Politicd roces ne r, finish - Southington Library and Museum

The Observer, Thursday, N ember 3, 1988
Mission work in, Guatemala is:privilege' for local nun
by LI fandlles when they are in trouble. Slezak and Dessel serve as pastorsto
staff rlt r "They go that extra mile.* she said. 'the Chanmaguan people, because a
Living with the Chanmaguan people priest from the Basilica In Esquipulas | a
l.n 1986. Sister Marian Slesak of has taught her how far she is from her nearbyctiy}onlytmvelstothevillageonce
Sou gtoll m ._de a fl ve yt . ,.. oozmi t .gaa!, m. I/ve0utslneerely.wi a.tthegcaPel a month to offer .t e . , IS. The
_me t',t serve th, pcople ,of. , :, _I €I ie¢*he sa/d..'We hesr the gsapel, slstersareeqcharhl c andceleat.em
l Back tn Co eCticu.t for.a tthey I/velt." , bratorsoftheword.sotheycanofferdally
short vaeatio , she sa/d she Is eager to "It is my prtvilege to be with them." masses for the villagers. Baptisms, conreturn
to, whal has become;her seCm . ,he said. fess ons and weddings . e performed by
ho me,'- " the priest when he comes to v/sit.
Slezak is ,one of the Sisters of Mercy, na villagers Over the 41 years she has spent in
an order widch takes a fourth vow, aslde TheChanmaguansarepoorfarmers, the village. Dessel has been trying to
from their vows of obedience, chasttiy, yet there are some who are better offthan teach the Chanmaglmrm some leaderand
povert .,t] hese sisters have vowed to, others Slesak sald. ship, Slezak said, and has achieved Some
There are two classes among the success, When it was discovered .rhea
serve-the pobr. the sick. and the unedu- villagers, the arriba, who live an higher flrat- ,de teacher and principal
Sleza erSsa d? not a misslopary order, ground In the village, and the abaJo, who been molesting the chlldRn. Desael enlive
below the arrlba. The arriba live In couraged.the villagers to take a stand.
"Most of the sistera are trained for better houses than the abaJo, yet there ' Many of the villagers rallied In Gua-
tesehlr and usually serve thepcople In are few wealthy families in Chanmagua, tenuda City. making saerlfiees In
their c murdty, she sald. 'But since shesald, thatcouldh:avebeenslx tintheflelds, to
Vatica H In 1965, someofthe sisters In Coffee, bananas, com. tobacco and bring the.sRuatlo to the attentlon of the
her order have traveled on ssinns to friJolas(beans)areamongthemaJorcrops authoclties: They, tact with victory, and
Africa, Peru. and the Honduras, she sald, grown In Chanmagua. Slezak said. The asked that the man n t be Jailed, but be
O of the Sisters of Mercy, Sister tobacco crops often suffer because of the given psychological help.
Carid d Dessel, had gone tp the village of rains. The arrtba own most ofthe planta- "It was a victory for them
C .whlchlies,ne rtheborderto ttons, for which they hlre the abaJo as they took it into thelr ovm hands. Slezak
the Honduras. ln 1947an Ibaslivedthere crop workers, sald.
ever pince. Dessel oft r wrote lettecs to The arrtba are very kind to their
her l llow nuns In Co m cticut, Rporting workers, she said. One man. who raises The
the onditionsofI/re the e. Alter spemling dally cows, gives away kis exceas mllk to The curreney of Guatemala IS called
many years In the village, she asked the the poor of the village, quetzal, named for a wild bird that ex/sts
othersiste sffsomcor eelsecouldbesent The abaJo rent land from the arrlba In the mountains.
doyen to help her In h r mission, for $25 a season (there are two grow/ng The people ofGuatemala had hosen
InFebruary 1986, Slezakdeeldedto seasons). Farmers usually nrake llk3.5O to thIs blrd as thetr symbol, whlch also
make the tr/p. $4.50aday, afterworkingfromsum'iseto decorates thetr flag, because it Is a w d
Seve ) zarsasDlrecterofRel /ous sunset, Slezakss/d, yet lt costs $1 fora creature that cannot live In captivity,
Education at St. Cecilla's Church In gallon pall ofcoffee beans. InAugust, one Slezak ssld. Whenever it has been cap-
Waterbury. where the parish IS pRdmni- American dollar was equal to 2.70 tured and held in captivity, it has died.
nantl]/ hispanic..and three manths In quetzals on the forelgn exchange, she The quetzal Is meant to symbollze the
Cuernavaca, Me dc o. studying the Span- said. struggle of the Guatemalan people
Ish language, gave Slezak a head start "They're happy in their poverty," agalrmt oppRssinn and captivity, she
with the villagers. , Slezak sald. "They share whatever they sald.
