Rostro de Cristo

Offering volunteer and retreat experiences to young adults from the usa while also managing and supporting various education, health, and other social service projects.

Volunteers from the us living with and serving the people of ecuador introduction in 2021 Rostro de Cristo (which means "the face of christ" in spanish) completed its 31th year of providing volunteer lay missionary experiences in ecuador and providing support to ecuadorian catholic church through educational and medical projects in ecuador. Rostro de Cristo (rdc) offers short-term and year-long opportunities to young adults who live simply and serve on the outskirts of ecuador's largest city, guayaquil, and in the municipality of durn which is across the river guayas from guayaquil. Guayaquil and durn form a sprawling urban center of almost 4 million people, most of whom are underemployed or unemployed and lacking most basic services. Rdc focuses its attention on the poorest of these by living among and serving in some of the underserved barrios that form the urban area. Rdc provides an extraordinary and unique opportunity for volunteers and retreat participants from the united states to interact with the people of ecuador to better understand both similarities as well as differences. This in turn promotes a better us-latin american understanding and solidarity, and also offers a profound view of how faith sustains the people of ecuador in their daily lives. The rdc mission is achieved by being, working, praying, and sharing in a communal faith experience with the people of ecuador. Rdc fulfills its spiritual and educational mission in two ways: by offering a one-year volunteer experience and 7-10 day retreat experiences to young adults and youth from the united states. The year 2021 due to the ongoing impacts of the pandemic Rostro de Cristo was forced to temporarily close our volunteer program in ecuador, thereby reducing our human infrastructure in ecuador but we continued responding to some our ecuadorian partner communities' needs by provided limited aid. Additionally, in 2021 continued a new pilot domestic program in camden, nj in partnership with the romero center ministries until may; and we developed a virtual retreat program, bringing the stories of our neighbors in ecuador via video. Rdc in 2021 in 2021, the rdc community and outreach continued to make an impact in our neighborhoods in ecuador as well as via the pilot domestic volunteer program in partnership with the romero center ministries in camden, nj. A total of 4 volunteers served with us in our one-year volunteer program. From january through may of 2021, Rostro de Cristo supported 3 one-year volunteers in camden. They served as tutors in a program located in local catholic schools. In addition, we facilitated 3 virtual retreat experiences. Rostro de Cristo volunteer program 2021 list of rdc volunteers who served during 2021 the following names are those volunteers that served in camden, nj during 2021: ashley richard sophie tallarida margaret sheehan Rostro de Cristo volunteer supported projects and partners in camden romero center ministries is home to a faith-based, catholic urban immersion retreat program for high school and college student groups throughout the us which in normal times operates throughout the year. Founded in 1998 by the st. joseph pro-cathedral parish community, the romero center is connected to a variety of pastoral and social service ministries on parish campus which seek to care for the needs and affirm the dignity of those living in poverty within their surrounding community. Many of the ministries of st. joseph parish serve the predominantly latino population who live in the surrounding neighborhood. Holy name school is a parish elementary school located in north camden. Today, the pastoral care is provided by the oblates. The sisters of st. joseph also serve in the holy name school community both within the school and within the community programs supporting the school and school families. Holy name school is home to over 155 students from all areas of the city of camden. The school provides a place of safety, love, education and leadership in an area isolated by geography, language, culture, poverty, and violence. In 2020, there was one volunteer who served as a classroom assistant providing 1:1 and small group tutoring with students who needed it. The neighborhood center is working to transform the community through a multi-generational approach. Their programing includes academics, athletics, and arts for children and the elderly. As well as a food distribution program and a community garden. They also offer a summer camp program. Currently most programing is not active. During the time of virtual learning they provide a place for children to come in safely and learn while receiving assistance from neighborhood center staff. In 2020, two volunteers served at the neighborhood center as classroom teacher's assistants and general program support. Cathedral kitchen is community center that seeks to reduce food insecurity and poor health conditions for the residents of camden. They operate a large soup kitchen and food pantry, and serve as the largest emergency food provider in the city of camden, nj. They also provide job training and social support services to their clients. In 2020, there was one volunteer who served in their meals program and their health clinic, coordinating their covid-19 testing program. Rostro de Cristo retreat program 2021 in a normal program year rdc offers short-term retreat/immersion experiences for high school, university, parish or other groups. In 2021, we adapted to create a virtual retreat program due to the ongoing impacts of the pandemic. The following high schools, colleges and universities participated in the 7 to 8-day immersion retreat group experience in 2020. Each group has been 10-14 participants: st. john's prep (danvers, ma) april 2021 belen jesuit high school (miami, fl) may 2021 fairfield prep (fairfield, ct) may 2021 these retreat experiences prove to be life-changing experiences for the participants. Below are some examples of what the rdc experience meant for the retreat participants. Evaluation quotes - 2020 "this program definitely made me think more about the role faith plays in my life. By learning about the lives of people like gloria, i have realized how much i take things for granted, and that i should more often recognize how god has aided me in life." - st. john's prep student "i gained an appreciation for my own blessings and privileges and was provided a glimpse into the lives of others not as socioeconomically fortunate. The experience allowed me to thank god for what he has provided for me and my community(s)." - st. john's prep student "as someone who is not a person of faith, my connection with faith and spirituality is somewhat limited. However, it helped me interpret and find joy in different situations, that may not seem obvious." - st. john's prep student