NEWSLETTER

From Chris, Alison, and Luke                                                                                                                                           No4,  January 2006

Email: eyes_chile@yahoo.co.uk

A BIG thank you!

We are so grateful to everyone who sent Christmas greetings, by whatever means! Thank you.

EDUCATION, EDUCATION, EDUCATION

The Methodist Church in Chile has an impressive commitment to serving the community through the provision of education.  Throughout the country there are 33 educational institutions and in this region alone there are four schools, which educate more than 5,200 students between the ages of 3 and 18. 

Colegio Ingles in Iquique was established in 1878 by the American missionary William Taylor who brought Methodism to Chile.  Colegio Robert Johnson and Colegio William Taylor were founded in 1992 and 1995 respectively, and both are situated in Alto Hospicio.  The Agricultural Institute of Kusayapu was founded in 1992 in a rural area called Pachica, principally serving the indigenous Aymara people.  All the schools are vocational and in the final years teach such subjects as electronics, administration, accounting, telecommunications, metallurgy, secretarial skills and nursery nursing.  Kusayapu offers agricultural training for Aymaran young people as well as courses on Aymaran cultural history and language. 

Methodist education in Chile is concerned about all aspects of the students’ lives.  The schools teach Christian ethics and values and there is a strong commitment to the spiritual and emotional well being of the children and young people.  The school day begins at 7.45am (!) with a ‘thought for the day’ and prayers in the classroom, and each year group has one service a week in the chapel. 

One of greatest joys of school life here (and one of the things that struck us most at first) is the way in which physical affection is shown between students and staff, something we have regrettably become so nervous about in the UK, but which is a natural part of life here.  There is something quite wonderful about being greeted on entering a classroom by five or so small children running to give you a hug.  And it is not unusual for students of all ages, teenagers included, to give the teacher a kiss on the cheek at the end of a lesson as a sign of affection or gratitude.

The schools are part-funded by the Chilean government which means the parents only have to pay a proportion of the fees, and there are also grants available from the church for those who have serious economic problems.  In reality many students come from families with social and financial problems, and, to try to respond to this reality, each school has a pastoral team, which includes the chaplain, and usually also includes a social worker, a psychologist and trained counsellors. Many teachers see part of their role as providing the affection that some students lack in their family situations.

The schools in pictures

Colegio Ingles, in Iquique

Colegio William Taylor,

Alto Hospicio

Mural at Kusayapu school, which works with the indigenous Aymara people

Damage from the June 2005 earthquake at Colegio Robert Johnson, Alto Hospicio

Chile’s ‘Presidenta’

The second round of voting on 15 January has resulted in the election of Chile’s first woman President, Michelle Bachelet (54). She leads a left of centre coalition which has governed since the end of the Pinochet era. Ms Bachelet, a paediatrician and single mother of three who was imprisoned and tortured after the 1973 coup, received 53.49% of the vote, less than 500,000 votes more than her rival, a right wing billionaire businessman . The fact that voting was so close (indeed, in our region the winning margin was even closer - less than 1%) is some indication of the political divisions which still remain here.

…and in Bolivia…

Bolivia, barely 200 miles from where we are here in Iquique, has also recently elected a new President, Evo Morales, who is a left-wing trade union leader, and the country’s first leader from an indigenous background.

And 11 more countries in Latin America are due to hold elections between now and the end of the year, which could result in the re-drawing of the region’s political map.

Chilean Christmas

We enjoyed a quiet first Christmas in Chile. The main service for Christmas in our church was on 23rd December, when the church community in Alto Hospicio came together in a wonderfully inclusive all-age celebration (albeit a bit long for Luke at over 2 hours!) – at which Alison preached (in Spanish) - with presents given individually to everyone who was there.

We spent Christmas Eve on our own – this is when the main festivities take place within the family, with presents given (mostly to the children) usually at midnight. We waited til Christmas morning to do our presents, and then had invited friends (Eric, Damaris and their son, Vicente - who is the same age as Luke) to share lunch here on Christmas Day, after which we all went to the beach (along with most of the rest of the city).

Many familiar European Christmas traditions have been incorporated into life here, even including the lighting up of the exterior of many houses – here is an extreme example!

But one thing peculiar to Chile, and to Iquique in particular, is the practice of lorries traveling the streets in the run up to Christmas, playing loud music, and distributing presents to the children of the workers of particular companies and organizations. As they move around they throw sweets out to any children they pass. Being on a main thoroughfare of the city, we experienced a large number of these ‘caravanes’! – like this one…

Luke’s column

I am now 2 and a half, and my new height chart says that I am almost 1 meter tall (over 3 feet). I am joining words together in Spanish, and also in English. I still love my nursery and sometimes ask to go at the weekends as well. I like singing ‘Cumpleaños feliz’ (Happy Birthday to you) and ‘Jingle Bells’, and I especially like getting mummy and daddy to join in with me. I have been to the beach and I like jumping in the sea and splashing daddy!

Other news

Since our last newsletter…

►we now have a car, which makes our work much easier and gives us more independence.

►we have visited the impressive Cerro Pintados, the largest collection of geoglyphs (hill paintings) in South America – over 400 images of animals, birds, humans and geometric patterns extending some 3 miles along a hillside.

►we have visited the Salar de Huasco, a beautiful lake full of flamingos, over 12,000ft up in the altiplano

►we have watched several traditional fiestas that have been taking place in the roads around our flats

►our work has been quieter, especially in January, because this is the holiday season in Chile

►Chris has started his own programme at the community radio station in Alto Hospicio, playing music from around the world and updating people on world news (all in Spanish…)

►at the time of writing, we are awaiting news of changes to key positions in the Methodist Church in Chile as a result of their General Assembly (31 Jan – 4 Feb)

►at the time of writing, we are about to receive our first visitors from the UK, Ali’s parents and sister!

Strange but true

So rare is rain here that this was the headline in the local paper recently: “Showers in Iquique and Alto Hospicio: no-one injured”.  Apparently, the showers in the night lasted for “more than two hours”, and the Mayor was quoted as saying, “our [emergency] teams were prepared”. Well, thank goodness for that.

Thoughts, prayers…

We hope there is plenty of information in this newsletter to help you focus on some of our concerns about Chile, and our work here. Your continued support by prayer, email, and letter is much appreciated!