From Elisabeth Hein -
GSE Team Member - April 15, 2008
Photos by Amy Lange (click photo to enlarge)
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We arrived in Lima at 11:30 pm Sunday night and were met by our respective host families. We all went straight to our new homes in various parts of Lima. Each of us is staying in distinct neighborhoods that are relatively far from each other (at least 15 minutes driving). All the host families are very accommodating and have made us feel like their home is our own.
Monday was mostly a free day. Each of
us did different things with our host families. Amy visited the
Sacred Heart University, which is a private university where her
host mother is a professor of Psychology. Amy had the opportunity to
observe and participate in the onsite preschool which serves special
needs children, most between the ages of 2 and 5 years. This
preschool is using an inclusion model in which special needs kids
are integrated with mainstream kids. The onsite school also provides
occupational therapy, nutrition and hygiene education, and
one-on-one as well as group settings for learning -- all which is
monitored by the university students. Kay spent her day with her
host Carlos Rioja, who took her to a vocational school that imparts
practical skills to its students. The students spend up to a year
getting real life use of their skills. Osho visited the law firm
that his host parents run. The firm is quite large with a total of
35 employees. Osho also had a chance to walk around his neighborhood
and found a martial arts school where he is thinking of getting
involved with during his stay in Lima. Nicole spent the day with her
host family seeing some of the neighborhoods of Lima and taking care
of practicalities such as changing US dollars into Peruvian soles.
The exchange rate right now is about 2.6 soles to $1. Apparently the
rate has dropped significantly in just the past few weeks. Elisabeth
had a relaxing afternoon enjoying homemade ceviche (prepared by her
host father), pan fried calamari, and pisco sours. Pisco is a grape
brandy that is special to the coastal region south of Lima.
Monday evening we all went to our
welcome dinner at a typical chicken restaurant called La Hacienda.
The chicken was baked and all reported that it was delicious. It was
served with salad and french fries, and the favorite local beverage
Inca Kola. This is made from an herb that gives the yellow colored
soda a slight flavor of bubble gum. We were lucky to meet some of
the members of the outgoing GSE team who will be leaving for Seattle
in a week and a half. We also met several Rotarians who belong to
the various clubs here in Lima that we will be visiting during our
month-long stay. After dinner we arrived back at our homes around
11pm, which looks like it will be a foreshadowing of our daily
schedules as most of the Rotary meetings in Lima are held in the
evenings.
Tuesday started early (7am). Each team
member was picked up at their respective homes and we met up with
Jaime Davis, a member of the San Miguel Rotary Club. He was our tour
guide for the day and brought us to see several of the projects with
which his club is involved. The first place was an orphanage for
young men with Down´s Syndrome. Their teacher, Patti, spoke with us
about the center and the needs that they have. They focus on
developing the skills of the students so that they can live a life
of dignity within their handicaps. Four of the young men are on a
track to become bakers. After the orphanage we visited a daycare
center which serves children of preschool age. They are children
from low-income families. Several of the Rotarian women volunteer at
the center and also hold regular tea times to raise funds for the
basic needs of the center.
The third education center we visited
was the Ann Sullivan Center. This school serves a total of 450
students from the age range of 15 months to 45 years old, all of
whom face learning, physical, or behavioral challenges. Individual
plans are developed for each student and parents are required to
meet with teachers in order to learn what can be done at home to
improve the learning of their children. We were impressed by the
variety of services provided such as a class for new parents and
their babies, a ballet & theater program, a temporary apartment
where families live and learn to handle behavioral issues with their
children, and a special room where parents can talk and share about
what parenting methods work for them.
We had a wonderful lunch of tamales,
corn, sweet potato, beets, carrots, chicken, and a
pineapple-cinnamon dessert. The mid-day meals are considered the
main meal and are quite large, usually with several courses.
Breakfast and dinner are relatively light.
The afternoon was spent touring a water
treatment plant which is also supported by the San Martin Rotary
club. This plant is the largest in the country and is operated by
the state. We were fascinated to learn about the purification system
of the water that is used by all of Lima, a city of 8.5 million. The
water all comes from the River Rimac which starts in the Andes
mountains. From there it passes through various terrain (including
the mining region) until it reaches the outskirts of Lima. At the
plant, it is processed thoroughly and monitored at every stage. By
the time it reaches people´s homes in the city, it is completely
potable. The problem is, however, that individual home´s plumbing
systems are often contaminated and it is at that point that the
water becomes undrinkable.
