Equipos de Casa Madre de Tuparenda y de la pastoral carcelaria

Posted On 2023-04-24 In Mother of Tuparenda House, Prison ministry, works of mercy

Itauguá is worth the risk, it’s worth your life

PARAGUAY, HOUSE MOTHER OF TUPARENDA, Ani Souberlich •

This Holy Week, as a team of House Mother of Tupãrenda, we made a visit to the Educational Center of Itauguá to invite the teenagers deprived of their freedom to participate in the program once they are released. —

In this visit we told them everything they can learn in our house, to later have a job and thus achieve a better quality of life for them and their families. As always, they received us with joy and above all with a lot of hope, with the certainty that a house is waiting for them to give them a home with a family spirit when they are released, since most of them do not have a place to go when they leave.

On this day we also met with the Visitation of Mary ministry, which goes with the catechists and the snack every Saturday.

As in every visit, you can perceive in them their spirit of children, of that childhood that has been taken away from them.

Equipo de Casa Madre de Tuparenda

House Mother of Tuparenda Team

“They made a big mistake when they came here, because there is no turning back”

Nicolás Molinas Romero tells us about his experience in this his first visit to this place:

“There is no perfect photo that describes my Holy Week, because the best ones were seeing and living everything I went through while visiting the Itauguá Educational Center, popularly known as the Panchito López juvenile penitentiary.

Stepping into the central pavilion, the place where 45 to 55 minors from 14 to 18 years old are housed, one does not know what to expect or what can happen… that was my first reaction. I thought not to be too direct to invade or too cold and not very discreet not to share at all, but clearly the only thing one has to do is to open up. Open your eyes, open your ears to listen to people who need to be heard, open your mouth to laugh with them so you can give better advice, open your hands for a good greeting or even a hug.

I can say that they do not have faces of accusations, robberies or bad people. Seeing their faces shows tenderness and opportunity, something we as a society never gave them. It is worth the risk for Itauguá, it is worth the life.

And as a missionary said at the time: They made a big mistake when they came here, because there is no turning back.

Because every one when saying goodbye is saying: Are you coming back on Saturday (days of ministry visitation)?

The answer is clearly ‘yes’, because it is Christ who shows us and calls us to this mission.

Be courageous to listen, see and go on mission where Christ calls you”.

Casa Madre de Tuparenda

The first chosen ones arrive 

At the beginning of April, Juan David, Ángel Andrés, Nery Manuel and Ángel Gabriel arrived, the first adolescents to receive their release since our visit. One of them commented in his interview “as soon as I got out I came so as not to get lost on the way”, another said “this time when I got out I already had a place to come to”. The reality is that many of them, once released, have nowhere to go and go back to sleeping on the streets and thus to committing crimes. On their own, it is difficult to find work, since they have a criminal record, and so history repeats itself, leading them to be imprisoned countless times.

House Mother of Tupãrenda gives them the opportunity to be trained in the different occupations of horticulture, bakery and pastry making; to participate in formative talks on leadership, law and social security; soft skills that give them the necessary tools to go out into the world and earn an honest living. They receive the opportunity they have never had before.

Since the beginning I have been in charge of our home and, to be honest, it is not a population that is easy to work with, it requires a lot of effort, a lot of patience, a lot of tolerance to frustration, but above all an immense confidence that each young person is a treasure that must be helped to see all the good things that they carry within themselves and that they do not know because no one ever told them.

Each young person at House Mother of Tupãrenda is a miracle of love and mercy that God pours over them day by day. Thanks to all of you who help us with your contribution, with your prayers to transform lives.

Casa Madre de Tuparenda

 

“For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat,

I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink,

I was a stranger and you invited me in,

I needed clothes and you clothed me,

I was sick and you looked after me,

I was in prison and you came to visit me.’ (Mathew 25:35-36)

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To help

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Bank account in Paraguay
Banco Familiar SWIFT FAMIPYPAXXX
Checking account 50 00408672
In the name of: FUNDAPROVA
RUC 80079669-1

Bank account in Germany
Name: Schönstatt-Patres International e. V.
IBAN: DE91 4006 0265 0003 1616 26
BIC/SWIFT: GENODEM1DKM
Intended use: House Mother of Tupãrenda

Casa Madre de Tuparenda

Original: Spanish 2023-04-22. Translated by: Maria Aragón, Monterrey, México

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