Santa Maria de la Sierra parish was erected on June 29, 1995, and is in charge of the Josephites of Murialdo from December 2, 2002. Seeing the needs of the families in the districts upper Villa Lilian, Villa Turbay and la Sierra, which form the parish, we proposed four objectives:
1. - Evangelisation
2. - feeding
3. - health
4. - education
EVANGELISATION
We bring the announcement of the Good News that God loves us with a love having 5 characteristics: merciful, present, free, infinite and personal, as St Leonard Murialdo, the founder of the congregation of St Joseph was saying.
This announcement is realised in the different activities carried on by the parish groups:
Activities with children: Pastoral of the first childhood, missionary childhood “the germ of wheat”, altar boys, sowers of peace group, “Shalom” and “Lilies of Mary” church dance groups.
With young people: logistics and communications team, “Korés” missionary youth, “Emmanuel”, “Talita Kumi” and “Angelus” church dance groups, “Sinai” and “Tabor” choirs.
With adults: Legion of Mary, Health Ministry, and “The Hope of Cana” group for married couples.
With children, young people and adults: “Ephphatha” readers, “Light of the word” and “Gethsemane” prayer groups.
Each group has its board consisting of the coordinator, the treasurer and the secretary with their respective substitute. They meet weekly and a few ones monthly, as it is the case for “The Hope of Cana” group for married couples.
They have their annual plan of work, participate in the parish activities as they are the bazaars, the celebration of the parish’s birthday on June 29, and celebrations of the Child, Mother, Father and Family Day.
We follow the scheme of the Archdiocese, every pastoral year the Bishop gives the guidelines, for this year 2009 we have the virtue of faith, the sacraments of Christian initiation, and the deepening of the gospel of Saint Mark.
As parish we proposed the triple A of A.S.O that is to say: the joy (Alegría) of Loving (Amar), the joy of serving (Servir) and the joy of praying (Orar).
Some of these groups, after presenting an annual formation project, receive an economic aid of up to 1.500.000 pesos from the Municipality, through one of their offices, called Metrojuventud (1 Euro is 2.900 pesos).
The priests and seminarians perform the function of advisers.
FEEDING
At the moment we take care of 500 boys and girls from 3 to 14 years old in two canteens: 250 in the St Joseph canteen (la Sierra) and 250 in the St Leonard Murialdo canteen (Villa Lilian) with a hot lunch, which has an approximated cost of 1 USA dollar or 2000 Colombian pesos. There is soup and, as main course, rice with meat, vegetables and pulses, a glass of juice, a sweet (called bocadillo).
The families in their majority are broken up, that is to say they undergo the abandonment of the man and the women are heads of household, have children from different partners and they are numerous, up to 9 children.
They do the little work they can, due to their low cultural level or illiteracy. Many live rubbing along, on “rebusque” they say, that is to say asking in the squares that people would give them something.
The more lucky men work as masons in the building industry, or washing cars; the women doing cleaning and domestic works by the day in families’ houses, and also they wash clothes by hand.
The houses are in their majority made with wooden planks, and are called ranchitos. A few ones are in masonry that is to say, adobe, bricks and cement.
The geographic location is on a hill or slope, so that, at this time of rain, several small houses have ruined, we are located in the periphery of Medellin.
The lunch is served from 11 a.m. to 12 a.m. for those who go to school in the afternoon, and from 12 a.m. to 1 p.m. for those who go to school in the morning.
For those who are in school age it is an indispensable requirement to be studying. A good group of children 13 and 14 years old just finished his primary basic education in extra-curricular age because before there was no a school for them, it is only two years now that a new school exists in the sector. Since it was created it is attended by 400 children and 200 adults, who were outside the educative system.
The canteens keep themselves with the support of donors, both individuals and associations, from Colombia and abroad, among them there is Italy.
HEALTH
The sick are accompanied with the weekly communion, on Saturday morning. There are around 40 sick people who are at home and cannot come to the church. And once a year we visit them with the Eucharistic Celebration in their own “ranchitos” as the houses are called.
We offer medicines, transport to the hospital, and money for the medical tests to those who occasionally get ill and do not have facility to accede to health care. Here in Colombia the Sisben, a species of health insurance for the low classes, is on. We obtained wheelchairs for the disabled ones, crutches, and medical treatment, and also spectacles for those who require them and dental treatments. It is the area for which it is not too difficult to secure money.
EDUCATION
Besides lunch the parish carries on activities of scholastic support for some small groups, not for all. It is the same with playing and recreational activities.
There are also formation activities for the mothers of the minors, in evening hours, that is to say from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. a day every 15 days for some groups and another one every week on Wednesdays from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m.
At the beginning of the scholastic year that is on January 15, we make campaigns to support the pupils with scholastic equipment. This year we will support 700 children, with a kit comprising three notebooks, a pencil, a pencil-holder, an eraser, a pencil-sharpener, a paint box and a rule, each one having an approximated cost of 7,000 pesos.
The parish also has a small Library, called Nadino, whose slogan is “the power of knowledge in your hands” open to all, in which the children can do their researches and homework as also enjoy the hours of story-telling and develop their imagination. A group of volunteers runs it, coordinated by Mr. Saúl Franco, who receives a bonus for his work. The library has its blog: http://bibliotecanadino.blogspot.com/. It does not have state subvention.
We support the education from the small children to the young people with the Sponsorship Plan “thanks to you”. The money collected is distributed among as many as it is possible. At the moment in the district there is a school called Business School of Education, it works through educative covering, that is to say that the administration agrees with a private person in order to give education where the official organization does not manage to arrive. There 600 children who were without school are studying. Several young people who already finished the secondary school are now studying in higher education with scholarships: three at Medellin University (www.udem.edu.co) two at CESDE (www.cesde.edu.co), three at CENSA; and 4 in the Mariela beauty academy of (www.escueladebellezamariela.com).
We support them with study managing help, tutoring, transport expenses and refreshments.
