around the hood

Some days just don’t seem to let up… Today I started the day in the office- a few orders of business to take care of before heading off to do some traveling with my brothers!  After tying up some loose ends I headed out with Ana (host mom) to take a closer look at the houses that Tommy and I are going to be working on!  I figure before I wrap up my time here I should really get my hands dirty…dirtier…  These visits never cease to break my heart. 

The front of Juan Carlos' house made of straw

First we stopped at the home of precious Juan Carlos.  Juan Carlos lost the use of his legs due to polio.  He never asks for any hand outs and works incredibly hard teacher other handicapped members of the community and the men in the rehabilitation center how to weave furniture.  Inspirational!  I couldn’t believe it when we walked into his house- dirt floor, one table, his bed, and a “dresser” aka a suitcase that all of his clothes fit into.  It was without a doubt the emptiest house I have ever seen- and the cleanest (which is very impressive seeing as thought he is limited to his wheel chair).  But boy was it lacking.  My heart breaks for people here.  Some of the living conditions are just devastating and then to add a physical handicap to the situation… WOW.  It gave me a whole new appreciation for the services offered in the states.  By no means does Juan Carlos have a handicap accessible home.  In his bathroom he cannot bathe, he has rigged up a laundry system, and uses that same space for his water source where gets his water to cook.  

Juan Carlos in his bathroom

What we are hoping to do for Juan Carlos is provide a safe home.  A front wall made of brick rather than straw that can resist the bullets from the gang violence in his neighborhood, a bathroom where he can bathe properly, and a cement floor so it is easier for him to maneuver in his own home.  He was so gracious when I went to his home, this is a man that is always smiling and does not let his disability slow him down even despite the incredible challenges he is faced with daily. 

Sweet Milagros in the back of her house

Cute host mom Ana in the hallway of Milagros' home - note the floor and walls...

On to the next...  The second house we visited, the home of Carmen Hoyos, grandmother of Milagros  (11) was just as devastating.  Milagros was physically handicapped since birth.  She has no feeling below her waist and has an abnormally large head due to Hydrocephalus (excessive cerebral fluid in the brain).  Her mother left to seek work in Spain and earn a better wage to send money home to Milagros.  However her mother did not find the opportunities in Spain she had hoped for and now is hardly scraping by.  Her daughter is left in the care of her grandmother who already lives in a house with 8 other people.  Carmen is hoping to receive a front wall as well; she too lives in a bad neighbor hood.  Her concern is that she works at night.  Carmen works cleaning the streets.  She earns a mere 50 soles a week.  Did I mention that Milagros wears diapers, there are 16 diapers to a pack, Milagros goes through 4 diapers a day and the diapers cost 25 soles per pack… you do the math…  After visiting the house with Ana it was clear that their family needs not just a brick wall but a floor.  Milagros uses a wheel chair but due to the lack of paved roads and sidewalks here the wheels on her chair are breaking.  It is difficult for her to move around in her home because they have a dirt floor covered in a fine layer of pebbles.  Milagros did not make one complaint in the time that I was there she has grown accustom to the challenges she faces and has just one wish… She hopes to walk by the time she turns 15.  Which would truly be a miracle.  I know that I cannot grant Milagros her biggest wish but I am hoping to provide for her a home that makes her handicap less of an obstacle.

The whole gang- 9 people in 2 rooms

There is much that I continue to learn here simply from observing.  I will be sure to keep you updated as we begin working on these homes!

appreciation

Something that I have always admired about my parents and grandparents is the wonderful example of hospitality that they demonstrate.  In April due to various issues I switched host families.  It has made a world of difference in my experience here and has introduced some amazing people into my life.  Ana, my new host mom has welcomed me into her home with more hospitality than I could have ever dreamed of.  After two days in her home I felt more comfortable than after two months in my first home.  Ana is one of the most genuine and caring people that I have ever met, it’s quite inspirational actually.   

