From the

Official News Magazine of the Diocese of Spokane

Pullman parish’s support of Guatemala radio station sets high standard

by Jerry Monks, for the Inland Register

(From the Aug. 22, 2002 edition of the Inland Register)

Forty years ago, Father John Rompa took the bold step of inaugurating a religious and educational radio station in the newly formed Spokane Mission area in Sololá, Guatemala. While the young priest from Holland was not a broadcasting technologist, he did recognize the potential for radio communication in the remote area surrounding the mission village of Nahualá. His parishioners were scattered throughout miles of steep mountainous terrain, most of which lacked even roads. With no phones, radio was one of the most feasible ways of communicating with the thousands of Mayan Indians living in the region.

In 1962, after three years of operation, Sister Janet Druffel, a School Sister of Notre Dame, assumed responsibility for operation of the Nahualá radio station. Sister Janet had more than a passing interest in the success of the Spokane mission in the mountains of Northern Guatemala. Her determination was almost kinship in nature, for as a child her hometown was Colton, Wash.

For more than 35 years, Sister Janet helped guide the radio station programming, outreach and business affairs to the point where her name became synonymous with the “Voice of Nahualá.” This has not gone unnoticed by the people of the Palouse, where Sister Janet grew up.

Year after year, Sacred Heard Parish in Pullman has supported the operation of the Voice of Nahualá. As was true last year, their contributions for the July 1, 2001-June 30, 2002 fiscal year were at 100 percent of the budgeted amount allocated to the radio station by the Diocese of Spokane.

Other parishes outside the city of Spokane joined with Sacred Heart in providing nearly 70 percent of the mission support offered by parishes of the diocese. Augmenting the $3,788 from Sacred Heart was support for health programs from St. Mary of the Rosary in Chewelah ($2,604), Holy Rosary in Pomeroy ($1,500), and St. Agnes in Ritzville ($950). St. Patrick Parish in Pasco ($3,698) and St. Patrick Parish in Walla Walla ($750) helped with salaries for Sister Immaculata Burke and Sister Marie Tolle, while St. Rose of Lima in Cheney directed their contribution ($2,617) to pastoral activities. Seminarians in Sololá received help from St. Patrick in Pasco ($2,694), and St. Patrick in Walla Walla ($1,050).

Parishes within the city of Spokane also supported a wide range of mission activities.

Health program support came from the Cathedral of Our Lady of Lourdes ($3,000), and St. Mary Parish ($11,977). St. Augustine Parish continued its long-standing maintenance of the school in Nahuala ($5,849), and Our Lady of Fatima its long-standing support for the school in Tzamjuyub ($12,000). Seminarian help from Spokane parishes came from St. Patrick ($1,092), Our Lady of Fatima ($3,776), and Sacred Heart ($30).

Individual donations from nearly 40 contributors were also of significant help in reaching the total income of $67,310 for the fiscal year. Chief among those was a generous donation of $4,500 from a nearby Idaho resident. Also of note were 19 donations made in memory of Father James McGreevy, who died on April 18th. Father McGreevy served in Guatemala in the late 1960s and again in the late 1970s. Donations in his memory totaled $942.

In addition to the financial amounts shown in the chart, several parishes have helped in other ways. Some parishes, such as St. Patrick in Pasco, have sent volunteers who helped complete projects in the mission. Other parishes supplied industrial equipment, medical supplies, and liturgical items. Parishioners from St. Thomas More (as well as from other parishes in the Diocese) continued their support for the self-sufficiency training of approximately 120 extremely poor families in the mission area. Their assistance of $30 per month for each family, plus other project support, was channeled through the Family-To-Family program, which coordinates its activities with other programs of the diocese. This support, when added to the $67,310 from above, brings the total Diocese support to well over $100,000 for the past fiscal year.

Parishes that are not currently supporting the mission but are interested in initiating some plan of support are encouraged to contact the Guatemala Commission at the diocese’s Catholic Pastoral Center, P.O. Box 1453, Spokane, WA 99210-1453

(Jerry Monks is a member of the Diocese of Spokane’s Guatemala Commission.)

For the 2001-2002 fiscal year, the income from contributions of $67,310 was 78 percent of the budgeted expenses of $86,640. Levels of support for the nine budget categories, after adjustments and allocation of unrestricted contributions, were as follows:

The first item in each line is the budget category, followed by the amount budgeted, and then the percentage of that amount received.

Colegio Nahuala: $15,600, 40%
Health & Clinics: $24,000, 96%
Salaries: $9,600; 79%
Pastoral: $5,040; 52%
Radio Station: $3,600; 100%
Catechist Office: $1,800; 56%
Sr. of Eucharist: $2,400; 100%
Seminarians: $10,200; 85%
Tzamjuyub School: $14,400; 83%

Total: $86,640; 78%

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