Year Joined MKLM: 2004 Country: Bolivia City: Cochabamba Focus: Pastoral Ministry, Education, Healthcare Project(s): 1. Cochabamba Women’s Prison, 2. Parish Nutrition Program People Served: 1. more than 50 women in the past two years; 2. 70 families Project Goal(s):1. To accompany women prisoners in their daily lives and struggles; Teach basic computer skills. 2. To improve the nutrition of pregnant women and children 6 years and younger in an economically poor area of our parish.

Personal Data

Sue joined MKLM in 2004 with her husband Evan and their two children Mary (born in 2000) and Rose (2002). Sue and Evan were members of a Marlboro, Massachusetts parish in the archdiocese of Worcester.  Prior to joining MKLM as a missioner, Sue worked as a Recruitment Coordinator for the organization from 1997-2004.

Sue has long been involved in community service work including work as a Jesuit International Volunteer in Tacna, Peru from 1990-1992;  Samaritans Hotline volunteer in Boston and Washington, DC; Recording for the Blind also in Washington, DC; and as the facilitator of “Circle of Moms” mothers reflection group in her parish.

Current Ministry  

Sue currently serves in two ministries in Cochabamba, Bolivia.  Her first ministry is with the Cochabamba Women’s Prison. Cochabamba's San Sebastian Prison for women has about 120 inmates. Many of the women are in prison because of the Law 1008 – a law influenced heavily by the U.S. war on drugs. Most of the women are serving 8 year sentences for a violation of this law. They can reduce their sentences through work and educational activities.

Sue hopes to help 20 students per semester gain some basic computer skills (including typing, MSWord, Excel and PowerPoint) as they prepare for release. As she builds relationships, she also hopes to be a source of pastoral support for the women. Sue visits prisoners who are in the hospital and accompanies those who have no family nearby to be with them. She builds relationships with all the women in the prison by offering a listening ear as they seek accompaniment.

Sue has seen many accomplishments because of the computer classes she teaches. Many women have improved their computer skills. The 32 women Sue has taught have advanced in their typing skills, basic computer skills, and most importantly, in their self-confidence.  At least three of Sue’s former students who were released in recent months have sought continued computer instruction outside the prison.
In order to work in her ministry, Sue received credentials and clearance to enter the prison through Ayni Ruway, an NGO whose mission is to provide educational and vocational instruction to current and recently released Cochabamba prisoners.

Sue believes that the vocational training she does is really a means to building trust with the women so that ultimately they will also find Sue as a spiritual inspiration, rather than just an educator. “The women I work with exhibit more trust in me,” Sue says. “More women – current and former students – seek me out to talk and share what is happening in their lives. The greatest skill I bring to this is being a woman and mother, because I work with women, mostly mothers. I bring compassion, creativity, humor, organizational skills and a deep desire to build relationships with women who are on the margins here in Bolivia.”  Through her compassion and friendship, the prisoners see the compassion and friendship of our faith.

Sue’s second ministry is with the Parish Nutrition Program.  Many of the families who live in her parish have come to Cochabamba from the rural areas of the country because they have been displaced from their land or unable to make a living in farming. They settle on the hills that surround Cochabamba and seek jobs selling merchandise or working in per diem jobs. They lack money, proper housing and nutritional sources of food. When malnutrition is an issue for a family, the youngest of the children in the family seem to suffer the most. Currently, there are many children in Sue’s parish who are undernourished and underweight. Some are in need of serious medical intervention, while others are in need of improved nutrition and weight gain. Many of the undernourished children suffer more from illnesses their bodies cannot fight off. These problems exist for pregnant women there as well.

Sue is part of a team of women from her parish community who work to improve the health and nutrition of impoverished families within the parish.  The team members of the Parish Nutrition Program do regular home visits to the families in their parish who have children under 6 years old and who are in need of assistance to insure their kids are well nourished. The Pastoral Social office of the Diocese of Cochabamba trained the team that originally attended to 30 children and now has 96 inscribed in the nutrition program, representing 67 families.

In addition to the home visits, the Nutrition Program hosts a “Celebration of Life” once a month to weigh the children, give out some food supplies and have a discussion on nutrition, health care or another related topic. The program also holds a monthly educational program for all the families in the program. Since its inception in June 2007, several of the kids who were underweight one year ago are in within the normal range now. The program has been well-received by the community, and the team no longer needs to promote the program door-to-door; community members seek out the team members hoping to inscribe their children in the program.