                      (Maria in our kitchen!)
Anyone from home would stereotype Ana’s house as a home of a very poor family.   She makes just enough to live comfortably but gives back to her community in so many ways.  Ana is a social worker and spends her day working among the poorest of the poor.  She walks all over the neighborhood visiting people in their homes and determines what they need and where support should be distributed.  She is so passionate about her work and helping the people in the community it’s amazing.  Here is a prime example. 

Meet Maria, a hard working single mother of six.  Maria came into Ana´s life a few months ago.  One of the tutors in the parish library told Ana that Stephanie (Maria’s daughter) was sleeping through morning tutoring and not completing her class work.  Ana stopped into the library and talked to Stephanie. She asked her why she was so tired and why she wasn’t working.  Stephanie told Ana that she was too tired and too hungry.  Stephanie hadn’t eaten dinner the night before or breakfast that morning.  Ana proceeded to ask why her mother hadn’t come to the parish and ask for help.  Stephanie told Ana that her mom works all day and was too embarrassed to ask for help.  Ana sought out Maria and asked her why she didn’t come ask for help.  Maria told her the same, that she was working all day and late into the night and was too embarrassed to ask for help.  Ana told her that it is better to be embarrassed than to have kids that aren’t eating.  When asked about her work Maria told Ana that she was working as a cleaning lady at a nearby house.  Cleaning the 3 story house- earning 5 soles a day (that’s about 1.80 in American dollars daily) that’s 35 soles a week to feed her and her 6 children and pay for rent.  In the evenings she worked cleaning a restaurant for a few additional soles.  Needless to say she wasn’t making enough to put food on the table or to pay rent.  She was kicked out of her house and forced to sleep on the street with her children. 

For the past several months Ana has employed Maria.  Out of Ana’s very minimal pay she supports Maria.  Maria cleans the first level of the house and prepares breakfast and lunch.  Ana taught Maria how to cook and now she prepares lunch for our home and prepares and delivers lunches for a group of individuals that cannot go home for lunch.  With Ana’s help Maria is earning more money, learning life skills, and has the afternoons to spend with her young kids.  With Ana´s help she is now eligible to receive food from one of the parish comedors (food kitchens) and someone donated money to buy land and build a small estera(straw)house for her and her family.

(The front of Maria's house, constructed with a material called estera)  

I went with Ana on morning house visits and she took me to Maria’s house.  It’s a pretty far trek from the parish.  We arrived at her small wooden door supported by straw walls.  We knocked on the door until Maria’s daughter Saudi answered.  Saudi is 15, if Ana would not have told me that I would have assumed that she was no more than 8 years old.  She is tiny.  She never went to school because she spent her days taking care of her younger siblings.  She is now in the first grade and studying at a special school on the weekends.  She showed us around the house a bit.  It consisted of dirt floors (incredibly wet due to the humidity), a few beds, a few buckets of water, a ton of trash, a chicken and a duck.  No furniture, no place to sit, no place to eat, no place to study.  That was it, a wet dirt floor and straw walls. 

(this is the main living space in Maria's house)

 (Host mom Ana (left) friend Charro (right)& Maria's son Jonathan)

(this is the floor of Maria's house- humid/wet, covered in trash)

                  (Saudi-15 and Lizabeth- 1 1/2)

         (Cute cute cute but verrrrry naughty Patty-4)

I picked up Lizabeth, Maria’s 1 ½ year old daughter who was caked in dirt and immediately set her down- no diaper- and she had an accident.  Saudi scooped her up and wrapped a rag around her little bum and put her in a pair of pants.  No diaper, no wipes, no underwear. 

It was very humbling to see the conditions in which Maria lives.  She is such a loving & happy woman.  Every morning she greets me with a great big hug and smile.  She is so caring and cheerful despite her living situation, she appreciates what she has. 

