Morning at the Center in Cantera: a game of dominoes...

...and daily news.

Isabel Pérez Calderón rscj

Tutorial

Pura  Rivera rscj

Lunch time for the preschool children.

Photos: Lolín Menéndez rscj and Centro de Cantera

In 1973 the Religious of the Sacred Heart of Puerto Rico were eager to establish a community on the Cantera Peninsula, specifically in the rundown “Quarry” district which was the origin of its present name. (“Cantera” is the Spanish word for “Quarry”.) It was an isolated area, poor and little-known, and suffered from contamination of air, water and soil. Social deprivation was total, with very few educational opportunities. These conditions were made more serious by the proximity of the big financial, social and cultural centres of the capital, and by the contrast with the natural beauty of the surroundings.

We did not come with plans, nor grand projects. We wanted to be integrated into the local scene and to respond to its needs. We began our journey by collaborating in pastoral care of youth in the five “communities” into which parish activity was divided. Very soon there were Workshops for the training of leaders; in the light of the Gospel, they grew in awareness of the Christian commitment to which Jesus was calling them. They studied the circumstances of their families, the situation of their younger brothers and sisters, and under the title Joint Endeavour for the Development of Cantera, they decided to bring about change. They were hoping to go to University, an almost impossible goal at that time. Chapter 25 of St Matthew’s Gospel changed them into pilgrims of community, drawing up the first rough plans of the district, which they did not know personally.

Surveys of needs, family enquiries, dialogue and activities were opening up the horizon. The old people’s loneliness, the parents’ inertia, the absence of governmental authority, were all a stimulus to personal responsibility.

What should they do, and how? The community, motivated by those 17 young people between the ages of 18 and 22, joined forces with them and showed us the way. Cantera had no agency that linked it to the outside.  Anxieties were surfacing, expressed by young people and adults: supporting children in personal development and helping them with their homework; programmes for teenagers and young people generally, centred on personal development and appropriate use of leisure; training of parents in their role as educators; help for the old.

In terms of experience, education – formation, assisting growth and life.

The projects took shape one step at a time. Eventually, when we had sufficient financial resources to carry them out, it was agreed that they would become ongoing programmes.

Grow and Love. According to its title, this programme has to provide the basis for children’s development and the attitudes necessary for their progressive future integration into the cultural process. It stresses the education of parents, as the primary and irreplaceable educators. It advises, supervises and supports them in their function as educators, and succeeds in encouraging new attitudes towards their children.

The Rosa María Sánchez Library was named in honour of a Teacher at the Sofía Rexach Elementary School, who overcame huge difficulties and distinguished herself by her work in the education and formation of the children of Cantera.

We are convinced that if we strengthen the foundations of knowledge, we are really fighting to overcome the high rate of dropouts, both on a functional and a practical level, so the Elementary School children are offered a chance to take part in tutorials. These are offered all through the day, through the teachers of the neighbouring school, who work in co-ordination with us; the parents give their authorisation. From 3 p.m. the children go to the homework-supervision room, and do their homework there, with the help of Student-Monitors. The computer room, with Internet facilities, is available to High and Middle school students; preschoolers also are introduced, with supervision, to the use of technology and to programmes that reinforce the work of their teachers.

Being for Doing. This programme functions in the “little house” of the same name, which indicates its aim of strengthening the identity and self-esteem of teenagers and young people generally. They gather in after-school hours, which keeps them out of questionable social behaviour, promotes community involvement, stimulates dialogue and interaction, collaborates with the school in the process of apprenticeship, and fosters attitudes that strengthen the functioning of the family. The Co-ordinators offer support to parents and provide activities for their formation.

The Saint Madeleine Sophie Group: Our Senior Citizens, aged 60 and over, are also the objects of our concern, attention and affection. Their numbers are growing, and they suffer from many difficulties with regard to living-conditions. Those we serve fall into two groups: those who can get to the Centre, and the much more numerous group of frail people who receive “meals on wheels”. They are provided with basic health needs and support with regard to personal dealings with public and private agencies. The programme of Recreation and Socialisation includes cultural, social and educational activities, with outings and daily physical exercise. At present we are collaborating in the planning and development of facilities more suited to the needs and demands of the new generations of the elderly.

The Cultural and Service Centre of Cantera is an institution that has arisen from the community of the district of Cantera, and the community sees it as its own. We give life directly or indirectly to initiatives that try to respond to the needs of the Cantera Peninsula. Thanks to the Centre, and to Divine Providence, we have the wonderful project of the physical rehabilitation of the community, begun in 1992 as a result of Hurricane Hugo; its projects are as far-reaching as the stories you have heard. Once the project had begun, the Legislature of Puerto Rico passed a law entitling the Centre to settle about 400 families in more salubrious areas; houses were built for them by various means. Some of these houses could be owned, others rented, with the option of buying. Work will soon begin on health infrastructure and replacement of lighting systems. Much remains to be done.

Our Personnel: 30 of us who have taken on the Centre’s mission. All the same, we urgently need more people. The work is beautiful, but financial backing is uncertain, and hard to get. We often experience the Lord’s marvellous presence.

There can be no road without walking. The road is built as you go along.