My name is Sandro Aldo Paiva Crispin and I am a 44-year-old Maryknoll volunteer in Cochabamba, Bolivia. I serve in the museum at the Maryknoll Fathers and Brothers Center, where we share our collection of photos, publications and historical objects about Maryknoll in Latin America. This legacy is a wealth we cannot keep to ourselves.
I was born in Villa Karajara-Huanuni, a farming community. I grew up with my grandparents because my parents worked in the mines. My first languages were Quechua and Aymara.
My grandparents believed that all living things — plants, animals, even the mountains — speak to us. Everything is connected, from our faith to our social action and even our dreams.
With the help of the Catholic Church, at 8 years old I went to live at Hogar Arco Iris, a home in Cochabamba. It is a place where children from rural areas can stay in order to attend school. I learned Spanish — but never forgot my grandparents’ wisdom.
At 15, I went to live with my parents in Huanuni. Most families there worked in the mines. There was a strong Catholic Action movement for the youth from mining families. We protested the injustices we experienced, such as the pollution of nature during the extraction process.
Two years later, I returned to Cochabamba to finish my high school studies. I deepened my faith and spent five years in formation for religious life, including a year on mission in Paraguay. There I discerned my calling as a layperson.
After I returned once again to Cochabamba, the archbishop invited me to help lead the archdiocesan commission for mission. I went to 74 parishes and four quasi-parishes (mission churches) to animate parishioners to get involved in mission. Maryknoll has always collaborated with mission in Bolivia, and I found that we shared the same goal.
I participated in a formation program at the former Maryknoll Mission Center (CMMAL) in Cochabamba and got to know Maryknoll even better. In 2015, Maryknoll Father Stephen Judd invited me to help support CMMAL and later I officially joined the administrative staff.
Being part of Maryknoll meant sharing what came next. The COVID-19 pandemic made us realize that the CMMAL project was no longer sustainable. After five and a half decades of service, it closed in 2020.
But what closed was only a project: Maryknoll in Cochabamba continues dreaming of the Reign of God.
With the help of partner organizations and the leadership of Maryknoll Father Alejandro Marina, the property is once again a place of learning and encounter. In November we organized a retreat to talk to young people about mission and vocations within the Maryknoll movement. I feel at home in this family.
The dreams of our founders are alive. When China and other countries in the East were closed to them because of World War II, they sought new mission sites. They came to Riberalta, Bolivia, and from here extended to Latin America. They never stood still.
The three radio stations Maryknoll started in Bolivia (San Miguel, San Gabriel and San Rafael) continue to function. The school in Cochabamba established by the Maryknoll sisters, now independent, is still running.
The parish I belong to with my wife, Carmen, and our sons Jesús Andrés, 8, and Martín Adrián, 3, was founded by Maryknoll, Santa Ana of Cala Cala.
In 2021, I finished my degree in philosophy and humanities at the Bolivian Catholic University; my thesis was published by the university the following year. I work as a teacher in different settings. In both my job and in my role as a Maryknoll volunteer, I impart values to the new generations.
There is a connection between dreams that are realized and dreams that are not … and the dreams yet to come.
My goal is to preserve and further the historical memory of Maryknoll in Bolivia and beyond. It’s to let people know about Maryknoll’s legacy — and also the ongoing relevance of its work. This legacy is life-giving.
Featured image: Sandro Paiva shows his book on Indigenous wisdom of the Andes, Un naturalismo andino (2022), on display at the Maryknoll Fathers and Brothers museum in Cochabamba, Bolivia. (Adam Mitchell/Bolivia)
