Helping impoverished women find a way to earn a living is one of the hundreds of ways in which Medical Mission Sisters around the world try to be a healing presence to those in need today.

The smell of the garbage dump blows through Colonia Fausto Gonzales, the barrio in Tijuana, Mexico, where Sister Teresa Jaramillo has worked for 12 years. Mexico's garbage dump communities can be found in every big city; over 900 families call this one "home." When she began ministry here, Sister Teresa had over 25 years of experience in community development projects in Latin America.

"It's a community of forgotten people," she says of the Colonia. The flimsy houses are made of crates and cardboard, with no running water and no proper drainage. When Sister Teresa first arrived, the people who lived at the dump either left their children at home alone, or took them along to pick trash.

The first need in the neighborhood was for a new elementary school. Volunteer teachers and parents, organized by Sister Teresa, began to hold classes. Eventually, education officials built a school for about 350 children, from first through sixth grade. A private program runs a separate kindergarten.

When the mothers saw their efforts to help their children succeeding, they started talking about ways to help themselves. Many wanted to work outside the garbage dump, but they needed education and skills. With Sister Teresa's assistance, they established a Women's Cooperative in 1998. "The entire local community will benefit from this co-op," said Sister Teresa as it began. "It will stimulate local enterprise and entrepreneurship for the women, who will be of service to their neighbors."

She adds, "My hope is to continue being in solidarity with the community of Fausto Gonzales - especially with the women who work daily in the dump site. I share their dreams of new possibilities for themselves and their children."

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