As we reach the middle of the year we take the opportunity once again to make contact with all our supporters of The Shared Table. We hope these blogspots are a way of both informing you and enabling us to express our gratitude for the ongoing generosity of so many people.In this blogspot we have included a bit of news on the Valley of Jicamarca, enabling you to gain some idea of this expansive settlement in which the Parish has fourteen communities, with others beginning to develop. Recently we opened a new Children's Kitchen in Pedregal Alto, the sector which Marion and Luke Guthrie and friends from Mildura have supported so well. We are in the process of establishing another Kitchen in the community of Santa Rosa - like most, a settlement with a large number of very young families beginning to establish their lives there.
For the past 12 months, I have been living up in Jicamarca, away from the parish house. As more and more roads are paved, more public transport is entering the area, thus enabling people to take up permanent residence. The arrival of electricity has also had its impact. This area which is now home to about 40,000 people will probably be three times that amount in the next five to ten years. The people feel very happy to know that they are supported in their struggle to begin a new life. On their behalf, once again, I say thank you.
Michael McKinnon
3rd of July 2009