West Texas Catholic 30

June 15, 2014

Q&A
Editors Note: Sister of Charity
of the Incarnate Word Sister Juan-
ita Albracht, a native of Hereford,
was back in the Diocese of Ama-
rillo for a few days in late-May.
Here are excerpts from a conver-
sation that will air the weekend of
Friday, July 4-Sunday, July 6 on
The West Texas Catholic: The Au-
dio Version on St. Valentine Cath-
olic Radio, 1360AM, KDJW.
The West Texas Catholic: Sis-
ter Juanita, you are preparing to
observe your Diamond Jubilee on
Friday, Aug. 15, the Feast of the
Assumption. What led you to the
religious life?
Sister Juanita: I think voca-
tions come from the heart of God.
In my life I felt the nudge there,
in the heart, and fnally said that I
needed to make my decision. I felt
that I had to respond, listening to
that inner voice.
WTC: How did your journey
lead you to Peru?
Sister Juanita: I served in lead-
ership in our province and then was
elected to serve on the general coun-
cil. In that role, I visited many of the
houses of our congregation where
our sisters lived and worked. I visit-
ed Mexico at least every month and
I also visited Peru. When I was in
Peru I said that I would return there
one day. I fnished my term on the
general council in San Antonio. Af-
ter that I worked on the south side
with the Hispanic population, then
I thought it was time to think about
Peru once again.
WTC: When was it that you de-
cided it was time to return to Peru?
Sister Juanita: In 1997, I re-
turned to Peru. I will start my 18th
year there in September. The lure of
Peru was the absolute simplicity and
basic life of the people of Peru, how
they could be happy in such extreme
poverty. This called me to want to
experience their lives with them.
WTC: You went to Peru for the
simplicity, but that wasnt the real
reason why God put you there. He
had you in mind to do some other
things, most notably hospice care.
How did that start?
Sister Juanita: Hospice care
was probably the last thing I was
involved in and am still involved in.
We had a medical clinic in Chimbo-
te. One of the sisters who worked
there had cancer and died, leaving
the clinic with a director. The sis-
ters invited me by letter to go to
Peru and work in the clinic. When
I arrived they asked me to look
sonally offered to help fund the
program to start the process; he had
written down what his expectations
were for hospice. He said the hos-
pice needed good organization and
a well-established hospice pro-
gram. Everyone turned around and
looked at me. They told me that I
was the one who could do the job.
Our hospice has all of the pro-
fessionals needed for hospice care
the doctor, psychologist, nurses,
nursing assistants, pastoral agent,
social worker, etc. You have to con-
stantly work on the team concept
because hospice is a new and differ-
ent concept in Peru; but it has been
very well accepted and has grown.
WTC: It must really touch your
heart when, during Lent, the folks
at Holy Family Church in Naza-
reth makes a donation of alms to
help keep this hospice growing.
Sister Juanita: It is over-
whelming. The frst year they had
a collection and sent us $13,000.
Wow!and this year, $11,000.
What a surprise!
Since the Nuevo Sol (the Pe-
ruvian currency) is valued at 2.78
per dollar, the money given to us is
almost tripled in value. We greatly
appreciate the generosity of these
people, who give so abundantly to
people they do not even know. It is
a miracle of Gods grace that they
been put in our path. Some patients
can pay about two dollars a day,
which cannot even provide for a
meal. We do not turn anyone away
because they cannot pay.
WTC: Tell us about Chimbo-
te...
Sister Juanita: Chimbote is a
coastal city with a nice bay. There
are mountains near the opening
of the bay where it is open to the
ocean that protect us from tsuna-
mis. At one time it was known as
the anchovy capital of the world. It
is a fshing port with canning and
exportation of fsh and it also has
a steel millthe only one in Peru.
Because of the two industries it
was known as the most contami-
nated city in Peru. Anything met-
al left out for two days there will
rust. Many things are being done to
change the environment.
The fshing industry has almost
disappeared because the families
with small fshing boats could fsh
all year long, but now, companies
with large boats overfsh the area
in a matter of weeks. Many of the
fsherman and their families have
become impoverished and suffer
from tuberculosis because they do
not have proper nourishment.