After a long day of various tours, we
went to Jaime Davis´ home to rest a little before the next event.
Jaime and his wife Liliana, were wonderful hosts telling us about
various aspects of Peruvian culture like music, dance, and food. The
team members had a little time to rehearse for our first
presentation which would be later that night.
Before dinner and the San Martin Rotary
Club meeting, we stopped at a fire station. All of Peru´s
firefighters are volunteers. We were impressed by the dedication
these men and women give to their service as firefighters. They do
not receive much funding from the government and instead have to
rely on donations. For example, this particular neighborhood fire
station is using a fire truck donated from Japan, whose fire engines
typically don´t have a tank to hold water. Therefore the engine has
been used more for rescue and emergencies rather than putting out
fires.
Around 8pm we arrived at the
Chinese-Peruvian restaurant for the San Martin Club meeting. This
club has about 14 members and has been in existence for 50 years.
Two of the founding members still participate, and one of them --
Pepito -- bakes a cake every single week that the club makes.
Tonight's cake was an anise seed pound cake which was delicious. Our
dinner was fried rice, sweet and sour chicken, deep fried wontons
with tamarind sauce, an egg and vegetable tortilla, and white fish
with ginger sauce. We gave our presentation for the first time in
Lima to a very attentive audience. We even pulled off our song in
Spanish which goes to the tune of the Brady Bunch theme song.
We were dropped off at our homes
arriving almost at midnight. It was an amazing day full of
experiences none of us could have imagined had we tried. We´ve been
enjoying the mild weather as it´s been about 70 and sunny with a bit
of humidity. It must be this weather that makes the plants here
flourish. So far we have seen quite a variety such as eucalyptus,
hibiscus, jacaranda, gardenia, bouganvillea, palm, and cactus.
The morning began in the municipal
office of Pueblo Libre (one of Lima´s districts) where our team
met the mayor. While talking with him over Peruvian red wine, we
learned about the district, its budgetary challenges, successes
and concerns. The mayor described how although there is not
always the financial means to acquire necessities for his
district, he is good at forming relationships, which has brought
success. For example, Pueblo Libre is currently partnering
with a gas company who wants to put in pipes under the streets,
but will cause some inconvenience to the streets in order to do
this. So in exchange for allowing the gas company to install the
lines, the municipality has asked them to provide police
officers to monitor security on the streets to make the
neighborhood a safer place. We left the mayor´s office and took
photos in the central plaza outside.
Next, we visited a primary school
built entirely by the Rotary. This school is currently facing
capacity issues as there are not enough classrooms or teachers
to serve the population of students adequately. The minimum
class size is 32 children. We stopped in to talk with one class
of about forty 3rd graders who were packed into the room at long
tables. They were all very cute in their blue and white uniforms
and excited to talk with us. Individual kids raised their hands
to ask us about Seattle and what we thought of Peru. One kid
asked us to sing our national anthem, which we did, high notes
and all!
The other Rotary project visited in
Pueblo Libre was to a small clinic which serves low-income
people of all ages. The facility has a great need for updated
equipment because they are currently using dental equipment and
x-ray equipment that is decades old. Also, they have had to shut
down their gynecology room and pediatrics room due to poor
plumbing that risks leaking into electric lines.
For lunch we went to La Antigua
Taberna Queirolo, which is attached to the winery-distillery of
the same name. We tasted a variety of pisco, wine, and sangria.
As mentioned in the previous report, pisco is a grape brandy
made in the southern coastal area of Peru. It´s clear and
strong, and is commonly taken as a mixed drink (called pisco
sour) with lime, egg white, and cane syrup. Almost everyone
we´ve met has made sure to ask us if we´ve tried pisco since
it´s the national drink. Our lunch was a sampling of regional
foods such as green tamales, stuffed potatoes, fresh cheese,
pork, sausage, and French bread. This tavern has not changed its
menu for 60 years because customers like what is served and they
like to know they can go in and expect the same choices and
quality as always.