I feel so blessed to have the opportunity to work among people like Ana.  When I asked Ana about Maria’s story she said, “Markie, we are poor.  But Maria, and the others, they are really really poor.”  She has so much passion to help those suffering around her.  Day in and day out she works to improve the community.  She see’s the desperation and suffering and remains positive and works effectively.  I feel very fortunate that Ana and Maria have come into my life.  I am learning so much from this experience.  It seems that living simply like so many of these people do gives a greater appreciation for many things in life.  How many times have we sat back and appreciated that we have a table to eat at, nutritious meals, and a floor that’s not made of dirt?  It’s been a pretty big reality check to say the least.  I hope that something I take home from this experience is taking the time to appreciate what I’ve been given and to live more simply. 

great expectations

Hello people long time no talk.  I haven’t exactly had a lack of writing material I simply was having a difficult time putting my experience into words. I arrived in Peru thinking that I would dive right into my volunteer experience and immediately feel like the work I was doing is appreciated and contributing to making a difference.  In the past few weeks I have felt that the work I am doing is not especially effective and the results are most definitely not immediate and not necessarily appreciated.  I’d been hit with an overwhelming feeling of ¨What the heck am I doing here? And why am I here for six months?”  Recently I have been thinking about these two questions, A LOT.  So this is what I’ve come up with. 

I was informed upon arrival that the work I would be doing would not be as hands as the typical “volunteer experience.”  My job position here is the Volunteer Program Assistant- meaning that I help coordinate the short-term groups and check in with long-term volunteers among other responsibilities.  I came here knowing some aspects of the position but also with the expectations of working with my hands, interacting with the people and really making a difference.  After some thinking ultimately I decided to change my attitude- DUH.  Despite the fact that the program wasn’t what I anticipated or that my expectations didn’t meet the rave reviews of the volunteers I had met in the past, there are plenty of things that I witness here that I can attribute to a meaningful experience.

For example: 

This week is Semana Santa- Holy Week.  Today in the parish there was a special mass for the blessing of the ill- I do believe it is called anointing of the sick.  There was a big banner strung up that read, “Estuve enfermo y me visitaste” meaning I was sick and you visited me.  In addition to the banner all of the pews from the church were brought out into a big open area in the parish as well as a ton of extra chairs and benches.  At 3:00 people started filling in- it wasn’t just ordinary people filing in either.  It was people in wheel chairs, people limping, people being escorted, and parish workers carrying people who couldn’t walk and didn’t have wheelchairs to move from the vans to their chairs.  It was something else watching this happen.

 (This is a picture at mass Father Jack is blessing a tiny little woman- every person who came received their blessing)

(Here is a close up of a typical wheelchair here- a plastic chair rigged up to some bike wheels... the chair on the right was a donation)

(Here is a picture of two men carrying in a man who cannot walk- he doesnt have a wheelchair so they put him in a chair and carried him in)


Really, I mean come on- here I am whining about my “expectations” when there are people who can’t walk and can’t afford wheelchairs but they are seemingly content and happy simply to be at mass receiving a blessing.  What I have come to realize is that these are the moments to focus on.  Focus on the moments that are meaningful, the moments that make you give thanks, the moments that take you by surprise.  Simply by redirecting where my energy is going I have already had a better week.  While I may not be getting my hands dirty or interacting as directly as I had hoped I know not to spend my time focusing on what I’m not doing but rather what I am.  I am helping other people have meaningful and effective experiences here.  It is so easy to get brought down by the negative but when we get sucked into it we miss out on the positive things occurring despite the bad.  This trip continues to be a learning and growing experience for me. 

Day in the life

Everyday as I walk to the paroquia more and more people greet me by name or call out “Hola Gringa” smiles and waves are constant.  It is really pretty funny.  I was super tired this morning (everyone just so happens to comment on that too) and was heading into the paroquia as I passed two young kids probably 3 and 4 skipping to school laughing and singing.  Before I knew it I had two new friends one clinging to each hand and we ran and sang all the way to their classrooms in the parish.  Mind you these kids live in homes made of straw with no running water yet they were some of the happiest cutest kids I’d ever seen.  It was the perfect way to start my day.