Many people come to the coast,
to the cities, from very high alti-
tudes in rural areas seeking work.
They occupy any and every un-
occupied space. As squatters,
with houses made of woven reed
mats without water, electricity or
plumbing, they live in sectors of
our cities. They begin with one mat
as a roof and then add four more to
make walls, then three more to add
another room on their house. After
about seven years they might be
able to pour a concrete foor. After
15 to 20 years they might be able
to put up a wood or brick house;
thats an entire generation.
Our biggest problem is there
is no work for those who live in
Chimbote and those coming seek-
ing work. Many of them, maybe
80%, provide transportation either
in a taxi or combi (van), colectivo,
mototaxi or cargador. Few have
their private transportation.
WTC: How often does it rain?
Sister Juanita: It never rains.
In my 17 years it has rained two
times. A hard rain, which lasts
15 minutes, can wash away their
homes. When it rains the families
lose everything.
WTC: How many years do you
think you have left to live and
work in Peru?
Sister Juanita: After 60 years
of working, I am thinking about
fnding someone to continue these
works. I have to do what is pru-
dent; my health insurance is in the
United States. There is plenty of
work that I can do here, so when
the time is right, I will return.
WTC: How do you hope to
be remembered by the people of
Chimbote, when you get on the
plane to return to the States the
last time you leave there?
Sister Juanita: Simply for my
contact with them personally; the
experiences we have shared. I
dont expect to be remembered
for what I did, but for our relation-
ships. The people make the mis-
sion, how I respond to them and
how they respond to me.
My fnal words are to thank
God for my religious vocation and
family. Please pray for vocations.
If there are young people in your
home who feel they have a call
to the priesthood or religious life,
please encourage them. We need
to thank God because we, in the
United States, have been blessed,
around and decide what I wanted
to do. I wanted to go to the clinic
frst, thinking I could then look at
other ministries. I went to the clinic
where Sister Ann Marie Burke was
working. She said, I am glad you
are here. Now I can go back to my
people in the rural area. Adios. I
stayed in Chimbote and never got to
see the other ministries in Peru.
I told the members of the con-
gregation that we needed to tear
down the clinic and rebuild it, if
not, change to another ministry. The
clinic had been built after a major
earthquake in Chimbote on May 31,
1970. At that time, they used what-
ever material was available to build
and keep the ministry going. The
exterior walls were made of pressed
wood; the interior walls were three-
ply wood. You could see the sky
from the inside through the roof.
There was a lot of termite damage.
I suggested it be closed and rebuilt.
It was my frst building project.
We closed the clinic for two-and-
a-half-months and rebuilt it. It is a
beautiful modern clinic, which the
doctors love. It was re-opened in
2000. We offer very basic services
for the poorest of the poor. We also
offer specialty services for the peo-
ple who do not have access to such,
because they are costly if you dont
have a job, which carries health in-
surance services.
Sister of Charity of the Incarnate Word Sister Juanita Albracht,
a native of Hereford, works in the vegetable garden at the Hos-
pice in Chimbote, Peru. (WTC Photo courtesy of Elaine McNutt)
WTC: In 2002, there was no
hospice available and a group
of people came to you about es-
tablishing hospice care there. It
wasnt a diffcult question for you
to hear and for you to say yes to
that project.
Sister Juanita: It all happened
when Father Jack Davis, an Amer-
ican priest who worked in Chim-
bote for many years and was well
known to the Sisters, had some vis-
itors from an organization called
the Amigos de Padre Jacka fund-
raising group who had been work-
ing for several years with projects
at his parish. Gary Zespy, the pres-
ident of the group, said they would
like to start a hospice. Father Jack
suggested that since there was no
hospice in the area that a group of
people discuss it. He, a sister from
the local maternity hospital, and I
along with members of his social
service organization met with Mr.
Zespy and we all said, Yes, hos-
pice was a much needed service.
All of us there had our own ex-
periences with the dying. When
patients had cancer or a terminal
disease the doctors have no place
to care for them and suggested
they go home to die. They cannot
remain in the hospital because the
hospital is for diagnosis, treatment
and cure; hospitals are not for ter-
minally ill people. Mr. Zespy per-