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Housing.
Through donations, the Sisters have eventually managed to purchase some land on higher ground and there is a building scheme in operation.
So far there are five concrete houses completed to very precise specifications - three bedrooms and toilet, living area, kitchen with
worktable and washroom. Progress is slow as houses can only be built when funds are available. At the present time it costs $4000 to complete a house.
Health
There is a clinic within the Mission - San Martin de Porres - and a doctor is in attenddance four days per week.
Sister Mary runs the clinic and has trained her helpers. Patients have to find $2 for their consultation. $1.30 goes to the doctor, whilst
70 cents remains to pay the two trained helpers. Medicines have to be paid for. Sometimes the patients are unable to make a payment but
they are not deprived of the medication. They are told to pay when they can- and sometimes they do return with payment.
Sometimes patients need to go to the hospital in Guayaquil and of course this has to be paid for. Every case is looked at individually and
financial assistance given by the Mission where possible. Whilst we were there, we met three child patients who had been helped in this way.
They were all brought to the Mission during our visit. Their parents were eager to demonstrate their improvement to the Sisters.
Antonio.
This was a three-year old boy with a serious heart defect. Without surgery he would not have survived. We met him with his mother and
father and they were delighted with his progress. All three of them came to the Mission dressed in their best clothes. Although Antonio
is very small and underdeveloped still, he was bright and lively and playing his toy guitar. He will need further surgery and the funds will
be provided when that time comes. A fifteen-months-old baby was brain damaged - "born rigid". Physiotherapy was being given to the child
and although it appeared that there was a long way to go, the mother was pleased with the obvious improvement.
A baby boy, forty-two days old, had been brought to the Mission by his parents. They were too impoverished to own a mule and so had to walk
from their home for four hours to reach Colimes. The baby was in a poor condition failing to thrive. The reason seemed obvious-
a harelip which prevented the baby from sucking properly. The doctor was angry that the baby had not been brought earlier for medical
treatment,and chastised the mother who was very upset. However she insisted that the baby had been perfect at birth, and that the gap from
the top lip to the nose had opened up gradually. A more thorough examination proved her right; an insect had burrowed into the lip and had
eaten its way up to and inside the nose giving the appearance of a harelip. Urgent medical and surgical treatment was needed and
mother and baby were sent to the hospital. They were there for two-and-a-half months during which time the baby was fed and nourished
until it was fit enough to undergo surgery. Meantime the father looked after their three other children at home, but every week-end he
walked the four hours to Colimes to go to Guayaquil to see his wife and baby; then he had to walk back again. We saw the baby the day
following hospital discharge, and the repair to the upper lip was neatly done. In time the scar will become unnoticeable. Sometime in the
future, further surgery has to be tackled inside the nose. The Sisters will ensure funds are available.
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Sister Mary also organizes the Education project. Parents regularly call at the Mission pleading for their children to be placed on the
'Education program'. Education must be paid for and it costs £80 per year for primary school and £100 for secondary school education.
The family situation is assessed, children are carefully selected, and parents have to make a firm commitment. It is too far for those
children in the outlying villages to travel daily and so accommodation has been provided in a purpose built hostel across the street from the Mission.
We saw the spotless little rooms on the upper floor of the Casa San Bernardo, a fairly new building. There were four double rooms each with
their own bathroom and shower for the girls, whilst eight boys shared a dormitory which had two bathrooms and a showers.
The lady who runs the hostel lives there too. Her son was one of those who had benefited in the past from the education program,
and he is now at university. She took a great pride in showing us around. Downstairs were a large hall and several smaller rooms
plus a kitchen. Every day fifty meals are provided free for the elderly. Volunteers and some paid helpers cook and serve
the meals. We were interested in the three pretty girls who were happily washing dishes at our visit. They smiled shyly, giggling at our
attempts at Spanish. These young girls were on the Education program, and helping in the community doing charitable work is one of the
conditions of receiving a free education. They certainly appeared very happy in their work.
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The Missioners, seeing a need for a place where people could get together, commissioned the building of a community centre
Centro Comunitario San Francisco which stands next to the new hostel. It is well used for social occasions, weddings,
funerals, celebrations, public meetings etc. There is a small fee charged for it's use which helps with the maintenance.
During our visit it was being prepared for the wake of a thirty-six-year- old man. He had fallen off his mule into a well and drowned.
He left a wife and three children.
The Ecuadorian people we met in Colimes were warm, friendly and dignified. Often shy and reserved at first, they would give a big smile
in response to our ' Ola's, shaking our hands cordially, with the occasional embrace from old ladies we saw no signs of anger ,
animosity or discourtesies anywhere. They appeared to be a very gentle people.
We were extremely interested in all we saw in our all to brief visit to Colimes, and we have tried to give a picture of some of our observations
and impressions. We are filled with admiration and awe at the achievements over the years of a small group of dedicated Christian missionaries.
The nuns were such lovely people, so calm, hard working and compassionate. Sister Maura took care of us throughout the visit.
She has such a wonderful sense of humour and with such a fund of enteraining anecdotes. There will be a few more to add following our visit.
If anyone would like to know more about the Mission or would like to send a donation, we would be very happy for them to contact us for details.
Any donations go directly to the Missiom through the motherhouse. There are no highly paid administrators to dilute contributions.
B & J Lowes. Lanchester.