Mission in the driest desert on earth

Lay Missionaries Gilda Comayas and Lorna Cañete from the Philippines share their experience of working in shanty towns in Alto Hospicio, 700 metres above the port city of Iquique, Chile.

Photos: Fr Daniel Harding SSC

Gilda: Upon arrival in Chile, we were assigned to the Columban Parish of the Sacred Heart in Alto Hospicio, 1800 kilometres north of Santiago and located in the Atacama Desert.

Lorna: The twin cities of Alto Hospicio and Iquique share in an economic boom with the duty free port which serves Bolivia and inland mining activity.

Gilda: This economic boom has attracted lots of migrants from the neighbouring countries and also Chileans from down south, all seeking a better life. There are families from Bolivia, Peru, Colombia, Venezuela, Ecuador, Haiti and Argentina, all seeking an escape from poverty.

Our Parish Response

Gilda: There are three shanty towns in the parish. A shanty town is an illegal occupation of either private or public land, where precarious houses are constructed out of used shipping crates, plastic, pine board and cardboard. The homes generally have dirt floors.

Lorna: Our work was to try to reach out to the families living there. In the smallest of the three shanty towns, there are around 50 children and the largest would have about 100 children. Imagine life growing up in a crime ridden shanty town, without running water, electricity or sewerage and where your illegal lean-to home could be demolished at any time by the police.

Gilda: In order to respond to the pastoral needs of the three shanty towns we divided ourselves into three teams, each to attend one of the shanty towns. The teams came from the two Columban priests, Frs Michael Howe and Thomas Hanley, Diocesan Associates, Frs Francisco Jung and Andres Lee, Columban Lay Missionary, Oisin Kenny, a permanent deacon and religious Sisters.
Lorna: In one of the shanty towns, we have set up a soup kitchen to feed undernourished children and unemployed adults. The wives of Chilean Navy personnel, stationed in the Port of Iquique, donate food which we use in the soup kitchen and clothing which we help distribute. The Columbans are the principle suppliers for the soup kitchen.

Gilda: We have also set up various craft and educational workshops for the children and their families. Much of our work is really listening to and accompanying the people in their daily lives. Often there is little we could do but being present most days of the week for the people helps to build trust.

Lorna: We were present when the police arrived to demolish one of the shanty towns. The occupants protested but in the end they were moved on, because the Government wants to build a large public hospital on that land. We supported the people as much as we could. Not all the shanty towns were demolished. In some cases, after a few years, a process of regularisation of the shanty town can begin, whereby the government builds low cost public houses with all the necessary amenities for the families.

Photos: Fr Daniel Harding SSCColumban Fr Michael Howe, Parish Priest, Lay Missionaries Lorna Cañete and Gilda Comayas and two religious sisters, standing outside one of the shanty towns.

Life in the shanty town

Lorna: Neither Gilda nor myself could walk freely through the shanty towns alone. It was too dangerous. There is a lot of crime, alcoholism and drug addiction there. The different chapels in our parish are constantly being robbed. Drug addicted thieves rob anything that is not nailed down.

Gilda: There is a lot of unemployment in the shanty towns. Many of the men work in construction or at the port. With the presence of so many miners, sailors, port workers and truck drivers in the area, there is sadly a lot of prostitution in the area.

Lorna: A small percentage of the families in the shanty towns are dishonest, trying to work the system. These people already have a house or two, rent them out and live in the shanty town, hoping to get a free house from the Government.

Gilda: Nevertheless the great majority are genuinely poor. Many of the families are quite dysfunctional. In one family, the aunt looks after the three children, as the mother is a drug addict. Making sure the children go to school can be very difficult. It is really heart breaking.

Saying goodbye

Gilda and Lorna: After three years of supporting, praying the rosary, enrolling children in the soup kitchen, distributing toys and clothes, and walking with the families it is time for us to say goodbye. We thank the Lord for this blessed opportunity. We leave a big part of our hearts in the shanty towns in the Atacama Desert of northern Chile.

Columban Fr Daniel Harding, Parish Priest of San Columbano Parish, Santiago, Chile.

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