Jacinta in Peru

JACINTA DEMELLO

Jacinta one of our Missionaries born and brought up in SURAT and sent to Peru 15 years ago, is now with us for a holiday which she takes every 5years to visit her family. She shared her experiences in this beautiful jungle of Peru, with a group of interested lay people from the Parish on Sunday the 24th of Jaunary 2010. Her sharing was vividly depicted by stunning pictures of her life with this group of people called the Aguarunas

The Aguarunas are an indigenous people of the Peruvian jungle. Historically, they lived primarily on the banks of the Marañón River, a tributary of the Amazon in northern Peru near the border with Ecuador. Currently, they possess titled community lands in four of Peru's regions: Amazonas, Cajamarca, Loreto, and San Martin The Aguarunas have the reputation of being brave warriors, standing out for their skills in war. They live in the geographical area of the Marañón river, that is to say in the banks of the Marañón river and of its tributaries, the rivers Santiago, Nieva, Cenepa, Numpatakay and Chiriaco.

Jacinta moves with tremendous courage and great ease among these rivers. The rivers are their life and she has become part of this life in every way. Being there for the last 15 years she has become one of them which you can see from the pictures below

Jacinta on one of her trips to a village, the journeys are by river for days …

And then walking through the jungle. The boatman helps her to carry her luggage.

Living like the people means bathing and washing her clothes like them in the river.

Once there and settled down she meets the people in an open air auditorium

She spends the day visiting them in their homes and listening to their joys and sorrows.

Sometimes sharing in the joy and wonder of their natural wealth and beauty.