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.