Freedom and Dignity at Every Age – Food Sovereignty – Honoring Tere and Charito – Remembering Friends
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Dear friends of EPES,
I can find no better way to open this letter than to quote Rebecca Solnit’s words on November 7 to millions of brokenhearted Americans:
You may need to grieve or scream or take time off, but you have a role no matter what, and right now good friends and good principles are worth gathering in. Remember what you love. Remember what loves you. Remember in this tide of hate what love is.The pain you feel is because of what you love…Take care of yourself and remember that taking care of something else is an important part of taking care of yourself…
Even EPES, born in the darkest days of the military dictatorship, has survived (and thrived) for 42 years in part because they have always remembered, in a tide of hate, what love is. And because they knew instinctively the importance of self-care to being able to continue the struggle for health and dignity.
For EPES, 2024 has been a year notable for challenges and changes. It began with a strategic re-envisioning exercise that produced a decision to close the Concepción office and concentrate operations in Santiago, a process that will be complete by the end of the year. Another major change comes with the retirement of two key members of the team, Rosario Castillo and María Teresa Fuentealba. You’ll read about their legacy in this Update.
You’ll also see that, despite institutional and personnel change, EPES has maintained a steady pace of work on behalf of health and dignity for the Chilean people. You’ll read of important developments in the programmatic area of food sovereignty and community gardens, continuing Spanish-language training for Haitian women, and of the way EPES’ International Course on Popular Education and Participatory and Community Strategies for Health (the Escuela) continues to extend its influence beyond Chile’s borders. A more recent initiative has to do with the rights of senior citizens, with activities in both Concepción and Santiago, including murals, exercise programs, and workshops on such topics as self-care, digital technology, active aging, and visual health.
Finally, on a more somber note, you’ll read of the loss of three important members of the EPES family: Carol Larkin and Sheila Dauer of the AHA board, and Vicky Norambuena, of the Concepción team. Three new scholarships have been established in their names to be awarded to students of the XIV Escuela in 2025. Vicky died just last month, and it is particularly tragic that she did not survive to be with us this month for the formal closure of the Concepción center and celebration of its history and accomplishments. All three will be sorely missed. We are as saddened by their deaths as we were enriched and gladdened by their presence in life.
Once again, thank you so much for accompanying us on this journey, and for all you do to support EPES’ critical work for health and dignity in Chile.
Be as kind to yourselves as you are to others.We need you. In solidarity and peace,
Christina Mills MD FRCPC
P.S. If you would like to donate directly to one of the scholarship funds, please put Carol, Sheila or Vicky’s name in the memo portion of your check or in the additional comments field online. Gracias!
Action for Health in the Americas 