Jubilee
Mission Project
Yamasa -
Dominican Republic
January 2000
On the 11th of January
2000, Fr Kenney, Laurie Courchesne, Ed Stechishen, Greg
Caldwell, Lucie and Charles Langlais traveled to Yamasa in
the Dominican Republic to work on the Millennium Mission
Project. We were greeted by Sr Susan Daley, Sr Joan Nugent,
Sr Wilma and our hosts.
The first day was devoted
to meeting people and starting to size up the work and
gather the tools needed. The group quickly fell into a
pattern of driving to a house that needed a floor, dropping
tools and, while part of the group started leveling with
pick and shovels, the designated driver (Fr. Bill) and his
interpreter would go and buy materials required for the day.
Soon, all were busy shoveling sand and cement into a
wheelbarrow, adding water, mixing to the required texture
and applying the concrete to the floor being built. We
poured floors in four homes, to which we gave pet names: the
little concrete house, the house with a view, the big house
down the lane, and the worst house. This process, used over
several days, resulted in giving four families the
convenience of a nicely polished cement floor instead of
rough, sticky clay.
Family members and friends generally worked along with the
Deep River people and exchanged smiles and jokes within the
language limitations. Ed, who proved to be a jack of all
trades, quickly built a following of children who made
themselves busy exchanging English words for Spanish ones.
All over the village people would stop and want to chat with
Father Bill as soon as they recognized their good friend who
used to visit them with students from Bishop Smith High
School along with other adults.
We had an opportunity to
meet Carmen Garcia and visit her first aid facility
supported by the Mission Committee for the last couple of
years.
On Sunday, the group drove
to Consuelo to visit the other Mission helped by our parish
since 1967. The Sisters we met there were Sr Leonor Gibb and
Sr Catherine O'Shea and Sr Ann Nolan, who received the Order
of Canada for her work and the work of other sisters. Fr.
Bill celebrated Mass for the Sisters and us, after which we
were given a presentation on the forty years of work of the
Sisters in Consuelo. We then took a tour of the education
and health care facilities they set up. These now employ a
large number of natives who were illiterate before the
Sisters came. We spent time with the old men, disabled sugar
cane workers, rescued by the community and living in a house
built with the support of our Mission Committee.
 We
also went by the batay of the destitute Haitian cane
workers. Here are the very poor for whom the Lord has
abundant Love.
Here is a quick run down
of the work done in Yamasa:
house #1: 189
square ft, two rooms, extensive leveling required, we
installed a concrete floor, made two doors and installed
three. The lovely young woman owning this house was named
Julia Meosoto Bella. Her husband Domingo Hernandez, had
broken his arm in a terrible car accident and was unable to
work along with us, although he did try, but he was in pain.
They had one son named Harry. When we went over to say
goodbye, she gave us, in return, a piece of her incredible
handiwork - a handmade lace cloth depicting Christ on the
cross. Her work is a treasure she is giving to this parish!
It is now displayed in the front of this lectern.
house #2: 520
square ft, four rooms plus a front porch, we installed one
threshold and a concrete floor. This family got ready as
soon as they found out that we would work for them. The man
of the house worked along with us.
We were constantly surrounded by children, neighbours,
roosters and dogs.
house #3: 312
square ft, two rooms. The neighbors extended house by 5" in
length and poured an 18" foundation, once they were informed
that we would install a concrete floor. The owner, a single
mother of eight children named Francesca Carmela, had two
older boys, Carlos Manuel and Victor Manuel, about 12 and
13. The other children were girls. The oldest boy, Victor,
was "the man of the house" as a neighbour put it. And both
boys worked hard alongside us, rolling bags of sand down to
the house, shoveling, mixing, pouring, even troweling a bit.
Working with them was touching and fun.
house #4: 414
square ft (four rooms plus a front porch) The young couple
who had the little house on the hill with the magnificent
view, Hani and his wife, told us that when Hurricane George
went through, it tore their house (and all other homes in
the area) totally apart. They rebuilt from scraps. He is a
concrete worker, and took three days off work to work with
us on the concrete floor and then continue to fix up his
house. It was touching to see how hard he worked to make
this simple and ramshackle house more comfortable for his
family. They were 24 and 28, had been married six years, and
had three children, the youngest of which was only a couple
of months old.
.
Enough money was left with
the sisters from what had been raised from donations to
provide for the pouring of eight more concrete floors after
our departure. This work will be performed by members of the
community.
Here is the translation of
a note from a lady who billeted two members of our group:
"My very dear Canadian
friends:
In addition to a few
words of good bye, I want to thank you for your generosity
toward me and the poor people of my town. Only God will know
how to pay you back for your beautiful action. This Jubilee
year is one of special graces and you will be getting them
because your pilgrimage was toward the poor, which has more
value than going to any sanctuary. You have given up some of
your possessions, of your time and of your leisure to come
to work for our poor people. May God convert your fatigue
into blessings and peace for you and your families!
As the Lord tells us":
All that you do for the poor, you are doing it for me". May
the Virgin of Most High Grace accompany you on your return
home! May God strengthen your hearts and increase your
possessions!
With all my love
Angela with all the
family"
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