In that area, 90% of the population belongs to the Q'eqchi ethnic group. This is a matter of great importance for the Talita Kumi activities: in recent years, in fact, 27,000 Q’eqchí indigenous girls were able to hear the decisive command of Jesus in their lives and they were raised up and are full of life.
It was a Salesian missionary, Fr Jorge Puthenpura who started this organization, but different indigenous families are among those who give life in this place through human development and education.
Twenty-five years later, a strong indigenous religious congregation - the Sisters of the Resurrection - has become the soul of a gigantic project to promote Q’eqchí women. They have four large boarding schools, pastoral work in many rural communities and a recent university structure. The congregation is growing with new religious vocations.
How many lives have been touched in the quarter of a century since the start of this movement which is, at the same time, both attractive and demanding? Who can make even a rough estimate? There are, of course, the girls who followed the educational path; but we must add their families, the realities of the new houses, the painstaking ministry of the Sisters of the Resurrection in more than one thousand rural communities ...
For the anniversary on March 17 a big party was held in the "Talita Kumi" Centre, with a solemn Eucharistic celebration and an academic session of gratitude for the good seeds sown in these lands. The attendance included the Apostolic Nuncio, four bishops, some priests, the national and local government representatives, distinguished benefactors, journalists, and educators ...
Francisca is a student of "Talita Kumi". She says, "before arriving at Talita Kumi, I had heard that there was no chance of a better future for us and that learning to read and write was only for men. Here, on the contrary, I am learning everything, I am very happy to have discovered that we women have this possibility. For me it is called “Talita Kumi”.