We were jovially consuming this
delicious meal when our first (and hopefully only) unfortunate
event occurred. Our team member, Amy, realized she didn't have
her purse. It had been stolen from off the back of her chair,
and as the restaurant was quite busy, no one noticed the purse
being taken. Inside was her passport, $300 worth of cash, her
credit cards, and other belongings. The mayor´s office was
extremely helpful to Amy so she was able to contact credit card
companies and the US embassy quickly. The mayor also helped
expedite the process of getting the official police report to
Amy so that her passport replacement won't be delayed at the
embassy. We were all a bit shocked and surprised that such a
thing could happen in a relatively safe part of town, but now
are all extra-vigilant about keeping bags very close to the body
at all times and leaving important documents and large amounts
of cash at home.
After Amy and Kay took care of
making phone calls and we had all decompressed a bit, we went on
to visit an anthropology museum near the town center. We
learned about the history of the various indigenous groups that
have populated Peru, and saw a wide variety of pottery, jewelry,
and stonework made by the different cultures that have thrived
throughout the history of the country. Then, as at the end of
any sunny day of travel should be, it was time for gelato.
Violeta, Pueblo Libre´s Rotary president, took us to one of her
favorite gelato places and treated us each to two large scoops.
The Rotary club meeting of the
evening was held at the Pueblo Libre club. After giving our
presentation, the members asked us to perform another song in
addition to our regular tune, so we sang America the Beautiful.
None of us had sang this song in years but somehow the words
came back to us easily and our audience was pleased.
******
Chicha morada is a juice made from
the dark purple corn that only grows in Peru and Bolivia. The
corn is boiled and the deep, rich color bleeds out into the
water, then is mixed with cinnamon, clove, sugar, and lime. We
drank about four pitchers of this delicious concoction today.
Other culinary delights included typical dishes at a restaurant
called Las Mesitas. We tried Tacu Tacu (fried rice with beans
and fried egg on top), tallarines salados (salted noodles with
meat and vegetables), breaded chicken, ceviche, tamales,
potatoes with cheese sauce, and churrasco (type of steak) with
rice. Lucho, one of the Rotary members who spent all day with
us, took us to a large supermarket chain to show us the
multitude of local produce, seafood, pastries, and wine. It was
a happy day for all of our palates. Lucho was extremely generous
with his time as he drove out of his way to show us different
parts of Lima (business districts, parks, etc). We are now
starting to become more oriented to the countless parts of this
huge city that seems to extend forever.
The Rotary projects we saw today
all focused on education. The first place was an organization
called SUMBI, which serves children from 0-5 years old and
deeply values the concept of children being socially integrated
at an early age. The facility is a daycare and serves low-income
families in the Barranco neighborhood on a sliding scale. We
then visited a school that works with older students with
special needs and disabilities. The facility offers unique
services such as physical therapy and vocational skills
training. Students can learn how to do baking, and some work
making brooms to sell. The third place we visited was an
education center which complements the regular school day. All
students who attend fit a certain at-risk profile and are
referred by the public schools. The center works closely with
parents to help students achieve a variety of social, academic,
and behavioral goals.
Barranco is known as the
neighborhood where writers and artists reside. It sits on the
coastal edge of Lima, overlooking the ocean. Many of the homes
in this area are colonial style and painted bright colors. We
were fortunate to visit the Pedro de Osma Museum which is
located in the Osma mansion. This house was inhabited by the
Osma family until the 1980s. It now houses the Osma art
collection which consists of countless paintings in the style of
the Cuzco and Lima schools. Most of the art is religious and was
influenced by the iconic paintings of Europe (i-e., virgen and
child depictions). However, a great many of the paintings in the
Osma collection were painted by anonymous artists. And many of
the subjects depicted in these paintings vary from what you
might see in a painting done by a European artist from the same
time period. The religious figures of the Cuzco school were
shown as having black, curly hair (similar to that of the
indigenous people of the area), and pink cheeks (indicative of
the cold weather characteristic to Cuzco).
Our presentation at the Barranco
Rotary Club went well because we finally were able to use a
projector to show the Powerpoint and all the photos we have to
illustrate who we are and where we come from. The Brady Bunch
song has been without guitar accompaniment, but it seems to
please the crowd nonetheless. We found out today we will be
performing something at the talent show of the district
conference in two weeks. Maybe a Beatles song? Any suggestions?