Although she traveled to Chanma- have." Guatemala was fred fro Spanish
gua to help lucate and care for the "We're surrounded by passing rule In1821. Every year on the 15th of
villagers, Slezak is finding that he Is things" In America. she sald. "They have September, they celebrate their freedom
leamlng Just as much as they are. the basic things needed for survival." much llke the Americans celebrate Inde-
"I go asa ndss onary, but I thlnk the Village life might still be simple, af- pendenee Day on July 4.
mlsslonariesarethepeopleofthevillage." fording few luxuries, yet "mater/alism/s The mlsslonartes are well-accepted
she said. The misslonar/es gain more creeplngin," Slezaksa/d.Three Chanma- by the Independent-minded people of
from their experience than they give, she guan familles now have televisions |w /,ch Guatemala. Slezak sa/d, "but eve once
sa/d. are powered by their car motors), she In a while the goven nent clamps down
Missionaries to developing countr/es sald. SInce then, there has been a drop In on us.* Frequent Changcovers In the
are caught between twoworlds, she said. church attendance, she said, although admlnlstration have made life for the
"Once you have an experience In the the T.V. viewers watch a Catholic nuns at times more difficult and other
Thlrd WoHd and come back to the U.S., preacher's show. times easier.
you're not the same." Slesak said, "be- Eventually progress will come to the The present elHllan govermnent,
causetheThlrdWorldhastouchedyouso village, Slezak sa/d. and she is happy that which has been under the dlrect/on of
such things ,/s electr -tiy ,will be,brought President Vlrdclo CeR o since January
deeplYs sak aald she can't speak hlghly .Into their lives. But progress has its dis- 1986. Slezak SaM. has proven fayora le
enough about the people of Chanmagua. advantages, too, she ald. to the rnisslonar/es.
They are hardworking and uncomplaln- Ve can see on a small scale what it But Slezak still expresses some
Ing people, she sald. and patient In their can do to rellgloua values." she se/d. doubts about the waysofthe Guatemalan
suffering. In fact, a common e presslon The Amertcan Influence can be seen admlnistration.
smongthevfilagersts'vaapasar.'mesn- In the clothlng the villagers wear. Slezak -The gsvenm ent doesnl wa t the
Iv.g, "it will pass." said. Only the native Indian tribe in people to become educated," she sald,
Their fandl/es mean everything to Chanmagua, known as the Chortese, The first-graders read printed words, but
them, she said, and they wgl help other wear tradltio ol garb. are taught to wrtte In cursive, she said.
Faith Baptist Church has 'Thankful Heads and Helping Hands'
Sister Marian Slesak
"It must be awfully confusing for Many vifiagers donl have radios, she
them." she s Id.
said. but they come to the convent to
The education Is "terrible" In the vfl- listen In and learn. The nuns provide
education supplementary to the radio
in the vtil /ge a d onen me stuaents have show. using donations to the co,vent, tO
pay for the mate dals, whl0h'cast S35'
School Is not compulsory In Guate- semester, or$70 a year. Audio alda; such
mala, she sald, because allen the children as tapes and solar batteries, were sup-
are needed In the fields. There Is no prepiled to the sisters by .t France-based
kindergarten or kindergarten In the
school. At age seven they start first grade
and continue through to grade nine. That
Is the extent ofthe schooling, uniess they
want further study. But this costs money.
organlzatlon called Quarto Mundo.
whose goal Is to help educate the poor.
The sisters also buy medicine from
Quatro Mundo for the vitiagers. Slezak
sa/d, because It is much cheaper than the
TheSistersofMercy use donationsto
the conwnt to help village youths reallze
the deslre for further education. Slesak
pharmacy.
With dmmtions to the mission, the
s/sters and Chanmaguan v/llagsrs are
said. One girl wss sent to nursing school. building an all-purpose center on a five-
by Smldm C.
sta wrlt
"Thankful Hearts and Helping
Hands* Is the theme for celebrating the
•lhankaglvingssason, accoeding to Pastor
Ran Hardy of Falth Baptist Chruch.