(Some of the excited kids as the gringos entered the library)

Well it was another 24 hours without Internet this time unintentionally- there was no electricity from 7:00 am – 6:00 pm… but a nice break again nonetheless.  Imagine what a day in the U.S. would be like without electricity- many places function because of generators- but for others their lives are on hold because they can’t watch t.v, check email or face book.  Here you can barely tell the difference unless you reach to turn on a light switch or need to use a computer.  My job is somewhat computer oriented so I found other things to do.  I spent the morning in the “cuna.”  It is the daycare at the parish.  It is nothing like the daycare in the U.S.  It is a big open room and in one corner there is a toilet and sink that the few potty-trained kids would use with no shame.  In the other corner there was the snack table- not exactly sanitary…  But the kids know no different and were happy to have another person to cling to.  After the morning in la cuna I headed to English classes at one of the parish libraries.  Don’t get the wrong idea- the library couldn’t have had more than 100 books.  I didn’t teach the class, I participated, but mostly I observed.  One of my responsibilities with my position is checking in weekly with each volunteer at all of the different locations.  I like this because I get to see all of the areas of the community that are receiving support from Los Amigos.  All in all the lack of power made for a good morning. 

Once back at the parish I headed to the gringo room- it is a room for volunteers there is filtered water, a bathroom with running water, a book exchange, and sometimes treats for the volunteers.  It is also the room where short-term volunteers eat their meals.  A woman called Maruja cooks their meals.  She is an excellent cook and makes enough for tons of volunteers, her hand are contorted with severe arthritis and she is blind.  And she speaks 5 languages.  Pretty amazing.  I speak to her in Spanish and she replies to me in English.  Today as I was on my way into the gringo room I stopped to chat with a few of the short-term volunteers.  Maruja came out of her kitchen and I greeted her with a “Hola Maruja Como estas? (hello, how are you)” and she responded with her thick accent, “will you rub my feet please?”  Ha how do you say no to a woman who does so much- so sure enough she took my chair (because she likes sitting in the sun) and had her feet on my lap within seconds.  Her feet are just as bad with arthritis as her hands. I guess this is probably one of the only times I’ll say I’m glad dad always made us rub his feet because Maruja thoroughly enjoyed her foot massage and showered me with thanks- she also made sure that I know she is selling purses in her kitchen.  So needless to say some of you will be getting Maruja purses for souvenirs… 

(This is Maruja and me- we are in the courtyard between her kitchen and the "gingo room.")

Everyday I meet someone new and am amazed by the extreme circumstances they are living in.  Not a day passes here without realizing how blessed and privileged my life is.  

L.A.M.A: Los Amigos Medical Aide

This week marked the third mission trip for the LAMA group.  The group consists of 46 people: doctors, nurses, dentists, pharmacist and several other helping hands.  A week before the group arrived tickets were distributed throughout the neighborhoods in Chimbote.  4,000 people received tickets, the ticket gave them the opportunity to come get a check up and receive medical attention for any problem they may have at the time.  In the span of 5 days approximately 3500 people received care.  Needless to say it was a chaotic week. 

I spent the week translating for one of the doctors, Dr. Lisa Bean, a 28 year old gynecologist from Pensacola FL, to be specific…  Let me tell you that I was translating about feminine issues that I didn’t even know how to describe in English- which lead to a few fits of laughter between Doc Bean and I. 

(This is me and Bean- i am sporting the ever so stylish red 2009 uniform shirt for the 5th day in a row...)