:)
Friday, April 18, 2008
Just got back home after another
amazing day of taking it all in. We´ve typically finished our
days around 11pm. I´ll go backwards with the storytelling
tonight.
Since all of us are staying with
host families in various neighborhoods that are not so close
together, transportation is a challenge. Tonight Osho and
Elisabeth had to stop by one of the Rotary clubs to catch a ride
home with one of the Rotary members. While we waited, some of
the members of the club asked us if we could sing the National
Anthem for them so they could hear the correct English
pronunciation. They are practicing for the district conference
where they´ll be singing both the US and Peruvian National
Anthems. I think now we are also going to perform these two
songs with them and there might even be a costume involved. So
far I think we have sung something every day that we´ve been
here.
Tonight we went to see the Caballos
de Paso, which are the Peruvian horses that trot and dance in
their special way. They´re very graceful and you really can´t
believe how these animals move their feet the way they do. The
event was held at an outdoor stadium just a few blocks from the
water. The nights are quite cool and humid compared to the
daytime. The show included various traditional dances from
different parts of Peru. In between the acts, a lively singer
and a live band entertained us with songs. Around the field were
several snack stands and huge Inca Kola signs. Kay, Amy, and
Osho were offered one of the typical foods there that was a
kabob of sorts. After eating the meat they found out it was cow
heart. Nicole and Elisabeth were relieved to be in their role as
vegetarians.
Prior to the horse show we spent
some time talking with some members of the Rotary Club of
Nuestra Señora de la Gracia. We learned about a project they are
piloting that proposes "E-learning" for the schools of Lima.
This would be an implementation of computer-based learning at
all levels to improve and evaluate academic progress of
students. It will be a challenge because of the cost of the
technology and the amount of training that teachers will need.
We learned that only around 20% of Lima´s teachers are
proficient enough in computers to be able to implement the
computer curriculum with their students. However, the promise of
laptops to schools will serve as motivation for teachers to get
trained.
We visited a school this afternoon
which had classes of mixed grades. Each of us was placed in a
different classroom and were asked to talk with the students
about our impressions of Peru and to speak with them in English.
Osho and Nicole were in a classroom of older students who were
very up to date on politics and current events. One student
asked if Michael Jackson was gay. Amy and Elisabeth were each in
a classroom with middle school aged students and also answered
questions in addition to teaching the kids the song,¨"Heads,
Shoulders, Knees and Toes". Kay went to the classroom with the
youngest students and was surprised at the amount of English
they knew at such a young age.
Lunch was at a Chifa restaurant
where we ate family style. Interesting dishes of noodles, rice,
quail egg, mushrooms, pork, chicken, shrimp and vegetables.
Three Rotary members from the Nuestra Señora de Gracia joined us
as well as two of their adult daughters. We talked about the
elections in the states, paragliding, basketball, botany, and
many other topics. One of the daughters is a singer and is
planning to try out for Latin American Idol next year in Buenos
Aires. Almost all of the Rotary members and their children have
been to the United States or have relatives who live there.
Earlier in the day we visited the
National Library which is located in a very modern building. The
original library was founded in 1821 by the national leader San
Martin who believed that reading was the way to freedom. We
learned about the misfortunes in the history of Peru´s library
collection. In 1879, during the war with Chile, 40,000 books
were taken to Chile. Our guide told us that during the invasion
the pages of books were used to wrap fish! Only 4,000 have been
returned. In 1943, a fire destroyed many of the library´s books,
and those that weren´t burned were ironically damaged by the
water used to put out the fire. The new library has a lot of
storage space which is climatized and can protect many of the
older periodicals and documents. The National Library holds the
first book printed in South America, the Doctrina Cristiana,
which was printed in 1584. Now, to make sure the public can
always enjoy the literary riches of its country, there is a law
that says that two copies of all books and periodicals printed
in Peru must be donated to the National Library.
The first activity of the day was a
visit to Peru´s most read newspaper, El Comercio. The group was
able to see the massive printing equipment and learn about how
the paper gets produced each day. We are hoping that later in
the month we will be able to visit the editorial office of El
Comercio.
