767 ELM STREET * ROCKY HILL * CONNECTICUT 06067

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"COMPANIONS IN CHRIST" Our Parish Outreach Program to Carmen Pampa University in Bolivia, South America Carmen Pampa University, founded in 1993, is a branch of Catholic University located in a rural section of the mountains in northern Bolivia. We chose Carmen Pampa for several reasons.     · Bolivia is the second poorest country in Latin America.     · They are educating the indigenous rural youth in four main areas of study: Agronomy, Nursing, Teaching and Veterinary Medicine.     · Students educated here return to their own villages and have significantly improved the quality of life there.     · Carmen Pampa has been recognized by the UN as one of the world's top poverty fighting projects. Our outreach program began in 2003 with several objectives in mind.     1. Connect with faith experiences in other countries.     2. Provide assistance to others in need.     3. Experience different expressions of what it means to be Catholic and Church.     4. Educational opportunities for both our parishioners and the students from Carmen Pampa University. Since we began our outreach program, our parish has contributed significantly to help the poor of Bolivia. Sr. Damon Nolan, the director of the University, was the guest speaker at our "NIGHT IN LAPAZ" in 2004. The event was not only a successful fundraiser but a wonderful educational experience for our parish. Sr. Nolan opened our eyes to the extreme poverty and living conditions in Bolivia. Sister expressed her sincere appreciation for all that St. James Parish has done and is doing for the students at the university. To date we have provided scholarships to the students, purchased a badly needed sterilizer for their meat packaging plant, and some of our Religious Education students have corresponded with students in Bolivia by letters and pictures. We have also donated chairs and tables for the soup kitchen in LaPaz and musical instruments to a church in Sorota. We are presently in the process of planning and organizing a group of parishioners to visit Carmen Pampa University in late summer or early fall. For more information about this ministry or to find out how to join, please contact the Parish Office at 529-8655 or office@stjamesrh.org.