The week ended and I don’t know if I have ever been so exhausted.  Between the constant switching from Spanish to English, the constant flow of patients and the desperation of their cases made for a draining week.  I’ll try and paint the picture as best as I can.  The group was set up in a church that is connected to a clinic called Posta Santa Anna.  All of the LAMA volunteers were stationed in the actual church itself.  The day started at 8 am but the line outside the church began as early as 4 am, hundreds of Peruvians securing there time with the Gringo doctors.  Upon entering each person was weighed, got their blood pressure taken and received pill for parasites.  Then they waited… after waiting they were sent to triage with the nurses. There were ten nursing stations that consisted of a school desk, nurse, translator and patient.  The nurses got a general idea of what the patient needed, gave them vitamins, and sent them to the doctor they saw fit.  Now more waiting… this time outside of the doctors “offices.” There were 7 make shift wooden offices lining the church walls- each contained a light, an exam table, a desk (the kind you use in grade school), three chairs and a “door” that was actually a curtain.  Let me remind you that this is all inside of a church, a very small church.  Let me also remind you that when I refer to patients waiting for a doctor they are indeed waiting but it is not just the patient- they are waiting with their whole family- women and children mostly (never in my life have I seen so many nursing mothers- if there was a baby it was nursing).  The set up was a ZOO!  But it was as effective as it could be with the amount of people being seen. 

(this is the "office" as you can see the sanitation is well- nonexistent.)

The minute Dr. Bean saw her first patient of the day marked the last calm minute of the day.  Women entered her office, sat down and immediately starting spilling their problems.  After addressing their ailments that the nurses wrote down on their “chart” (aka half a sheet of loose leaf paper) they often came up with several new “illnesses” as the appointment progressed.  This aspect of the experience was frustrating because while you are working so hard to help the people in need- the people who literally have no access to medical care there was a great majority of people that were taking advantage of this opportunity.   Every woman came in complaining of either kidney, ovary, uterus, or liver pain… however when Dr. Bean had me ask them to point to where their pain was they really did not know where those specific body parts were located.  What they wanted was an ultrasound and any medicine they could get their hands on.  They were often very insistent and difficult about it.  We’d send them to get their ultrasound and sure enough the ultrasound tech would come back and they’d be healthy as a horse…   At first I wanted to sympathize with these women but after the first day and the repetition of the “problems” they had we had to work with our guard up so we weren’t sending these people home with medicine they didn’t actually need.  On another hand there were many women that actually did need help.  The most common problem these women had were infections, urinary and bacterial.  These infections are so frequent because of the extreme lack of sanitation and also lack of hydration.  If anyone has a yeast infection or UTI I’m positive that I’d been able to diagnose it after this week…  The second most common diagnosis was pregnancy.  Birth control of any kind here is uncommon- practically inexistent here.  The majority of the women who came into the office and were worried about pregnancies already had several children (typically in the room with them).  One woman we saw had a chart that said she thought she might be pregnant- well she sure was- no question about it, she was 6 months pregnant (and already had 4 kids under the age of 10).  It’s amazing how many resources these people lack.  The most basic sex education could help the population immensely- like Fr. Jack has reiterated education is the best way to help these people out of their current situation.  Another woman came in the office 36 weeks pregnant- she was 14.  Shortly after she came in another young woman at the age of 17 came in, pregnant with her second child, her first was just a year and a half.  It was hard seeing woman after woman come in with their arms full of children and their pockets completely empty.  These women are among the poorest of the poor.  They live in one room homes made out of estera (woven straw walls), dirt floors, and no plumbing.  Sanitation is obsolete and nutrition is scarce.  These families keep growing and they have no means to support themselves.  Their daily income is less than 2 dollars a day, that can barely cover one person let alone a whole family.

(this is a typical home this dirt floor, straw wall covered in a tarp, i took the photo from the "kitchen" a burner on a table, and the precious children you see in the pic all share this one bed- with their parents) BUT still manage to have something to smile about.

