Peru: the whole world in miniature
The Focolare Movement in Peru is widespread in Peru’s three geographical regions: the coastal strip, the Andes mountainous chain, and the pluvial Amazonia forest.
There are 3 centres of the Movement: 2 in Lima, 1 at Arequipa and many communities spread all over the country: at Talara, Trujillo, Chiclayo, Lima, Ica, Arequipa, and at Tacna with around 2000 members in all.
Peru is a country very rich in natural resources. It was the cradle of the Inca and pre-Inca civilisation that left great cultural and archaeological richness like the ruins of Machu Picchu, considered to be one of the New Seven Wonders of the World.
Initially the arrival of the Spanish, and later the immigration of Africans and Asians have made Peru a multicultural country, a sum of traditions, ancient religions and culture. As said by the Mario Vargas Llosa, the Peruvian Nobel laureate in literature: “If we delve a little we will discover that Peru is the whole world in miniature.”
The Cordillera of the Andes, with its high mountains that cross through the whole country, and reach to a height of 6800 metres, is the natural cornice and symbol of the values of the Peruvian people: strong, hardworking, hospitable, with a strong solidarity and a very rich inwardness.
The family remains a constant value and life is considered and welcomed as a gift of God, especially in the love and sacrifice of the women.
In this context, the Movement for New Families of the Focolari sustains and accompanies the life of families in their joys and sorrows. The programme Support from a Distance reaches around 300 children, spread in the poorest places of the Andes.
The children are very numerous, and youths and children account for 59% of the population of the country. Many of them have been attracted by the ideal of a united world, and are protagonists of the most varied initiatives towards this reality.
A little history- Three youths from Arequipa, in 1972, participated at a meeting of the Movement in Argentina. They returned very happy with the way of evangelical life that they had experienced, and within a few months they had transmitted the ideal of unity to other persons. In 1981, a family from Lima, after coming into contact with the Movement in Bogota’-Colombia-communicated the spirituality of the Focolari to many other families. In 1982 the first Peruvian Mariapolis were held in the city of Arequipa, and subsequently, in Lima and Trujillo.
To the great joy of all, in 1989 the first female focolare was inaugurated in Lima, and in 1995, the male one was also inaugurated. In 2001 a new residence was opened at Arequipa, in the south of the country.
“The Peruvian people have an ancestral dignity” commented Bruna Tomasi, one of the first companions of Chiara Lubich-during her visit in May of 2011. “It seems that even in the religious tradition of the Inca, there are traces of the Golden Rule”, she affirmed.
In order to acknowledge the contribution offered by the spirituality of the Focolari in Peru, in 2009 the Pontifical Catholic University of Lima conferred on Chiara Lubich the posthumous title of Honorary Professor. And on 31 March 2011, she was remembered through a conference on the Economy of Communion.
Note: the attachment containing the survey on the EoC’s “Identity and Future” was done by Simona Di Ciaccio during the International Assembly last May 2011 in Brazil. The report is available online in italian, we invite you to 
‘We’re sending you a handful of comments about our trip to Sardinia at the end of 2011,’ Tomek Mikusiński has written to 
‘sneak previews’: ‘In parallel we’re finishing off a new musical and we hope that this too will be on release by the end of 2012 or the beginning of 2013…’ After 14 March when this period of what Gen Rosso calls ‘working from home’ comes to an end, the band will leave for Spain, for a full two months, after which they will go on tours of different lengths in three continents: Europe (with concerts in the Czech Republic, Belgium and Germany), China and Australia. But now let’s take a step back in time to the final concert last year. It was at Villacidro (50 km from Cagliari in Sardinia). Here on 29 December 2011 Gen Rosso presented their concert Indelible Dimension. It was during the XXVth March for Peace, which took place in the light of recent troubles in Nigeria and Syria, events that show how much the search for peace needs a powerful helping hand. 
The theme of the march was Educating Young people in Justice and Peace, given by Benedict XVI to the World Day of Peace on 1 January 2012. Two thousand people were at the concert, in a wholesale warehouse, which concluded the march. ‘The scene was pretty unusual because of the artist performance (and not a few technical problems),’ Gen Rosso said, ‘but the warmth and enthusiasm of the young Sardinians made us forget any difficulties straight away.’ ‘A different world is possible, a different humanity already exists… THANKS with all my heart!’ wrote one person after the concert. In the town’s industrial zone on the following day, 30 December, there was a day of reflection and commitment for Sardinian young people. Youth for a United World led it together with Gen Rosso who ran workshops with people from every part of Sardinia. ‘Thank you Gen Rosso – thank you guys!!! Amazing concert….. a big thank you on behalf of all the Sardinian people…. a thank you that goes on forever!!!!!!!’
‘A big hello from Bulgaria!! We want to tell you how our preparations for Genfest are going. When we heard that the title was “Let’s bridge” we asked ourselves what can we do, here in Sofia, to build bridges? We remembered the refugees coming in especially from Arabic countries. Mostly they are Muslims, some haven’t been here long, others have been here for years. Sadly, though, a lot of them have very few contacts outside their own group. 
A friend of ours, a girl who fled Iraq and is now working in the committee for women refugees, told us they wanted to get to know our culture better and even to find out about the traditional Bulgarian ‘Tree Festival’. We met together on 10 December. There were 30 people, 20 of them refugees, for the most part from Iraq, but also from the Lebanon, Libya and Afghanistan. The programme presented our Christmas traditions, including traditional food. We began with a game to introduce ourselves: a ball of wool was unravelled from one person to another and whoever held it had to say something about themselves: name, place of birth… just enough to break the ice and start building a relationship among everyone. 
Then there were moments for reflection, a children’s fable illustrated by folk customs from various lands at this time of year. The refugees felt loved and were moved by everything that had been done for them and they kept on saying thank you. 
At the end one girl wrote: ‘Even though in Iraq eggs are painted for New Year and in Bulgaria we do it for Easter, and even though there other differences of customs and festivals, we all felt that there is something that works with the same strength and the same light everywhere in the world: love. Our love for one another, for someone you’ve know for years, with all their shortcomings, and for someone who you’ve just met, who you don’t know yet, but in whose eyes, despite everything, you can see Jesus.’ The meeting finished with delicious dishes from all over the world, with storytelling, smiles and thanks. Let’s hope we managed to make these people we care about feel welcome and at home.’ From Youth for a United World, Bulgaria