Columban Fr John Boles is chaplain to the special needs school, Manuel Duato, in Lima, Peru. He writes to thank benefactors for helping to improve the lives of some of these special needs children and tells us about Camila and Andrea.
Camila with the team: (left-right) Aurelio (metalworker), Carla, Carlos and Marilyn (physiotherapists), Nancy (Camila's teacher), Fr John Boles and J.B. Martín (metalworker's assistant). Photo: Fr John Boles SSC
Dear Friends and Benefactors,
Over recent months I have been receiving donations from and through you for some small projects I have been funding in Lima. I've been spending the majority of this money on improvement schemes in our school for special needs children, "Colegio Manuel Duato" presided over by fellow English Columban, Fr Ed O'Connell.
Almost all improvements are now near completion:
- Building a storeroom for all the artefacts from the cerebral palsy department.
- Repair of four swings and seesaws specially adapted for use by cerebral palsy children. Columban Fr John Hegerty with funds from Australia originally built the playground some years ago.
- Strengthening and painting the columns and beams in the playground. Stabilising the roof netting and
- re-painting the wire fence.
- Finally, repairing the hydrotherapy pool.
All the above came to a total of just over $11,000. Thank you from me, the children, staff and parents of the Colegio Manuel Duato, Lima, Peru. Now I have two other stories for you, Camila’s and Andrea’s.
Camila's story - "Rise up and walk" (Lk. 5.23)
In the Gospel we hear how Jesus performed a miracle by saying to a paralysed man, "Rise up and walk". Today he continues to work the same miracle, maybe not directly, but through the intervention of people like us.
In Peru, the conventional wisdom has it that these children will never be able to walk. Yet, through the dedicated work of teachers and physiotherapists and the generosity of Columban benefactors, we can see how God is overcoming this obstacle. The breakthrough has come with the development of a special form of mobile walking frame, which can be adjusted to fit the size of any child, and which has an accessory allowing the physiotherapist to follow each step of the patient.
Take for example little Camila. Her mother was resigned to the prospect of never seeing her daughter walk. However, once the Columbans received sufficient donations to buy four of these “magic frames”, the situation changed. Now, with Camila secured by a harness, she can take her first steps, with mum gently pulling the frame and the physio following on, guiding the little girl´s movements.
So, miracles are not just things of the past. Service, faith and kindness allow God to work them in the here and now and make dreams come true for people like Camila.
Andrea's story
“Hope springs eternal” goes the phrase, even in the saddest of situations, and surely none can be sadder than the case of young Andrea Alvarez.
Andrea lives in a former Columban parish in a poor district on the north side of Lima, the capital of Peru. At 18 she suffers from so many illnesses that she could probably fill the pages of a medical journal all on her own.
She has cerebral palsy, curvature of the spine, partial blindness, deformation of the lungs, convulsions and, most notably of all, hydrocephalus. This is the disease that enlarges the head in relation to the body, a condition made famous in the 1980’s film when John Hurt played the eponymous 'Elephant Man'.
Andrea shares a one-room ground floor flat with her mother, Jacqui, her grandma, Juana, and her younger sister, Noelia. She came to our notice when Noelia joined our First Communion programme.
The family subsists on handouts from some of Andrea’s uncles who are taxi drivers. A nearby hospital provides her with free basic medicines, but little else. Fortunately, through the generosity of Columban benefactors, and the voluntary assistance of local parishioners and physiotherapists at Manuel Duato, we’ve made great strides towards improving Andrea’s quality of life.
Each month we are keeping her supplied with powdered milk, as she can’t take solid food, and adult nappies. The physiotherapists have equipped the family with special cushions and pillows. Best of all, we’ve bought an orthopaedic bed and mattress, making her immeasurably more comfy than before.
None of this will result in a miracle cure for Andrea. Doctors think that, given her lengthy case history, her life span will be limited. However, “giving life” is not just about miracle cures. As Mother Teresa taught us, it is also about giving the terminally sick a dignified existence until God calls them.
Thanks to Columban friends at home and abroad.
Columban Fr John Boles has worked in South America for over 20 years.
Listen to "Rise up and walk"
Related links
- Read more from The Far East, May 2020