This week I was asked to be a madrina on four occasions.  Madrina is a godmother.  It is a little different than being a godmother in the states- it is more of a financial sponsor.  This was made very clear seeing as of the 4 women who asked me to be madrina none of them knew my name.  These women were just so desperate for a means to provide to their children.  Many of the women were single, husband have the tendency to leave when the goin gets tough.  It was a week of heartbreaking cases, and again a week of great appreciation for all the blessings in my life that I never realized I took for granted.  

Un desafío de internet

Today I went to mass for the first time since I think Christmas.  It was at 8:00 pm and was the second mass of the day.  It was packed- the pews overflowed with Peruvians and most of the volunteers.  While I don’t consider myself very religious- spiritual I suppose, I found myself leaving mass actually thinking about the homily.  I don’t know what is was exactly about this mass that got my attention maybe it was because it was in Spanish and in order to understand the message I had to pay that much more attention.  Regardless I found myself really hearing what Fr. Jack had to say.  First he read the story of Adam and Eve and followed with a homily about temptation.  He then challenged us to take a full 24 hours and commit to not using the Internet.  Do you think you could do it?  I was thinking how frequently I check email, facebook, and just dink around online… he said bye bye Internet see ya Tuesday- A test of both temptation and disconnection.  He spoke of how connected we are these days.  How communication has moved from snail mail where it would take two weeks to receive a letter in the states from Peru and another two weeks for a response, and today we are communicating instantaneously via Internet. 

So I committed the promise.  How I see it is- if people here live without running water, electricity, and lack many other necessities of life, I can for 24 steer clear of Internet.  I can focus on being here rather than being here and at home.  There have already been immediate effects of this promise.  Rather than stopping in the office after mass to check email and make a skype date with my mama I stopped to talk with my host brother Jose who is a guardiana (guard) at the parish.  As we were chatting a few volunteers invited me to a baptism reception I accepted and away we went.  Let me tell you- this was no ordinary baptism reception we walked into the house welcomed by about 20 people dancing and drinking…  everyone was having a great time and I was wonder why we don’t celebrate this way in the U.S??  It was way better than your typical brunch and cake.  One of the volunteers looked at me and said, “if you think this is fun you should go to a baby shower”- I can only hope!  But moral of the story is I already gained a new experience because I stepped away from mass communication and lived in the here and now. 

So I am back on the web and I must say taking a 24-hour hiatus was great I think that it is something that I will try and do every week.  It is refreshing and gives ya a great opportunity to really focus on what you have to do and what is going on around you. 

So you may wonder what exactly I am doing here and sometimes I wonder the same thing… But I am currently working as a Volunteer Program Assistant.  What is that?  Good question- I’m still sorta figuring it out.  The Los Amigos program is growing and the demand for help and volunteers is continuous.  While is it easy to say I will be teaching English or building houses or working in a prevention center the person who organizes all of that is sort of like the great wizard of OZ.  Rather than giving courage, heart, or brains the coordinator here provides opportunities for education and gives hope- yet all the while is sort of behind the scenes.  Well the great OZ down here keeps getting busier and busier so I am stepping in and will be in charge of prepping short term groups, host families, orientations, keeping things running with the long term volunteers and prioritizing/delegating projects.  With my time that I spend aside from this part of the job I have decided to take on the task of the Jardines (gardens).  The gardens here are in horrible condition.  This past fall they were lush and provided fresh produce for the 6 soup kitchens here.  Now you would walk by and think that you are passing an area of gated weeds…  No one really wants to work on them because it is going to be a ton of work.  Chimbote is an incredibly dry climate; they say it rains here about once every 2 years… so gardening will indeed be a big task.  My goal is to get the gardens going- (hopefully I’ll have the same knack for it as mom and nana) then get the community involved.  That will be huge.  The lack of respect the community has for the very few green spaces here is shocking.  I figure if people are putting in their own hard work and time they will respect the space, profit from the space, and it will be a more sustainable project. 

Bienvenidos a Chimbote!