Today we didn´t wear our uniforms
because we weren´t scheduled to present at any of the Rotary
Club meetings. When we met up, Nicole almost didn´t recognize
the other team members because we were wearing something other
than the grey pants, white shirts, and black blazers.
After a morning free (and getting
to sleep in), everyone met at Antonella´s house. Antonella is
the team leader for the outgoing GSE to Seattle. Their group
will be leaving in a week and it was a chance for all of us to
see each other before they left and to talk about Seattle and
Lima, and learn a little about each other´s respective
professions, hopes and expectations for the program. The lunch
we had at the house was delicious and included a new dish for us
called causa, which is sort of a casserole made with
mashed potatoes, egg, and chicken. Elisabeth accidentally ate
some, thinking it was fish, and also thinking it was very
tasty. We also had pisco sours and sampled two types of Peruvian
red wine. The desserts were to die for: arroz con leche,
chocolate cake with lucuma (a type of citrus fruit) frosting,
and alfajores (cookies) with dulce de leche sandwiched inside.
The large meal in the middle of the afternoon is turning out to
be a great way to slow down time and relax with good
conversation. Very much appreciated after eating on the run so
often in the states.
At sunset we went off to see a
water-light show near downtown Lima. This park opened recently
and has an array of fountains that light up with music. We took
a leisurely stroll through the maze of fountains and tried to
stay dry near the ones that allow audience participation.
The main event of the evening was
Las Brisas del Titicaca. There is nothing quite comparable to
this that I´ve ever heard of in the US. It´s a dance show that
combines performances of regional Peruvian dances with a live
band that plays salsa, cumbia, and andean music in between the
dance numbers. When the band plays, the audience flocks to the
dance floor and busts out their moves like there´s no tomorrow.
The song ends and then the brightly colored costumed
professional dancers come back out and performed a choreographed
number. The audience goes back to their tables to drink and eat
until the next dancing opportunity. It alternates like this from
11pm until 3:00 in the morning. At a certain point in the
evening, the MC called all people from the United States out
onto the dance floor and we got led around by the professional
dancers in a flowing line that snaked and weaved around and
around as we held on for dear life. Then we got our pictures
taken with some of the dancers. We were fortunate to be able to
attend this as one of the Rotarians is a founding member of Las
Brisas, and got us all in as her special guests. She told us
about how the building is also used to host lunches for
low-income folks from the outskirts of Lima. She´s been very
active with a variety of projects to help those less fortunate
and says she´s been blessed with being in a position to give to
others.
Today was our first free day
after several days of intense and interesting programs
coordinated by individual Rotary clubs. Each of us did
something a little different. Here are the brief summaries
of our respective experiences:
Nicole had a very relaxing day
attending a barbeque with her host family. She learned how
to make pisco sours. She also learned that Peru may be one
of the only countries that like Republicans for their
support of the free trade agreement which supports the
Peruvian economy.
Osho went to see a surfing
competition in the neighborhood of Miraflores. He said the
waves were pretty small compared to what you´d expect to see
in a competition. He also attended a birthday party of one
of his host family´s friends. At the party he tried grilled
cow stomach. And finally, he was able to acquire a Lonely
Planet guide to Peru at a local bookstore.
Amy went to an area called
Chosica with her host family. This area is known to always
be sunny even when Lima is covered with clouds and mist.
It´s located in the foothills of the Andes where many fruits
and plants grow in the sunny climate. Amy visited a
cemetery, a market (where she saw cuy -- cooked
guinea pig -- for the first time), tried avocado ice cream,
saw traditional music being played and danced to, went
paddle boating, viewed a mini model of the city of Lima,
attended a party for the Mayor of Chosica, ate pizza, and
went to a country club to relax. She probably had the
longest day of us all, lasting from 8am to 11pm.
Kay and Elisabeth joined Blanca
and Carlos Riojas to spend the day in the same area where
Amy went, but a few kilometers away in a town called
Chaclacayo. The sun shines year round there as well. Blanca
and Carlos have a country home with a myriad of flora
including a giant pointsettia, an avocado tree, a lucuma
tree, and a little grove of papyrus. They stopped in the
town center to see a dance competition of various groups
from different regions of Peru performing traditional
dances. There was a small market made up of stalls where you
could purchase handicrafts and snacks. Elisabeth got her
palm read and found out she´s going to live to be 90 years
old. Earlier in the day Kay, Elisabeth, and Blanca visited
central downtown Lima where the oldest of the city´s
colonial architecture can still be seen. They watched the
changing of the guard in front of the National Palace and
had the chance to see many of Lima´s beautiful churches.
