In Aruba, ayaca’s are made every year in November and December. These are small packages of cornmeal, chicken and vegetables, wrapped in banana leaves, a traditional Venezuelan and Antillean Christmas dish. Congregants of one of the churches we are in contact with make this together. This is necessary, because the church building, which is an old house that has been adapted several times, is bursting at the seams and is in need of a makeover. This church also organizes a youth club every Saturday evening, picks up children from San Nicolas every Sunday morning and plans to start an after-school care center so that single mothers can go or continue to work.
On Sunday mornings during the service, more than 25 children with supervisors are crammed into a room that is half the size of our living room. Everything is working out so far, but let’s be honest, it is definitely not ideal. And so, a number of adults in the congregation have stepped up to help raise funds. It’s really heart-warming to see how this is done. A beautiful example of being each other’s hands and feet. Everyone does something.
Hanneke and I were invited to come and help make ayaca’s. We had already tasted them and were excited to learn more about making them. When we arrived at the church, the worship music was already playing loudly and we were pushed into a conveyor belt of people. Everyone performed their own task. This is how I learned exactly how big a ball of cornmeal should be and how it should be crushed. My neighbor then rolled it out even more precisely. Her neighbor put an exact amount of seasoned chicken on the dough and Hanneke, who was sitting next to her, pushed cashew nuts, capers and olives between the chicken in specific places. The package of dough was then neatly folded and wrapped in two banana leaves, after which it was tied with string into a nice package. One hundred and ninety pieces was the score at the end of the evening. Working hard on Sunday evening. But so cozy!
