Update on Capulispungo
17/07/23 15:36
The pastor of Capulispungo, Antonio, dropped by on Sunday. He was visiting some of his folks from Capulispungo. Usually he stays with his oldest daughter, Ester, but she, along with her husband and children, have migrated to New York. So he told me a while back that he would need a place to stay. Glad to see him after some time. We got caught up on each other. Capulispungo no longer has youth or children. All have left the community. Andy, Ester's son, had attended my bible classes for children for over a year, both presencial and virtual. I was anxious to "see" them and since his grandfather was with me, we gave them a call. I was able to talk to Ester, her husband, Marcelo, and Andy. They're fine, but I could tell they were lonely. Not easy to migrate to the US. Since they have no papers, they cannot be employed. They can only do temporary jobs that pay cash. The conversation woke me up to their reality. But there's no turning back. They have to stay and work til they can pay off their debts here in Ecuador.
After the call, Antonio and I talked about the future of Capulispungo. Most have turned to raising cows and selling the milk. They really need to process their own milk, but the older folk have habits hard to break, and they're content with just selling the milk to the truck that passes by daily. Youth have energy and ideas, but they don't want to stay in the community. For them, their future is elsewhere.
Many folks and institutions want to help these communities, but it's not easy. They will have to decide to change, if they want a new future.