Los Amigos is a faith-based organization dedicated to supporting programs that improve and transform the lives of the poor of Chimbote, Peru.

I’ve been in Peru just over a week now and it has been a week of adjustment and orientation.  The difference between life here and in the United States is extreme to say the least.  The average family here lives on less than $2.00 a day- could you imagine??  Take a second to put it in perspective- how much can you purchase with $2.00- not much.  Now try and picture a day living off that much while supporting a family.  Needless to say the life I’m accustomed to is very different than the everyday life here.

Here is a little glimpse into my day-to-day life here.  I have been placed with a host family- la familia Escalante, consisting of 2 older host brothers Jose (29) and Marco (27), host mom Bertha, and host dad Walter.  They are overwhelmingly kind and hospitable.  I will walk you through their house- one might say it’s a bit different than 2116 Juno Ave.  The outside is bright blue-, which is great because so many of the houses here look the same I always know which one is mine.  I have been given 4 different house keys- ay ay ay its like a game of chance every time I get to the door.  The front door leads into a long dark hallway that brings you to the family broom factory.  The bottom floor of the house is indeed a broom factory- it’s like walking through a maze of hay getting to the staircase upstairs.  Not to mention that there are animals everywhere turkeys, chickens, and guinea pigs…aka dinner.  There is a pen of guinea pigs right by the stair case- I count them everyday to make sure I’m not going to see one on my plate… Noooo thanks (there are 5).  Once you’re upstairs there is the bathroom- which gets about an hour of running water very early in the morning- so I am given two buckets of water daily to shower- soooo I’ve only showered once and can’t even imagine how ridiculous I looked doing it.  There isn’t even a shower head and as for the toilet, the phrase “if its yellow let it mellow, if its brown flush is down” is applied- except for that the flush doesn’t exactly “flush it down- I’m sure that’s TMI but woah is that different- also all the TP is thrown in the trash not flushed… Ha I’m sure I’ll get it down to a system soon enough.  Once past the bathroom there is my host brothers a room they share and Leah (another volunteer here) and me share another room- it’s very cozy!   Not like my bed- which I think is maybe a plank of wood covered with a comforter…  any who, it is very nice having Leah with me she is super nice (a recent college grad as well – from MN too)!  We laugh at all of the absurdities here like the dogs barking and roosters crowing as we try to sleep.  The other areas of the house include a nice dining room/living space, host mom and dad’s room and a kitchen that really only consists of an oven/stove and a table.  Then in the lower level of the house lives another host brother Wilman and his wife and 2 kids- it’s a very family friendly house.  There is actually a huge gaping hole on the floor in the hallway that they converse through- a hole that I always worry my foot will fall through!  The housing experience thus far has been good…

When not at the house I am typically at la parroquia (the parish).  This morning we (the long term volunteers) had a meeting with Sister Peggy and Father Jack (they are the people in charge- they run the show, Fr. Jack is like a celebrity here).  It was probably one of the first informative parts of the trip.  Fr. Jack ran through everything that the program offers and concluded with a quote that really captures life here. 

“It’s Not God’s Will that Poverty Exists,

Preferential Option For the Poor The Only Way The Poor Can Get Out Of Their Poverty is Through Education.”

The poverty here is hard to grasp.  I walk down a dusty dirt road littered with garbage, stray dogs, dog feces, houses with dirt floors and straw roofs.  There are small children everywhere without shoes and clean clothes, relieving themselves on the street and lacking any sort of structure in their upbringing.  There is a constant flow of pregnant women coming in and out of la parroquia looking for help, the community in uneducated in many areas especially family planning and birth control.  It is so hard to see all of these people who lack such basic necessities.  After hearing what all of the different volunteers will be working on Fr. Jack emphasized how everything that we are doing is providing the population here with education which will empower them with knowledge to make the changes that they can for themselves and will prevent them from continuing this horrible cycle of extreme poverty.  We are truly serving the poorest of the poor.