Sponsored by sponsored by the Peace Affirmation and Justice Team and the Adult Education Committee of FCC in Guilford, Elena Huegel will make a presentation at 11 am followed by a lunch on Tuesday, July 20. Come welcome Elena to CT. Please RSVP to Gay Harter by July 18 so we can order lunch: asharter@verizon.net.
After spending many years in Chile, Elena is now a Mission Co-Worker with the Intercultural Research and Studies Institute (INESIN) in Chiapas, Mexico. She describes the Institute’s mission as “contributing to the construction of peace in Chiapas through promotion of inter-religious and intercultural dialogue.” Chiapas is the southern most province of Mexico, and many of its people of Mayan descent still speak their indigenous languages. Elena describes some of the challenges for the people of the region: poverty and lack of opportunity, corruption at all levels of government, the after effects of the 2017 earthquake, being hosts to the passing wave of refugees from other Central American countries, the militarization of the border.
Elena is the coordinator of the Retonos en las ruinas: esperanza en el trauma (Roots in the ruins: hope in trauma) program, which seeks to provide spiritual accompaniment to nourish hope and develop resilience in the midst of conflict and emotional trauma. She helps train the Institute’s staff in conflict transformation and holistic peace education. Elena’s work was recognized with a first place in literature award by Eastern Mennonite University’s Center for Justice and Peacebuilding Alumni Storytelling Contest in 2018. Click here to read more.