a gift for christmas

A few months ago, a family friend, Mr. Hal, emailed and asked if there was any way he could help the kids I worked with in Peru.  I contacted Lidia, the director of the IVHQ program in Lima, and we talked about what we could get the kids.  We talked about getting them toys or clothes, but in the end decided on blankets.  Toys and clothes break and are grown out of, but a blanket can last a lifetime.  And for these people, it probably will.  With the money Mr. Hal donated, we bought all the children in the Wawa Wasis program (a daycare program for working mothers located in Pachacutec,  the shantytown surrounding Lima) a blanket.  

About 100 children received a blanket a few days ago.  These children are  mostly from families that have one parent, whom works many hours every day.  They are put in the government run Wawa Wasi program that provides  three nutritious meals a day, vitamin supplements, and development testing to the children.  They spend almost all of their time in these daycares.  For a mother working to support her children, there is most likely not going to be extra money for presents, new clothes, or even a blanket.  These children appreciate the simplets of gifts.  

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These blankets will be used until they are worn to rags (and then they will probably be used as rags).

A sweet caregiver with her little ones.

Proud baby with her blanket!

A group picture of all the kids, caregiver, and volunteers in one of the Wawa Wasis.

Current volunteers with IVHQ giving out the blankets bought with the donation from Mr. Hal.

A happy Wawa Wasi caregiver with her blanket and some of  the little ones she watches.

I am so grateful for those who have donated throughout my journey to Peru and back.  After getting to know these kids, and caregivers, I've come to realize just how beautiful each and everyone of them are.  Each of them is the face of Jesus. Every donation throughout that last year and a half has helped these children in numerous ways.

hate is a strong word

I'm sure everyone has been told at least once that hate is a very strong word and to be careful how they use it.  Well today, I used it, and I meant it.  Saturdays are usually a day off for us, but today we got to go to Pachacutec with a woman from Lima who had gathered donations for the women of the Wawa Wasi Program.  The Wawa Wasi Program is a government supported child care system.  These are houses that single working mothers can drop their child at to be watched, and the mother only has to pay 2 soles a day, which is about 70 cents.  These children are fed three meals a day and nutritional supplements to make sure they are getting all the needed nutrients.  They are also tested to make sure they are  developmentally at the right place.  

The women who watch these children and their mothers have become a community.  Today, as we met the mothers and some of the women who watch the children, the love that these women have for each other became apparent.  The caregivers love each of the children they watch as their own.  The mothers, young and old, one child or seven, form a community.  As we waited for the donations to arrive, we all introduced ourselves and told some basic information.  As I watched these women interact, I saw the love they have for each other.  They understand the struggles each one of them goes through daily and they are there for each other.  These women are truly beautiful.

The young moms, just 18 or 19 years old, look young.  The ones who have a few more years under their belt, look many many years older.  I think that five years of raising children in Pachacutec must age you at least 20 years.  I was shocked at the ages of some of the women, thinking them older.  This just shows the trials they go through daily, and of the strength they truly have.

Riding home, the conversation came to what we think of Pachacutec.  I said I hate it.  This place, a place full of beautiful hardworking men and women, is a place of no opportunities.  As we were handing out the donations, it hit all of the volunteers at the same time.  We did not want to be doing this. It was horrible.  The women all needed, there was not enough for everyone to have one of everything.

The women and their children were all seated in a line, we were to go up and down handing out the items.  There were not enough blankets, what do you tell the woman with her hand out for a blanket?  How do you say sorry, you should have sat one seat to your left, then you would ahve gotten that last blanket. We only had a few winter jackets, how do you decide who gets one?  The ones asking loudly or the ones sitting back nicely like we asked?  Which one need it more, the one voicing their need, or the one too ashamed to ask, too polite to say what they really need.  It was not something I would do again.

This is what brought on my hate for Pachacutec.  I do not hate the people.  One of the ladies asked before the donations arrived, what we thought of Pachacutec.  I told her the truth.  It is full to the brim of hardworking, respectable, caring people.  It's the place I hate.  It makes these women do things they should never have to do.  No one should have to let go of their dignity and beg for a jacket.  These are the women who are well off, there are others who do not have that support system.  I can only imagine what others have had to do to support their families, of the dignity they have lost.

Driving through Pachacutec.

Back To Volunteering!

So, I've had a full week of volunteering. The first day after I got back from Colombia, I got to help finish a project they had been working on the whole time I was gone. We finished building a house for a woman who runs a wawa wasi (a government sponsored program, where single moms can drop off their children to be watched while they work). This woman had a house, but it was horribly run down, and the area where the kids stayed was really dirty and dangerous. She had a piece of land beside her house, but didn't have money to build anything. While I was gone, they got the concrete floor laid. The day after I got back, we got to the house and they had put up the walls, and we watched as they put up the tin roof. The woman who we were building the house for was so gracious, and invited us into her house for lunch. She made us chicken and rice, and very traditional Peruvian dish.