*******
Monday, April 21
Carlos and Blanca Riojas have been
so generous with their time and hospitality, welcoming the GSE
team with so much warmth and enthusiasm. Carlos was the former
District Governor for District 4450, and Blanca is the incoming
president of her club as well as the coordinator for next year´s
incoming GSE program. They used to live in Seattle for over 20
years and have strong connections with the the Seattle area
Rotary clubs. To thank Carlos and Blanca for all they have done
for us, Kay had the idea to make them a dinner. We went to a
local supermarket, an adventure in itself. We purchased olives,
cheese, bread, pasta, vegetables, tomatoes, wine, fruit, and ice
cream. Nicole, who loves to cook, designed a lovely pasta dinner
for all of us, which was comfort food after a week of sampling
so many new dishes. Walking from the apartment to the
supermarket was also an adventure as we had to perfectly time
our crossing of each busy street at rush hour. Stop lights and
pedestrian signals weren't really in operation for our purposes.
Earlier in the day, we visited the
University of Lima, a private university of about 13,000
students. It is modern, urban, and prestigious and considered
the best place to attend for business and engineering. Although
the campus is small, it´s impressive with many fountains and
considerable green space (filled with eucalyptus trees). They
are even doing the reverse of what we might see in the states:
tearing down a parking lot to create a park! We were lucky to
have a thorough tour and to see students in action, including a
look at the communication department where students
were practicing for a radio show, and another classroom
where students were making music recordings. Public universities
in Peru are free and focus more in the humanities. For those
interested in business and technology careers, private
universities are more choice.
Lunch today was at the Naval Club.
Frida Arbuco, the president of Rotary Club Barranco, treated us
to an elegant atmosphere at the club where her husband, Juan, is
a member. We took a stroll around the grounds to see the
larger-than-Olympic-sized pool, tennis courts, and sauna called
"La Evaporada".
Amy got her replacement passport
today! She found the process to be much quicker than
anticipated. Having gone in to the embassy at 8AM with her
passport photos and the police report with details of the
robbery, she returned at 4PM to pick up the new passport.
Despite the misfortune of the event of having her passport and
money stolen, we´ve been amused continuously by the police
report in which her name (Amy Marie Lange) was misspelled as ANY
Marie LARGE. The US Embassy used to be located in central Lima,
but it was too exposed to the public, so it got moved to the
east side of town where it now is in a monolith of a building
surrounded by palm trees and guards everywhere. You cannot even
take a photo from across the four-lane highway. We also learned
it is painted with special paint so it cannot be detected by
surveillance, so it can't be known when the ambassador is or
isn´t on site.
Osho took the afternoon to check
out the Jiu Jitsu place located in his neighborhood. He was able
to work on a few techniques with the friendly people who
practice there. It´s not uncommon to get a few nicks and
scratches in this martial art, and Osho went home with blood on
his shirt from a bloody nose. His host family was surprised upon
seeing him with blood stains but it spurred interesting dialogue
regarding Osho´s life. He found that his host family perhaps
realized other dimensions of his life and would now see him as
more dynamic than he may have previously been perceived. Osho is
planning to seek out the best place to practice Jiu Jitsu in
Lima, one where he can have more opportunities to compete.
*******
Tuesday, April 22
Today we were shown around by the
Rotary club of La Molina, which is an upper middle class suburb
of Lima located to the northeast. It is interesting because it
borders an area that is characterized by extreme poverty. The La
Molina club has taken on two major projects that serve the
people in this zone of poverty, which we visited today.
First, a note about the outskirts
of Lima. After the terrorism that affected many areas of Peru in
the 70s and 80s, many people from rural areas migrated towards
Lima. They settled in squatter colonies along the main
thoroughfares, contructing shacks piled onto the dusty hills.
