Migrant ministry using virtual tech to reach isolated farm workers

Through the use of technology, Vancouver’s migrant ministry is finding creative ways to stay in touch with farm workers who are isolated due to COVID-19 .

“Farm owners want to keep them isolated so that no one is infected,” said Father Richard Zanotti, director of the archdiocese’s Migrant Ministry and pastor of Our Lady of Sorrows Parish in Vancouver.

“Farm owners are very protective of their farm workers because everything depends on them.”

Father Zanotti said the whole agriculture industry survives on these workers, as they do jobs no one else in Canada was willing to do.

“They [government] discovered that the temporary farm workers are essential workers because nobody else will work the fields and hothouses as they do.”

He noted there were some job ads for these positions and “very few people showed up.”

But the isolation has taken its toll on the workers, many of whom have come from Mexico or Guatemala to work on B.C. farms. Farm owners organize transportation for them so they can attend medical appointments or buy groceries with minimal possible exposure to the virus.

“There is a lot of loneliness and stress on their part.”

“It is very hard for them because they are not allowed to go out,” said Sister Karina Farias, CMT.

“They are far away from home and their families in Mexico are suffering too ... They have fathers, brothers, sisters, and everything, and they are worried for them.”

Staying connected

Sister Farias checks in with farm workers regularly using Whats App – the same app many of them use to communicate with loved ones back home.

“They want somebody to listen,” she explained. “You create a community you can trust, and they trust in us and they share their lives.”

Her ministry has prepared videos for personal formation that they share with workers over the app. These include clips on marriage, communication, sacraments, faith, and how to live in the COVID-19 pandemic.

“We encourage them to study the Bible and pray,” she said. They have also organized virtual rosaries over Zoom to help connect with the workers.

“It is very difficult for us too because we have to reorganize our ministry and find new ways to reach out to them.”

The migrant ministry is a parish-based initiative, which means each parish takes on its own activities. There are six parishes in the archdiocese providing ministry to farm workers.

The ministry also works with other organizations to provide support including the Umbrella Clinic and Mosaic, as well as the Mexican Consulate.

“Church is an opportunity to embrace them, to welcome them, and to care for them,” Sister Farias said.

“When we care for the worker, we care for the whole family in Mexico and Guatemala, because they are fathers and mothers and this experience helps us to transform the whole family, not only one person.”

Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, parishes would offer Masses in Spanish and meals for the workers. Father Zanotti said about 50-100 people would participate, with the meal giving them time to socialize with one another.

The ministry has been hoping they can re-connect with the workers in person soon.

“We are trying to see if we can open and start celebrating Mass again because they are asking for that.”