Columban Priest Fr. Iowane Gukibau assigned in Peru, South America, prepares to deliver vegetables sorted out by these women to be distributed to different food centers in the peripheral outskirt of Lima, Peru.
Posted by Fiji Columbans on Thursday, December 9, 2021
When the Columbans came to Lima, they took responsibility for a parish of 50,000 people on the northern side of Lima, extending from the Rimac River to the Chillon River. Most of the area was farmland worked under the hacienda system: landed gentry and peasants. The continuous urban sprawl, provoked by population growth and migration from the provinces, forced Columbans to divide and subdivide the original parish. There are now at least 25 parishes, where in 1951 there was only one.
In Peru, Columbans continue to work mainly in parishes within areas of poverty and where the dignity of life hasn’t been respected. From this parish base our principal focus is the striving to promote and empower lay leadership with co-responsibility in Church and Peruvian society. Christ being the model, and through trying to live and promote gospel values, we channel His fullness of life to all, especially to the downtrodden and those who have been forgotten by society.
In the past, we had Columban Priests, Lay Missionaries and students from Fiji and Tonga that have worked in Peru. We have Fr. Iowane Gukibau and Fr. Palenapa Tavo who are currently assigned in Peru.
Fr. Iowane Gukibau is assigned in Lima, Peru
He is pictured here with youth members in his mission communities (Isolina,Tunnales and Paraíso)in Lima. The youth usually come together to learn the art of planting and how to create something out of nothing in their surrounding barren environment. Fr. Iowane assists the youth in their activities.
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