Sr. María del Amor Puche talks to us about guerrilla groups and refugee camps. Insecurity and fear. Commitment to women. Small microcredit projects.
I live in Balama, which belongs to the diocese of Pemba, in the province of Cabo Delgado. The parish has about 75 communities that we visit regularly. The parish priest is a diocesan priest and, in our community, we are five Sisters. In these communities, the catechists gather on Sundays for catechesis or for the celebration of the Word, and sometimes, when the priest is able to travel, they celebrate the Eucharist.
A few kilometres from the mission there is an active guerrilla group that, for five years, has caused numerous internal displacements and killed many people, so we all live in fear. In the diocese they have looted, destroyed and burned about eight missions, which had to be closed. Two years ago, one of our Comboni nuns was killed, and last year two other nuns were kidnapped in this area. Although they were later released, the fear we felt was enormous. All this means great instability and suffering for the people. It is truly a persecuted Church.
Around the mission and in some of the nearby villages we have three refugee camps where many people live in poverty. Each camp can accommodate about 300 families, with an average of 13 or 14 members. The situation there is horrible: there is no food or water. There are not even schools or anything close to a hospital. People live as if they were in a desert and keep their tents standing with just a few sticks. We did get some humanitarian aid from some organizations that used to work here, but they have recently left. We try to do what we can, which is very little. It is a drop of water in an ocean of suffering.
In the midst of this pain, as Comboni Missionaries, we work with displaced women. We have sewing, listening and literacy groups. They are a great help to the women because, in addition to what they learn, they can express all the pain they carry inside. There is a lot of suffering in their lives and these small communities allow them to listen calmly and without judgment.
We have supported some initiatives promoted with microcredit for four or five months. We offer them a small capital sum with which they start a resource-generating activity. During the meetings we offer them basic and simple training on home economics so that they feel supported and understood. It is something very simple, but for them it is very important because it allows them to have money and, above all, to gain self-esteem. After this initial initiative, they manage to become more independent and continue with this activity, which helps them in a very concrete way to raise their families. They are very strong and combative women who support themselves and each other.
We have many other activities at a pastoral level, especially the training of young people. The heart sinks when you see so many people in this situation of insecurity, without training or schooling. Some young people have left the area, while those who have stayed have organised themselves into small collectives. We are convinced that education can change things, because training lays the foundations for men and women with a different mentality and a different future, with people capable of working for their people.
In this work we are not alone; there are always people who collaborate with us, lay people who help us, who turn to others to alleviate the pain. These people are the ones who keep us going despite the insecurity and fear.