They are referred to as "invaders" since none of them have
titles to the land where they live and because of this, the
government cannot legally provide services such as water,
plumbing, electricity, etc. However, the government does give
small allowances to those who paint their homes, which is why
you can see bright colors dotting the otherwise drab inclines.
The neighborhood we went to first,
Manchay, is the site of the La Molina club´s more recent
project. The Rotary provided major support to construct a school
for the children of Manchay. The kids (1st-6th grade) come
walking over the hills to learn in the small classrooms each
day. Most of the children come from single mother homes and
families who suffer domestic violence. Many parents help out
around the school by cleaning, helping with construction, etc.
Students receive a daily free breakfast of milk and bread
made with potato flour as part of the Vaso de Leche program. The
school is still being constructed to add more rooms but there
are currently about 6 classrooms in full use that are cheerfully
decorated. We stopped in to visit each classroom where we were
sung to by the children a different song each class had prepared
for us. In turn, we sang them some songs in English (the Itsy
Bitsy Spider, Twinkle Twinkle Little Star, and our favorite --
Head, Shoulders, Knees, and Toes). The director of the school,
Delia, was absolutely inspirational. She has a heart of gold and
so much dedication to these children and families. Seeing what
she and the Rotary have done with this school -- essentially
creating it from scratch in just 5 years -- is proof of the
goodwill of the community and the shared value in education and
a positive future for all children.
We next visited a school that was
founded in 1991, also constructed by the Rotary of La Molina.
This one is located in a middle class neighborhood, is a public
school, but the students all come from the area of Manchay as
well as other extremely impoverished neighborhoods nearby. It
serves 70 students, all with special needs such as autism and
Down´s syndrome. The small campus was beautiful, comprised of
brick huts used as workshops and classrooms. Class sizes were
generally small to emphasize individualized education for
students. Like the school in Manchay, this school is also
supported by parents in ways such as painting and fixing things
on the grounds. Many of the students are teenagers and are on a
more vocational track such as gardening, ceramics, or cooking,
and the idea is that they can learn skills that will be
beneficial to them as citizens once they leave school.
We had a delicious lunch at the
Rinconada Country Club before setting off to visit the
Pachacamac Ruins in the afternoon. The ruins are located about
half an hour´s drive from Lima, south on the coastal road and
into the desert. We could automatically feel the change in
climate, the cooler air and the aridity. We learned about the
people who lived in this relatively large city (about 20,000
inhabitants), viewed the remains of temples and dwellings, and
saw some of the artifacts that were excavated only 40 years ago.
From the hill where the ruins sit, you can see the ocean as well
as the fertile river valley below. This was our first experience
seeing ruins from any of the pre-Columbian civilizations of
Peru, and all of us were very impressed.
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The Monterrico Surco Rotary Club
brought us today to the village of Villa Maria de Triunfo. We
visited the school of Parochia Santa Ana, which serves primary
grades from the surrounding community. The school is still in
the process of being constructed (they are currently adding a
second floor), putting in electricity, and is adjacent the town
church. Also located there is a small clinic. Father Anthony
Wilson does mass at the church and also travels to other
churches in the area on different days to provide mass for other
communities. One of the other communities we visited was built
up onto a hillside with metal staircases running the length of
the hill to the dirt road. The staircase railings were all
painted yellow and stood out against the muted colors of the
homes. The yellow color was chosen by the mayor to represent
that they were put in by the municipality. The communities we
visited have only been around for 10-15 years and sprung up out
of people migrating to the Lima area. They are essentially
squatter settlements as the inhabitants do not have rights to
the property on which they live.
The second half of the day we spent
at a club near the water, enjoying a Chifa lunch with Rotarians.
We walked along the malecon and photographed the many colorful
fishing boats in the harbor.
In the evening, we attended the
Rotary meeting in which we learned about the Gift of Life
program, with which Monterrico Surco is very involved. The
Rotary raises money to send infants with heart disease to the
United States to be operated on. Tonight we met one mother and
her baby who received the donation including airfare to fly to
the states for the baby to get surgery. The mother expressed her
thanks profusely as her child's life depends on this
surgery. Some of the families who apply for this program
unfortunately suffer the loss of the child before arrangements
can be made for the surgery to take place. It was both
heartbreaking and hopeful to see this mother and child on the
eve of their departure to save the baby's life.