Ana Cristina Pallin Figueroa, a young person from the community of San Benito has been actively participating since her childhood in the Columban program “Warmi Huasi” which translates to Women’s House (Space) and is a volunteer who attends and supports the activities given by Warmi Huasi. In this article, young Ana talks about the importance of faith and how faith has been a great help in her life.
Helping Your Fellow Beings
Since I was a little girl, I felt that I had to help my fellow beings without receiving anything in return. Fortunately, Warmi Huasi was that medium to be able to help others since my childhood. I could teach my classmates at school about the interesting topics I learned about at Warmu Huasi and also engage them in activities that I learned there. Also, Warmi Huasi helped me to promulgate the faith through my values I formed there.
My Teen Years and My Struggles
There is always a solution when difficulties arise. I can relate this to the struggles I went through during my teenage years: sexism, gender prejudice, bullying, classism, among others, which does not let one improve easily. However, with the support of Warmi Huasi, I was able to guide myself and learn that these social issues do not last forever and that you can make the change if you want it. For that reason, I decided to continue with this important goal: to support and guide the new generation of children and teenagers in this important organization that marked my life since my early age.
Reading Club
It is important to mention that my volunteering with Warmi Huasi began in 2014 when a new project called “Reading Club” was created which is a space located within the installations of Warmi Huasi Center to reach every child and adolescent of San Benito and promote in them reading and to develop their values thanks to the faith that we have. When I was invited to be part of this wonderful space as one of the monitors, being 12 years old, I never thought it would be so enriching for me, personally, until today.
Dreams
One of the things that I wish to happen in my community is to make visible the participation of children and adolescents in the mission of promulgating the faith to others for the common good, just as I did before. It is time now for them to continue with this objective so others notice that in our community of San Benito there are young people who want to move their country forward by helping the most defenseless people through our social commitment.
Currently, Ana, being 20 years old, continues to support and bet on the future generation that they can make a great positive change in their community and that they can believe that they are important for their country. She tells us: “We need the population to become aware that their children, teenagers and young people are the only social groups that can truly make the change, and that we need to trust them and support them in bringing about the common good, and do so full of faith and hope.”Note: Ana is half way through her University studies to be a translator. Her main languages, apart from Spanish, are English and Mandarin.
When Faith Helps You Find Your Purpose in Life
Flor Daniela Pallin Figueroa is 22 years old, and represents a certain part of the young people who today are called “followers of Jesus.” Through her experiences during her participation in different organizations in her community, as a catechist, head prefect of her public school, member of the CCONNA (Advisory Council of Children and Adolescents to Mayor) of her district Carabayllo, in Warmi Huasi, Plan International and CAFOD in Connect2, she has realized that the greatest enemy is the absence of faith and hope in people. Currently she is about to finish her studies in journalism and although there are few Catholics at her university, she does not feel the need to hide it, rather she is proud of herself because thanks to this she managed to improve as a person and not even her professors or classmates can take that away from her.
Development
“To be honest I do not have a specific date when this whole adventure began, but I do remember the day I had to leave my old home, friends, some members of my family to start building new experiences with new people when only eight years old in 2009, and found Warmi Huasi,” she says, after remembering how difficult was the situation of moving with her family to a house far from the city, without electricity or water and studying in a humble school with poor infrastructure.
“Maybe that’s how I started to prepare myself as a disciple,” she adds. Since she was a child her family taught her about what faith was, only some of her relatives had experienced paranormal events. Flor was waiting for the moment to experience the same to demonstrate her faith, but it did not happen. As they say, things come at the right time. For Flor it was like that—from the beginning, she was taught the value of hope, love for God, for His Son Jesus and for her neighbor. Despite witnessing abuse and mistreatment at school or in her family, she always held her faith firmly because thanks to this she learned what it is to know how to forgive and demonstrate your faith with real acts without expecting anything in return. This changed her as a person.
Leadership
Although she was considered a rebel without a cause at home, she knew how to differentiate when to leave worries and problems behind if you want to help your fellow man and if you want to demonstrate to be a leader in your community by acting with humility, honesty and perseverance. “If you are going to do something, do it really well,” she says that was what her mother used to tell her and her younger sister.
“I feel grateful to have found this caring space at Warmi Huasi, because it was the first place that guided my family and helped me to form much of my leadership and my purpose that wanting to improve my country and the world to a better one.” In the beginning she participated by attending nutrition workshops in the company of her mother and sister. After two years they started journalism workshops for young leaders who seek change in their community. Finally, she was invited along with her sister to be part of the founders of the Reading Club space, where reading and the rights of children and adolescents are promoted. Prior to the Reading Club space, there had never been a library in her town.
Therefore, as a team they set the goal of educating everyone through this space to change the world to a better one, helping the most vulnerable in their town, doing social work in groups, teaching them that it is not necessary to receive anything in return, motivating them that faith and hope is the last thing to be lost and that it is not good to take advantage of others because every act has a consequence.
Goals
Although Flor lacked many material things, she would never have imagined that she would manage to meet and help so many people from big to small along with her family.
Since the time that she was a small child she was taught not to give up in looking for hope in herself and in those who need it without excluding anyone and without receiving anything in return.
“So never be afraid to have dreams, goals, give your own opinions and act to help your fellow man and your planet, because it is no use complaining about problems or standing idle, in every part of the world there are problems but what are you doing or giving for your community? The most important thing is to look for solutions and stop stressing about insignificant things that will not strengthen our spirit of hope.”
Note: Anna and Flor are the daughters of Luz, our Columban community worker in San Benito, who is active in the local Catholic community, the township and with Warmi Huasi. Flor is the oldest daughter of Luz and has almost completed her studies to be a journalist.
After many years in Peru, Fr. Ed O’Connell is now living and working in Britain.