So I got my first look at what real poverty is today. The people that live in paloma have no where else to live. They have built their homes on mounds of sand, have basically no education, little food, and no health care. These are not lazy people, in fact, they are extremely hard working and creative with their work. They are very good handicraftsmen!
Water is a huge problem here. They actually don't ever get rain. Don't believe me? Look at the
expensive equipment that was donated that they leave outside. There's no threat of rain. They will even leave stacks of paper outside!I was also able to visit the CLM's clinics. They were incredibly impressive. Unlike in the US, they treat the entire person. All doctors and nurses must be trained to understand the human person as God sees them. What this means is that they don't just treat symptoms, but they treat the person, nurture their soul, and help them to see themself in the big picture of God's creation.
One of the most impactful places in the clinic was the pregnancy crises center. While Peru is a very Catholic country, there are so many people that have no Catholic formation. There just aren't enough workers in the field here to teach and form them. As a result, there's a good of women that get pregnant out of wedlock, and because they're poor they can't afford to have medical care. In response, the CLM set up this pregnancy center.
The pregnancy center teaches the mother at a very early stage about the sanctity of life, explains what's going on, and helps them to understand what an amazing gift this is. Legally, they must inform the women of all their options, and while abortion is illegal here, it is not very difficult to find a private doctor who will perform one illegally. Some women even come to the clinic after a private doctor has recommended an abortion. I'll share one story that I heard today about such an instance:
A woman two years ago went to the state hospital after discovering her pregnancy. She was examined and informed that her baby would not survive birth and encouraged her to abort the child. She was very uncertain as to what to do and by a recommendation from a friend, came to the CLM clinic. They took her in, provided a medical exam, and confirmed that the child would have a complicated birth, but also lovingly taught the mother about the beauty of every life, even a life they may not survive long.
After 7 months, the mother decided to have the child. She had a daughter that survived 3 days, was baptised and named Guadelupe. She asked the doctor and the nurse to be the God-parents and absolutey fell in love with her little girl. Even though the child only lived for 3 days, she praised God for the opportunity to have this child and 2 years later explained that if she had the abortion and later discovered all she knows now, she would have never been able to live with herself. She's now a huge advocate of the clinic!
Other services provided by the clinic is a daycare facility. The purpose is twofold. First, to provide the children with early Catechesis. Second, to give the parents a safe and productive place to leave their children to attend work. I asked if the children begin exclipsing their parents knoweldge, and sure enough they do, but the CLM also provides classes for parents so they can support their children during their development.
Finally, the clinic also provides psychological support for children and their parents. This is a place where parents can bring their children (or vis versa) and have sessions with a psychologist to find out why a child is acting up. They also teach children how to appropriate communicate and express themselves, again with the understanding of what the human person is in God's Creation.
The children I met were extremely well behaved and happy. It was amazing as to how simple this operation was, yet creative and effective! My first thought was: Boy, we could use this in the United States!!
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