Archives
June 2007
On Tuesday we flew from Lima to the Andes town of Huaraz and commenced a trek over dirt roads and mountainous terrain to the small village of Uruspampa. There were "Welcome Arches" constructed by bowed trees and hanging flowers that greeted our bus at points along the road. We took in breathtaking scenery at every turn but nothing prepared us for the moment of our arrival.
 The whole town turned out to greet us, schoolchildren met each of us with a glorious, fragrant bouquet and smiles and hugs. Pipers and drummers played a magical melody, an Andean welcome that will play in our hearts forever. Classes in school were cancelled that day. Instead, the children sang to us. They delivered words of welcome in their native Quechua and in Spanish. and then the music started to play again. The children smiled. They walked up to each of us and took our hands, one at a time and then we all danced.
 ...and danced
 ...and danced
... and danced.
After our dance we spoke with teachers and townspeople. Some teachers walk to work each day ... a three-hour walk each way ... and they arrive smiling and committed ... during the rainy season teachers arrive at work covered in mud .. salary for teachers is just a little more than $200 a month.
"My motivation is my students' face. To see their faces and be able to pull them out of sadness because they do not understand, or think they aren't smart. That is what motivates me to do this job." -- Yolanda Ayala Milla
 CARE Peru's New Bilingual Intercultural Education in the Andes Project (EDUBINA) aims to improve access to a quality basic bilingual intercultural education for 1,833 students from eighteen poor rural communities of three districts in the province of Carhuaz and districts adjoining the others in the province of Huaraz, in the department of Ancash. The activities are diversified curriculum development, training for school principals, teachers and experts, promoting gender sensitivity in education management, community workshops and promoting bilingual (Spanish and Quechua) and intercultural education through local government and media.
Bilingual education is important because Quechua is the only language spoken by 80% of the children in these communities. Unless they learn Spanish, these children are often unable to assimilate into other schools as they get older. Without Spanish language skills, they typically fall behind and drop out of school.
In the meantime, the children and the teachers of Uruspampa taught Las Gringas a lesson they will never forget ... a lesson about the power of the human spirit ... the magic of pure love ...
CARE is doing a magnificent job in Peru ... and children and families in the Andes are beneficiaries of educational benefits ... The Web Women Giving Circle and More Magazine had the extraordinary opportunity to meet the children and the teachers face to face ... and we were the beneficiaries of kindness and generosity dispensed in joyful abundance ... in a region where many families subsist on less than $1 a day ... it gives one pause for thought. --Frances Flynn Thorsen
8:09 AM - Jun. 10, 2007 - {1} -
View more entries tagged with: None
Copyright 2007 Peter Frey/CARE
 Tuesday morning the CCS van delivered ten gringas to Los Martincitos in Villa el Salvador.
Our schedule: work and play with senior citizens. Most were Indians from the Andes who found their way to "retirement" in Lima. Los Martincitos offers them a good lunch, and a full day of fellowship and recreation under the caring direction of Sister Jacci, a Missionary Sister of Notre Dame.
The day's events started with warm-up exercises. We stretched with them and when we were limber we formed a line and offered the seniors the CARE/More Giving Circle answer to the Rockettes -- we served up a Hokey Pokey Dance .. the senior knew the dance and sang in Spanish as we put in our right hands...
... and our left hands, our right feet, and our left feet, our heads, and our whole bodies.
We put them in and we put them out, we put them back in and we shook them all about. We did the Hokey Pokey and we turned ourselves around. That's what it's all about!
Or so we thought!
Suddenly we saw hundreds of index fingers raised and we heard voices of consternation from the crowd. They pointed at their fannies ... we forgot to shake our fannies! What were the gringas thinking? How could they forget to shake their fannies during the Hokey Pokey?
We met the clamor and the consternation quickly. We put our fannies in, we put our fannies out, we put our fannies in and we shook them all about. We did the Hokey Pokey and we turned ourselves around. Now, THAT'S what it's really all about! -- Frances Flynn Thorsen
3:39 AM - Jun. 9, 2007 - {0} -
View more entries tagged with: None
 When I visited my wonderful financial planner, Pat Raskob, yesterday and was sharing about the trip to Peru, she asked me if the federales with Uzis were on every corner. I realized, unlike our previous trip, I saw no soldiers with machine guns. While there still was one posted in front of each bank, the guns were not evident. Hopefully this says something good. -- Joeann Fossland, Founder, Web Women Giving Circle
Sunday May 27 Lima, Peru
The cafe con leche was a welcome start to the morning. We gathered for a traditional Peruvian Breakfast of fresh rolls, fruit, and hard boiled eggs. Kique was our host and interpreter for the day. We loaded into a van and drove about 40 minutes to Villa El Salvador neighborhood. Lima is very much a desert city that gets little rain and it showed as we drove through the streets. The air quality is filled with smog from the 8.5 million residents. It was cloudy and misty.
Copyright 200 Peter Frey/CARE
 We were greeted at a community center called Los Martincitos by Tony Palomino, director, and Sister Jacci. Villa El Salvador was created when 150 Incan families joined to start a well organized structure to serve their needs. The Peruvian government did not allow them to build where they originally took their stand, but peacefully relocated them to where Villa El Salvador is today. Nominated for a Nobel Peace Prize, this neighborhood is governed democratically and with great pride. It has grown to a community of over 35,000.
 From there, we went shopping! The Inca Market was scores of stores with alpaca sweaters, jewelry, leather and cloth items.
 I got a great red wool sweater you will see me in! Others bought presents and treasures. Spending some money in the local economy seemed a good thing to do and we had fun!
We went back to the CCS home base for lunch. Lunch is the big meal of the day in Peru. We had a delicious soup and a white meal (hardboiled eggs, potatoes) and fruit.
Then we loaded back in the van for a visit to Casa de Panchita, a center for domestic workers. Sister Blanca told us that the families in the mountains send their daughters into Lima to work for families and hopefully have a better life. In reality, it is a hard life, sometimes even abusive, for these girls that work from morning until night. Casa de Panchita is a refuge they can visit on Sundays for support and services. We had been told that these girls leave their families as young as 6-8, but I don't think that really sunk in until we met a 7 year old who was the nanny for a 2 year old. Made me think how sad it would be to send Lily (my 5-year-old granddaughter) off to live in another city. At the center, they were able to relax and do crafts, visit with each other and do studies. There was also employment services that would help them find good jobs and had blacklisted dangerous ones. We heard how the girls are often not sent to school-only the boys and how difficult it is for them. This visit was sobering and gave us our first real insight into the cultural differences, how the women are treated and what is being done. -- Joeann Fossland
2:26 PM - Jun. 8, 2007 - {1} -
View more entries tagged with: None
|
RSS Blog Feed
