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Sr. María Jesús Urruzola, Spanish, a missionary in Angola,
speaks to us about her experience of working with the
poorest people in a district of Luanda.
Every morning, I
go to work in the Health Centre of the parish of Nossa
Senhora das Graças, in the region of Precol, in Luanda.
This quarter, where our small community is situated, is a
social, poor, outlying area, crowded with shantytowns,
having a very young population with 800,000 inhabitants.
Ten years ago,
the health centre which is run by the Franciscan Sisters of
the Nativity is set up in one of the parish halls, but
because of constant search for medical assistance and
medicines, it was necessary to build a health centre with
better service conditions for the people.
Actually, the
centre caters to the patients of the community but also of
several outlying areas of the capital. The centre has an
efficient technical staff and our patients are satisfied
with the welcome and the treatment they receive. They have a
pharmacy where medicines are available for more reasonable
price than those outside, which means an appreciated help
for all those who have financial difficulties. |
Sr. Maria Jesús
Urruzola,
working in a pharmacy |
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Since three
years, I have been working in the centre in the morning
only. At the beginning the fact of working in a pharmacy
made a deep impression on me, because the pharmacy has a
grill with just a small opening which made it feel like a
prison to me, perhaps because when I was younger, I visited
prisoners. Fortunately, little by little, we succeeded in
widening this opening in such a way as to be able to see the
people who came to the centre from close quarters.
Actually, I now
feel more at ease with this service. Even though my work is
reduced to the pharmacy, I always take time to listen and
speak to the people to create an atmosphere of confidence,
openness and friendship.
As health is a
big challenge for our country – because of the poor living
conditions and because the mortality rate is very low
(between 45 – 48 years) – our centre has begun to organise
an information service, daily formation sessions where we
teach preventive care against sickness that are prevalent
here: malaria, typhoid fever, AIDS, diarrhoea. We also
organise training sessions on the importance of hygiene,
improvement of living conditions and preparation for
delivery cases.
Our aim is to
promote training, to give advice to our very deprived
population, offering them a gratuitous service within the
health system. As Franciscans, we are also committed to the
defence and promotion of values of life, welcoming all those
who look for help. |
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At this moment,
our most urgent challenges are: the elderly who have no
financial resources; the plague of AIDS and other venereal
diseases, and alcoholism which is spreading among the
younger people and young mothers.
The centre is in
full swing at this moment, for we actually have the
possibility of offering new services, thanks to technology,
as also a laboratory, ecography and mammography.
In spite of our
difficulties and our limitations, we try to be a sign of
life and of hope for all the patients who seek our services,
but above all, we pay attention to our welcoming, our
friendship and our love.
María Jesús
Urruzola, F.M.M. |
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