"We at Fa/th Baptist Chur .h want to
:reachout tothe needyand hungtypeople
In Southinglon through the Iseal food
bank and around the world, through
World Relief, the helping agency of the
Natlona Association of Evangellcals."
Hardy said.
Early In October. each family at the
church began saving coins In speelal
banks, which have been put on their
dining tables. At each meal, the family
puts money In the banks, thanking God
for their own food, and remembering the
hungry people around the world, Hardy
sald.
The banks will be brought.to a fatally
fellowshlp supper on Nov. 20 at the
church,
Money collected wfil be sent to World
Relief, which distributes food and other
ald directly to the needy through local
churches In various countries. Hardy
said.
During November. church famtlles
will bring non-perishable food items to
t e church. These will be taken to the
Vlslting Nurses Assoc/ation to help restock
the food bank shelves, he said.
MaryJaneCom, directoroftheV.N.A,
sald the organization always apprcclates
donstions for the food bank.
"Success is lependant upon danations
from the community. We especially
need proteln foods, frults and Julces, but
all non-perishable items are welcome.
Anyone may bring donations to us from 8
a.m. to 4 p.m., Monday through Frlday,"
she said.
and a boy was sent to the seminary on
these donations, she said.
Only 13 percent of the nsttonal
government's budget goes to education.
according to Slezak. The teachers themselves
aren't very dedicated to educating
the villagers, and they often look down on
the people, she sa/d. They come from the
cry of Esquipulas and teach for three
days a week. although they are commis-
sloned to teach for fl e.
Although Slezak has some com-
plaints about the educational standards
for youngsters, she said she Is Impressed
with an educational radio program for
adults initiated by the Guatemalan gayyear
plan, she said. The center wtil be
used for gatherings and youth retreats
among other community activities. Darm
rooms, a kitchen area and a chapel wtil
eventually be bu t onto the center, she
said.
Donations are needed for building
the center, which wfil cost a total ofabout
$3,000 In American dollars, Slezak said.
If anyone wishes to help this cause, she
said, they may send donations to "Build-
Ing Fund," In care of Sister Car/dad
Dessel, Basifica de Esqu/pulas. Esqu pulas
Chiquimula. Guatemala, CJ . 2007.
(continued
t ernment.
.: St. Dominic Church cor irms 67
tion class at St. Dominic Churoh wece Tom Swtder, Melissa Venturt and
congratulated by the Rev, Walter Ger- Chrtstina Stepensky.
-WeloIntodaywlthcongratulationsto Also, l bin Ausanka, Donna Bob-
.,nurctLMaymeprsyersolailthcparish Krl toplk, Susanne Marut, Dawn
ACordirmationMasswasheldatlh30. Clalr. Nick Tabelllone and Michael Wal-
Bishop Paul Loverde cenfirmed the fol- lace.
lowing students: SOniC
Shelly Amyot. Dawn Becldey. Paula
Bouebard, Mark Closek. Racquel Forte. e set for
Donn Gentle. Rlt Jarry. Jsson
Mel .e Masu=,. Ca..o,,a More,,,. Sherwood Emery
Amber PluG. Jason Prozzo, ohn
, ---- Rinehart, Kevin Schmarr. Scan Sullivan.
Rlchard Ullasz, and Gle n Wankerl. A memorial service wtil be Nov. 6 at 3
• , Also. Brendan Andrews. William Be- p.m. at Faith Baptist Church. 243 Lanlng
• '. dard. Laurte Bryant. Mellssa Connerton. St.. for Southlngton resident Sherwood
• .- C . Tracey Fertin, Allan Gorneault. Jason Emery. who went home to hls Lord on
.. . .,. ,., ..:
•
Koshl, Carol Longo. Jennifer Mekkeisen.
Carla Morin, Cralg Pocock. Joseph Puccl,
Aug. 13 in Island Falls, Maine.
Frlends are invited to Join the family
, •, L... .. Steven Roberts, Krista Shepard, Ray- for this t/me to remember Ids passing,
,. : :..- . " ' ,o mond S , etland. Chad Vaik. and Tam! Following the service, refreshments will
t \, th ! ,. ""'" "' " # . . v. Zlpadelll.
Also, Ellzabeth Atwood. Craig Berry,
be served In the fellowship hall of the
church, according to Pastor Ronald
' rm snd hara ,.as Canal Sl eat In town ha e seen many cn autumn a lind a. Arthur Carbone. Craig DeMello. Michael Hardy.
I