"All of us can cooperate as instruments of God for the care of creation, each according to his or her own culture, experience, involvements and talents." (LS 14)

We share testimonies from Lourdes de Silva RSCJ and Ana Pérez RSCJ of Mexico, who are working with women in alternative health.

The Women of the Living Pharmacy

1. What surprises me about the women of the Living Pharmacy?

The experience of working with Women, more than surprising me, confirms what they are capable of, the strength they have, the level of commitment they reach and the impetus that their commitment as a "Collective" gives them to achieve what they propose. When they are a group, which has been developed through responsibility, commitment, and respect for each other, this helps them overcome problems, both within the group, at work and socially.     

They visited various experiences of Living Pharmacies in Guadalajara and nearby towns.
They looked for land near “Comunidad Crece”.
They took courses and training to get their project up and running.
They organized themselves in groups to take care of that crop plot of land and get the best out of it.
There they have the best-quality raw ingredients for the products that they make for their own benefit and sell, thus helping their families’ economy.

2. How are they artisans of hope?

With their life and work: they are women wives, mothers, workers, who have discovered in "Comunidad Crece" a support, a lifestyle and a conviction that the "Community" is the place from which one can fight for their personal life, for their family and for their environment, which is becoming increasingly vast.   Women working with women and achieving their objectives, is living testimony that it is possible to strengthen the hope that allows them to show solidarity and express their partnership as women together. 

Lourdes de Silva RSCJ

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"I am Ana Pérez, religious of the Sacred Heart. I am in the community of Jocotepec; we are 5 sisters, all of them elderly or advanced in age, but still active. Some of us are still working. I refer you to the Provincial Assembly – let me remind you. I remember the testimony of our lay collaborators who for me are artisans of hope because they give a lot of hope that our projects, our dreams will continue. We were talking about how few we are, we are not many but we are strengthened by very committed lay women who give us great hope that our project will continue and grow stronger. And that is what it means to be artisans of hope.

Also, I work in alternative health and I try to share my hope that we can improve health no matter how old we are. It is never too late to have quality of life. And that is my testimony and my work, small but I believe that  many women, above all, are moving forward and in addition to learning to have quality of life, they share that knowledge, that wisdom. And in this way we are becoming artisans of hope in this world that is so difficult, so violent, that surprises us every day. But we are doing our bit to move forward. Thank you."

Ana Pérez RSCJ