Projects in full swing

Hi everyone, sorry it's been so long between updates, we've been quite busy working on projects, side projects and getting accustomed to the way things are done here in Peru.

Tuesday morning, we began a side project in the morning. Maysa and myself went while Jasmine worked in the hospital project in the morning. We got picked up at 7am by a man our papa calls "El Alcalde", Wilbur.  Alcalde means mayor, and he's not the mayor of Cusco, but all we can tell is that he has a huge heart, desire to help those with the greatest need, and some sort of connection to Cusco's regional government. Our drive was over an hour out of Cusco along a newly opened road, through a mountainous countryside to a land where it looks like time has left behind. The people work on hillsides, cultivating potatoes and anything else that will grow. In a meeting we had on Monday morning with Wilbur and our papa, Wilbur said he seeks out the poorest of the poor, those who have nothing, as his primary emphasis in helping the local and regional communities. We visited a few of these families. The first house we went to was that of a man and his son. His son is 9 years old, and so malnourished that he looks to be about 5 or 6, and is so lacking in nourishment that he can hardly speak. The boy did have a small radio and was very proud to show us that he knew how get music on it. The man and his son very some of the most humble people we've ever met, and we're going to bring supplies to them this coming Monday, when we return with Wilbur.

Us with the man and little boy in front of their house

We were posing for a picture and the pigs got up, startling the little boy

Their water supply

The man and boy with one of their dogs

The next woman we met has a husband in the hospital recovering after a surgery, but has no money to pay for his medications. We're hoping to get a list of the ones he needs tomorrow, so we can purchase them for her and bring them to him in the hospital.

Then, we sat down for a meeting with the community leaders of the campesino, and some engineers from the regional government while they discussed projects to put bathrooms in every household, and make their water system more efficient, as there are households in the community without water. Wilbur said if the locals can find a way to make sand for the adobe to build the bathrooms, that the government would buy it from them as part of the material cost. The proposed project cost is 413,000 soles, or about US$153,000.

The next family we visited was a few minutes walk off of the dirt road that runs through the campesino. They don't have ready access to water, and have to travel up into the hills and bring water back in buckets. The inside of their home had a small fire pit going, sooty walls, and almost no visibility. The man we took photos with was both physically and mentally disabled. He has some sort of neurological condition that prevents him from speaking well, he is physically unable to walk, very thin, most likely malnourished, and suffers from severe mental retardation. I'm getting shaky just revisiting the scene in this post. What I feel for this poor man I've never felt before and can't describe with words. When we go back on Monday, he'll have the clothes off of my back if that's what he wants. Thinking about it overwhelms me with grief.

Their home

Inside of their house

Their supplies for cooking

You can only see this stuff because of the flash. It was so dark inside the household. The walls are black from the soot, there is a constant fire going to keep the house warm because it gets so cold up here.

This man lives in the house and is very ill. He was scared, and wanted Zach's clothes. We'll come back next week and bring them warm clothes, food, and supplies.

The rest of the family. The woman to Maysa's left was crying when we left. She was very sad, but appreciative that we are going to help them out.

The outside of their home.

Our final stop was the primary school in the community that our papa, Cirilo, designed as the lead engineer. The children and teachers were very happy to see us, all of the preschool and kindergarten kids came up to us and shook our hands in greeting. We spoke with the teachers to get some idea of their needs, and they said the most pressing need is a photocopier. To make copies of the children's schoolwork, they have to travel over an hour to Cusco. Also, one of the teachers said they need hair clippers and scissors to cut the children's hair at school, so they don't have to go to Cusco for haircuts. They are compiling a list of other needs that we should get either today or tomorrow, so we can purchase supplies for them over the weekend.

With the kindergarten kids and one of the teachers

The slides in the playground were donated by other volunteers

First and second graders with Wilbur "El Alcalde"

Third and fourth grade class

The 6th grade class. Next year they'll be at another school.

Check out the Peru album on Maysa's Facebook for more pictures of the school and the rural community we went to.

The name of the hospital that Jasmine and Maysa are working at is called Hospital San Juan de Dios, and the orphanage I work at is called Remar. The orphanage is one of four run by the same people. There's a rehabilitation program for men with drug and alcohol issues, one for young school girls, one for teenage girls, and the one I work at is predominately orphaned schoolboys from 5-14 years old, but there are a few autistic kids, one child with downs, three girls, the mother of three of the kids and two other women that help. Yesterday I brought them 4.5 kilos of laundry detergent, which Roxanna, the mother and head of the house, told me will last approximately three weeks. I also gave them each a children's vitamin, which I plan on doing every day I volunteer there. Today I need to bring some food though, as they might not have had enough food for dinner. There are two girls at the orphanage volunteering with me, but from different programs. One is from Toronto, the other I think is from Germany. They don't speak hardly any Spanish. Oh well. The kids seem to like me, but there is so much need.

Off to the market to pick up some food for my project today. Take care everybody!

- Z