Albany parish, Panama mission connect for mutual benefits

The tropical rainforest of Darien, Panama, and the streets of Albany's Pine Hills neighborhood are now linked, thanks to a sister-parish relationship between St. Vincent de Paul Church and the Maryknoll Mission Zone of Santa Fe in Darien.

To mark their new partnership, one of the sisters from the mission, Sister Jocelyn "Joji" Fenix, visited Albany last weekend.

The nun, who is a medical doctor, spoke to Catholics about her work in the impoverished community, and finished the weekend by sharing meals and a parish picnic.

Environment

Ecological awareness is a large part of Catholic life in Panama, Sister Joji said. The mission zone encompasses still-virginal rainforest areas, which are threatened by industrialization, oil pipelines, canal expansion, logging and slash-and-burn agriculture.

The sisters provide nature classes for children and teens, hoping to teach them about how the rainforest affects their lives and the world. With more and more farmers coming into the rainforest to look for arable land, she said, the missioners also began teaching organic farming methods.

"We help people to see the dangers of slash-and-burn," she explained. "They say, 'How are we going to feed our families without it?' We look to offer alternatives."

Alternatives

The missionaries promote sustainability through small family farms, encouraging campesinos to replace cash crops (such as cassava) with crops to feed their families.

The Maryknollers also run workshops on leadership training, cooking, nutrition and other practical skills, and have established a medicinal plants project, through which farmers make soaps, lotions and teas for sale locally and in Panama City.

The missionaries have also offered theater and art classes, Sister Joji said, and provide small loans for locals to start raising hogs or chickens.

'Dream for Darien'

In Darien, there are tensions among three ethnic groups: mestizo farmers, Afro-Panamanians and indigenous groups who still speak their own language.

In the mission dining room is a mural painted by Catholics "that shows their dream for Darien, their land and people, and the coming together of three ethnic groups," Sister Joji said.

"We try to promote interaction between groups to help them understand each other better, to promote openness and good communication."

Partners

Speaking about the sister-parish relationship, Sister Joji said, "Besides getting to know each other and celebrating our faith, our hope is that [St. Vincent de Paul parishioners] can learn about the lives of the people in our place.

"One way we can promote better dialogue and openness is realizing that we are all basically the same people. There's no need for war, hatred and conflict if we come to this awareness and get to know each other."

Before Sister Joji came to Albany, St. Vincent parishioners sent her pictures of parish leadership, community activities and worship "to give a taste of St. Vincent's," said David Rowell, a member of the sister-parish committee. "Our hope is that we will have our church get excited about the sister parish."

Said parishioner Chris Savastio, "It's a great idea to learn about the world, to see things, to open our eyes. We're going to learn from them, and they're going to learn from us."

(A physician in her native Philippines, Sister Joji got to know Maryknoll missionaries through a healthcare project she was involved with. She wasn't thinking about a religious vocation, but that changed after she worked alongside the Maryknolls. She entered the order in 1989. Thirty-plus communities make up the Mission Zone. Some are reachable by bus, horseback or foot. Others, located on a river, can be approached only by boat or by walking through the forest.)

(7/26/07)