Since the early 1960s, the Sisters of St Joseph have had a presence in Peru. During those years a priest from England, Father John Metcalfe ministered in the Andes in Cajamarca with primarily the Indigenous population located in small subsistence farming communities. Focusing on education, he wondered why anyone would want to learn how to read when they did not have access to newspapers or books. As a result, he creatively evolved a lending library system, simple but effective, with a presence in every small community. Fifty years later his dream still promotes and encourages reading to enhance education and critical thinking. Critical thinking that included indigenous land rights with ecological protection.
The present administrator of the Rural Libraries of Cajamarca, Alfredo Mires Ortiz, has contributed a blog focusing on the continual evolution of that broadened educational dream. - Sr Mabel St. Louis, csj
The Rural Libraries of Cajamarca
In memory of Fr. Gerardo Prince St. Onge, ever-present.
Modern times only give the impression of being modern and make us believe that we live in the future. But the old injustices prevail; the iniquity is still there, even if we don't want to see it.
There are words that have been in fashion around here for quite some time: development, competitiveness, success, entrepreneurship, empowerment, acceleration, celebrity, etc. And there are other words whose use is becoming outdated: poverty, hunger, exploitation, love, solidarity, fraternity, spirit, etc.
But hiding the words does not liquidate the realities, because there are still poor people and because of hunger they continue to die, and because love continues to be lacking. The pain of those who suffer is not relieved by covering their mouths or averting our eyes.
And never more than today - when the continuity of the human species and nature are at risk – is competitiveness or celebrity more shameful, when what the world requires is commonality.
That is why we continue the journey with our Rural Libraries of Cajamarca: because books can also be the bread that nourishes our memories and our hopes. Rediscovering words, rewriting our stories, and re-creating ourselves with, from and to the earth is a way of building tomorrow without having to stumble over the same stone so many times.
Reading is decanting and discerning, attracting the world and projecting oneself onto the world. And we have been doing this for 50 years, trying to understand and unlearn. It is not an empty path: we are an independent organization and we are not guided by ideology or motivated by a reward. We are a community, we are family. We are children of marginalized memory, unappreciated history, and pursued dreams. And we learn from the most humble, from the prodigious presence of those whom society does not value and does not take into account.
-Alfredo Mires Ortiz
In this wonderful fifteen minute video, Alfredo Mires Ortiz, head of the rural library program (RED), shows us the creative ways the people of Cajamarca participate in the "moving libraries" with their local 'librarian' holding books at home, and the volunteers who carry the books on their backs in backpacks to the next village in the hills. The books not only provide practical knowledge. As Alfredo explains in the introduction and the conclusion, the library reclaims Peruvian history from the false claims of the Spanish conquest, replacing it with the truth. The library then, informs and supports, celebrates Peruvian history, culture, values, and dignity.
-Sister Wendy Cotter csj
Las Bibliotecas Rurales de Cajamarca
A la memoria de Fr. Gerardo Prince St. Onge, tan presente.
Los tiempos modernos solo dan la impresión de ser modernos y nos hacen creer que vivimos en el futuro. Pero las antiguas injusticias prevalecen; la iniquidad sigue ahí, aunque no queramos verla.
Hay palabras que por aquí andan de moda hace bastante tiempo: desarrollo, competitividad, éxito, emprendimiento, empoderamiento, aceleración, celebridad, etc. Y hay otras palabras cuyo uso va resultando anticuado: pobreza, hambre, explotación, amor, solidaridad, fraternidad, espíritu, etc.
Pero escondiendo las palabras no se liquidan las realidades. Porque pobres sigue habiendo y porque de hambre se sigue muriendo y porque amor sigue faltando. El dolor de los que sufren no se alivia tapándoles la boca ni volteándonos los ojos.
Y nunca como hoy –cuando la continuidad de la especie humana y la naturaleza están en riesgo– resulta más vergonzosa la competitividad o la celebridad, cuando lo que requiere el mundo es mancomunidad.
Por eso seguimos caminando con nuestras Bibliotecas Rurales de Cajamarca, porque los libros también pueden ser el pan que nutre nuestros recuerdos y nuestros anhelos; redescubrir las palabras y escribirnos con la tierra es una forma de construir el mañana sin tener que tropezar tantas veces con la misma piedra.
Leer es decantar y discernir, atraer el mundo y proyectarse al mundo. Y en eso andamos ya hace 50 años, tratando de comprender y desaprender. No es un camino vacío: somos una organización independiente y no nos guía una ideología ni nos mueve una recompensa. Somos comunidad, somos familia. Somos hijos de la memoria marginada y de la historia despreciada y de los sueños perseguidos. Y aprendemos de los más humildes, desde la prodigiosa presencia de aquellos a los que la sociedad no valora y no toma en cuenta.