Before After

That Friday, we got to take a group of seven students from the school we teach at in Pachacutec out on the town for a day. It was one of my favorite days so far, because we really got to know the children. They came to our house with Soleded at about ten in the morning. Once we all got introduced, we set out for the zoo. It's about a 30 minute walk form the house, so we decided to walk it. We spent a few hours looking at all the animals. Once the kids were practically being dragged around by us because they were so tired (even the one who hadn't taken a breath all day was sitting on the ground every chance he got), we left the zoo and took them to get lunch. We gave them a choice between pizza and chicken. Guess what they chose..chicken. Never in America would kids choose to eat chicken over pizza. Lidia suggested we take them to Mireflores, the really nice area of Lima. So, we got a bus to Mireflores to go eat lunch at Norky's. Norky's is a middle of the road chicken and chips restaurant. When we got to the restaurant, I realized that most of them had never been to Mireflores, and none of them had been to Norky's. They were so cute all sitting around the huge table. When the food came, they ate and ate and ate. They were even amazed by the hand dryers in the bathrooms (which were enough to awe them by themselves). After lunch we took the to Larcomar, a park on the coast that overlooks the beach. The kids literally ran to the railing, and it was so precious. After that, we took them to Tottus, a Walmart like store and let them pick out clothes or shoes. One of the girls came out of the dressing room with her shirts on, and her face had the biggest smile I have even seen. It is things like these, their reactions to the bathroom and the view of the beach that make me appreciate my life and all the blessings God has given me.

The kids at Norky's Group picture

Looking out at the coast Fountain fun

Last weekend was a slow one, I got caught up on sleep and unpacking. We also went to a Japanese Peruvian festival where I tried some really disgusting Japanese desserts. On Sunday, we went shopping in the afternoon, and I went to mass at 8:00pm. Don't worry though, I managed to mkae it home between shopping and mass for pizza!

Japanese desserts..yum:)

I went back to my normal schedule once the new week started. Monday Semillitos, Tuesday Pachacutec and La Punta, Wednesday San Antonio's, and Thursday Pachacutec and La Punta again, and today back to San Antonio's.

I had a ton of fun Wednesday at San Antonio's. I'm still trying to convince my parents to adopt one little boy. I'd be happy if there are any other takers… His name is Joni, and he is amazing. Out of all the kids, I think he is the only one who really remembered me from my time there before my trip to Colombia. When he came in the room his face lit up and he ran over and gave me the biggest hug. He knows my name now, and gives me kisses on the cheek all the time. I wish I had a picture to show you all, because you would fall in love with him too. One of the downs babies in that room is also adorable. He is so aware and wants to play with the other kids so bad. He can finally walk really well on his own, and moves around the room quite a bit. He tries to play with them sometimes, but the kid like to pick on him. One kids in particulare likes to lay his whole body on him and bite his ear. I noticed this happening Wednesday, and I looked at the mom and she was just sitting there watching. She didn't care and it made me so mad. When I went over to pick him up, he was crying. When he cries and gets made he dosen't make any noise, but tears flow from his little eyes, and he clenches up his whole body. He ended up letting me hold him for almost 45 minutes. I would take him home with me too If I could.

Pachacutec and La Punta were a ton of fun. Tuesday we gave the girls at La Punta hair wraps, they LOVED them. Thursday when we went back, they had all cut them out. Supposedly, from what I could undertand, they weren't allowed to keep them in. But, when we asked where they went they all pulled them out from their pockets. It was so cute. There are only 7 girls there right now, and Jessica has left.

Jessica is one of the girls I got rather close to. She was put in the house by her parents becasue she kept sneaking out to go to parties. She told me that they were harmless parties, but I think they must not have been so innocent or she wouldn't have been there. Jessica really wanted to go home. One day she asked me to call her dad for her and ask him to call her at the home. They weren't allowed to come visit her, so she had no way to communicate with them. I said maybe, and came home to talk to Lidia about it. Lidia said I could, but I should make sure it was actually her dad. When I wrote her a note asking if it really was him, she never wrote back (I was in Colombia at this point) so I'm assuming she either got to go home soon after I left for Colombia or it wasn't really her dad. All I can do now is hope and pray that she is happy and safe. Jocelyn is still there, and as full of life as ever. Her best friend has left, and I think she might be a bit sad. But, sadly, their used to having people they grow close to leave them.

I LOVE Peru. Especially when it involves going to go see Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows or Harry Potter y las Reliquias de la Muerte as it says in our movie theaters. Because being in Peru means I got to see it a DAY BEFORE everyone in the US! Yes, you heard that right, Harry Potter came out on the 18th here. We were lucky enough to be able to find a theater that was showing the movie in English too! So, as the hour approached we got our robes, hats, and wands (really black clothes, construction paper hats, and sticks off a tree) ready to go. We glittered our hats, colored in our Gryffindor badges with crayons, and put string on our hats to keep them on. We got to the movie theater 2 hours ahead, and there was almost no one there, nothing compared to the US. There were maybe two lines of people. No one else was dressed up, and our costumes got applauded when we walked past everyone. But, out mindset was that we already get stared at enough so whats wrong with standing out just a bit more? Minus well give them something worthwhile to look at:) Once they finally let us in, I went and got my survival kit: popcorn, skittles, and a coke. By the time they actually started the movie (they dimmed the lights and turned them BACK on twice after midnight when the movie was supposed to start) most of my supplies were gone, but I was just ready to see the movie. So the lights dimmed, and the famous music came on, and the rest is history…

Amazing costumes right? We really wore them..look at the first picture. That's us playing cards in the middle of our line. We did have people take pictures of us.

I'm going to meet my grandparents tonight at the airport! We're going to be in Lima tomorrow and then fly to Cuzco Sunday to see Machu Picchu. Pictures coming soon! I can't wait to see them!