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At present, there are between 25 and 30,000 inhabitants who belong to the parish. They are new migrants who have come from the countryside to the city, looking for better days. They have come from different places. The husbands work in the mine, or as masons, and the ladies are taking care of the house or selling in the streets. It is mainly poor people, the parish of St Martín. The parish itself has a lot of work [to do]: they are distinct cultures, in thinking, in way of being, their clothes, all that. They come to the city, and they have problems of integration, acculturation – in schools, the same in their neighbourhood. So that is the mission of the church. It accompanies the children, the young, the elderly too; in Eucharistic celebrations, in family catechesis, first communion, confirmation, sacraments. We take advantage of those moments to help the children.

It is not easy for them to come from the countryside to the city. They have another mentality in the countryside, but sometimes they let themselves be easily influenced with the things of the city. They also forget their customs of their culture of the field. There are many needs. We need spaces where we bring the children together, the young people. In that sense, we have made a pastoral centre. It was helped by a foundation from Holland – it helped a little with equipment. The infrastructure was built with the help of Adveniat. The Friends of Potosí Foundation also collaborated. We present the Bible as a recipe to people. In the recipe we find ingredients to make a cake. What things are needed? You see, in the Bible we find advice, guidance that can help them solve their problems. – Padre Efrain

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