Holy Family students
get real-world experience

By Diane Prokop
Times Staff Writer

The image of a man pedaling a bicycle carrying his family of five — wife on the seat, holding two babies, while another little one sits on the handlebars — through the deep, muddy roads of Duran, Ecuador, will stay with eight Holy Family University students for the rest of their lives.
"It’s one thing to talk about poverty, it’s another to have that experience," said Jenai Murtha, Holy Family assistant professor of sociology.
Murtha, along with Spanish instructor Adriana Merino, led an eight-day trip for students with psychology, education and Spanish majors to the South American country, bordered by Colombia to the north, Peru to the east and the Pacific Ocean to the west.
The immersion trip was sponsored by Rostro de Cristo (Face of Christ). According to its Web site, the Catholic program’s mission is to provide spiritual and educational opportunities for young people, be in relationship with the Ecuadorian people and reflect on the face of Christ in their joys and struggles, work with them to find solutions to the problems of poverty.
"It’s mission fit our mission," Murtha said.
The students visited local schools and Damien’s House, a clinic that cares for those with Hansen’s Disease, better known as leprosy.
It’s not nearly as infectious as one might think. Most people are immune to it and Hansen’s only presents itself when the victim is malnourished and the body’s nerve cells are able to attract the bacteria that cause the disease.
Symptoms include nerve damage, lumps and or ulceration of the skin, selective muscle paralysis and blindness. It’s cured by multi-drug antibiotic therapy. Two weeks after receiving the first dose, patients are no longer contagious. It can take up to two years for a cure, though there may be irreversible damage to nerves, eyes or limbs.
Despite effective treatment, it continues to be one of the most feared and misunderstood diseases — so much so that the mother of one of the students warned her not to touch the victims.
The group, however, was able to not only buy crafts from the patients but hug them as well.
The young women’s affection grew for not only those they met with Hansen’s but everyone they met.
Duran’s residents are generally workers who commute to the city such as taxi drivers, gardeners and masons, as well as craftsmen and artisans. They have very little but what they do have they share.
In fact, when the group visited the home of one man, he insisted they each have a Coke and some cookies.
The young women also fell in love with the children that they met at the Ecuadorian schools, where one teacher with barely a high school education herself taught 200 students.
They played games with the children and communicated with them in Spanish, another goal of the trip.
Merino, the Spanish instructor, noticed how much the fluency improved during their time in Ecuador.
"At the very beginning, they were kind of tongue tied, even with simple phrases. You could see the language at work. I’m amazed at the results," she said.
While the students’ and teachers’ living conditions in a moderate-economic level home were considered comfortable in that part of the world — tiled floors but no cushioned seats — they’ll bring with them invaluable memories and lessons.
While the residents of Duran were extremely poor, many said they were blessed and thankful for their families.
"It also taught us real values," Merino said.
Another woman, a single mother who embroidered tablecloths as a living, said she was blessed with the gift of the students.
The group, she said, was likewise blessed with a mission to go back home and recruit soldiers against poverty.
"It gave them hope," said Allison Goodwin, a Holy Family senior.
Goodwin and the other students intend to carry on the mission the woman charged them with and intend to raise money and awareness with Holy Family’s Hunger Awareness Week, as well as showcasing a table for Ecuador for the school’s International Day.
While some of the students would like to go back to Ecuador, others want to visit other parts of the world. That meshes with Rostro de Cristo’s hope that participants will inspire lifelong commitments to service, social justice and solidarity in the global community.
"The world is so much bigger than Philadelphia," Goodwin said.
Murtha’s face lighted up with excitement and satisfaction.
"That’s the point, that’s the point," she said. ••
For more information about Rostro de Cristo and Damien House, visit www.rostrodecristo.org
Reporter Diane Prokop can be reached at 215-354-3036 or dprokop@phillynews.com