catechists. but Marie Carmen had the bell rung and, then, took the opportunity to get along with a meeting about the Catechesis Familiar; bit by bit people arrived, until the Chapel was full. I was again in admiration, at her ability to teach and catechise in a relaxed and happy way, while at the same time, pressing home a point, about the equality of men and women and the need for women too, to speak at the meetings; In admiration, too, at the faith and simplicity of the people and at their patience. There is such a strong sense of community that individuals seem to need very little personal attention but are happy to sit on hard benches and wait. I could have stayed with them all day. And they had already gathered at 5.30 am to greet the Risen Christ at dawn.

The dress of the people is quite distinctive here: the dark-coloured poncho with braided edging and the tall straw hat are usually worn when people are on the road, often on horseback. Young people in the town of Lamud usually wear western dress, the ubiquitous jeans and jumpers. But it is the young mothers who really get my attention, as they place their babies on their backs, bend forward to get them in position, throw a shawl over them and tie them securely. Later, with another simple movement they release the shawl a little and the baby slips forward to be fed. So discreet and so natural. Not without cost to the mother who, the older women told me, feels a  pull on her shoulders that is very tiring.

Finally after a month here and an 80 km journey, to Quelap, a  foortress of the Chachapoya, of the twelfth century BC, a journey which took three hours, up and down mountains on terrible roads, the penny has finally dropped. Many of the pueblos at higher altitudes in the Andes, have developed in isolation over thousands of years. Like islands in a sea of mountains. Until very lately, there were no roads, other than tracks and paths, to connect them to each other, or to the coastal region. No trade routes developed. So, until recently, their way of life has been largely untouched by outside influences.

 So I am given much food for thought by the people here in Lamud and by their way of life and their priorities.

And I an still left with some questions:

NUESTRA PRIMERA EXPERIENCIA DEMOCRÀTICA EN LA ESCUELA

La DEMUNA en coordinación con las Instituciones Educativas del Distrito de San Cristóbal (Inicial y Primaria), desde hace algún tiempo hemos visto la necesidad de que los niños y niñas tengan experiencias democráticas desde temprana edad. Para ello hemos organizado la elección del Alcalde Escolar.

Se realizaron elecciones internas en las aulas del cuarto y quinto grado, para elegir a sus candidatos para Alcalde y Regidores (50% niñas y 50% niños). Luego cada candidato con ayuda del profesor elaboró su propuesta de trabajo y diseñó su símbolo.

El desarrollo de la actividad involucró a los maestros, personal administrativo, responsable de la DEMUNA, alumnos y alumnas; quienes con mucho dinamismo elaboraron las ánforas para el sufragio, los padrones electorales, lista de electores y los documentos de identidad escolar.

Los niños y niñas del sexto grado estuvieron encargados de la campaña, quienes de manera creativa dieron a conocer a todos los electores las propuestas de los dos candidatos,especialmente a los escolares de nivel inicial (4 y 5 años)

El 27 de julio a las 2:00 p.m. los niños y niñas fueron llegando al lugar de votación, quienes en forma ordenada con ayuda de los profesores y alumnos de los grados superiores ubicaron la mesa de sufragio e ingresaron uno a uno a la cámara secreta.

El acto electoral finalizó a las 4:00 p.m. y seguidamente se procedió al conteo de votos. Pudiendo observar la gran expectativa e inquietud en los niños y niñas que estuvieron dentro y fuera del local.