What We Do

Ralph

Planting at Fe y Alegria

A consult with one of the students

I keep very busy with a variety different projects I am working on. I have a small project going with a parish school for the mentally handicapped. They wanted to improve their green space at the school (it is not large) and add a small vegetable garden. The staff there are wonderful and we are becoming good friends. We now have some nice things growing there and a vegetable garden of cilantro, beets, spinich, leeks and strawberries. It is a great start.

I continue to be very involved with the gardens at the church near our house. I have had a wide variety of vegetables there and now am planting more exotic flowers and plants. I continue to be suprised at how people respond to the space within the walls of Senor de los Milagros. There are many people who make a point of coming to see the plants every week or so and seem to relish the space. The teachers of Hannah's preschool are particularly thrilled with the greenery and tell me often how appreciative they are of the work I do there.

The biggest project that I have is the School, Fe y Alegria. This is a dynamic school up in Alto Trujillo run by three terrific nuns. The school is only three and a half years old, they currently have 600 students, preschool through 9th grade with plans to have 1200 students within three more years. This school is built on a giant sand dune and has a limited water supply of a half inch pipe providing water for two hours, every other day. Because the people in Alto Trujillo have so little opportunity to grow plants the sisters wanted to begin a program of raising vegetables with their seventh, eighth and ninth graders to add some practical experience to their education experience. With guidence from a good friend here in the parish, I brought in over a 100 cubic yards of topsoil to place over the blow sand. We moved the topsoil into place by wheelbarrows and shovels. Most of it had to be moved more than a 150 yards through the sand. My friend, Raul and I built a woven wire fence around the garden area and prepped the site. Now, we have some 40 individual gardens laid out, with vegetables growing on them. I have 200 secondary students that I work with over two afternoons every week to plant, weed and water their gardens. I am very impressed with the enthusiasum the students have for this work. I can't help but see the contrast with school kids of this age in the States. These kids are excited to plant spinich, carrots and beets. I would say that these are the most popular vegetables here.

I am speaking a little better all the time. It is a very slow process. I must say to anyone that thinks that everyone that comes to the US has to learn English - it is very, very difficult to learn a new language for someone of my advanced years. I have been working at learning the language here and living in a Spanish language culture for nearly a year. I have had the benefit of a very good language school in Bolivia for three months and college classes in Twin Falls for a year before we left. Still, with all of that, I feel awash in the language at times and could easily become frustrated. I struggle mightily with my students and a times are laughed at by them because of my lack of language. Still, it is a process and I am learning, though slowly. If we stay here long enough, perhaps I really can become fluent. I am not anywhere close to that now. It is a great pleasure to carrry on a conversation with people here in Spanish. It is all worth it to be able to do that. But, it is difficult.

Theresa

So much of what I do involves day to day living. I regard taking care of Hannah and continuing to help her transition into Peruvian society and school system as my major task. I make a lot of mistakes, but people are very kind. I think they laugh a lot at me and think I'm a little slow. At a minimum, I serve as a source of amusement for the people! I still have a very difficult time arriving "on time for events." That means I am usually extraordinarily early for everything. At Hannah's school, if they say something starts at 9 am, that means 10 or 11 am. 11 am more likely. Thankfully Hannah's teacher understands (I think she's tired of me showing up so early and feeling like she has to entertain me) and she's started to pull me aside to tell me what time the event will really start.

Hannah's participated in quite a few typical dance expositions and that really stretches my ability to do things "right." I figure she's only in kindergarden, so whatever the kids do will be cute and fine. Not so, the Peruvians. They are really quite exacting when it comes to public performances and everything has to be perfect - not that it can be! Hannah's expected to show up with make-up (they've learned that I don't do that, so the other mom's help me), exactly the right clothes (down to the correct knee socks and shoes), and hair perfectly styled and in place (I'm a little better at this). Hannah and I are learning to go with the flow. It's fun.

Daily life for the women involves waking early and getting the kids off to school. Since the young kids get the school building in the morning and the older ones the afternoon, elementary school starts at 7 am. Thankfully kindergarden is different and Hannah starts school at 8:15 am. Then it's time to clean the house a bit, do laundry, go to market and fix lunch. Since we wash everything by hand in cold water and cook everything from scratch, this takes all morning. I like going to market - everything is so fresh. It is crowded, though, and I have to push and shove to be able to walk through the aisles and buy things. In the U.S., we have a somewhat orderly sense of lines and who's next. Not so in Peru. Everyone just shoves her way to the front of the line and yells out what they want to buy! I'm getting better at it, but it's still counter-intuitive for me!

I enjoy the afternoons. People generally eat lunch from 1 to 2 pm. Things are pretty quiet then from 2-4 pm. Some take siesta, some do needle work, others watch soap operas, kids do homework. Some of my favorite time starts at about 4 pm, when the streets come to life with kids playing and women sitting in doorways, visiting with one another. Volleyball games pop up in the streets (literally) as people set up nets right in the middle of roads.

Since we are so close to the equator, the day length of 12 hours never changes. It gets dark at about 6:30 pm. Some people don't have electricity, so they use candles in the evenings. Most do, however, have light. I have meetings all nights except for Thursdays. I usually start "work" (meetings with bible studies, parents, youth group, catechists, choir, etc) at about 4 pm until 10 pm. Hannah goes with me to some, but usually she stays home with Ralph.

Much of my "work" revolves around our Church, Señor de los Milagros. I'm in charge of the confirmation program (I have 25 catechists and 70 youth seeking to be confirmed and we all meet together every Sunday afternoon). I also hold weekly training sessions to help prepare the first communion catechists for their weekly meetings with the kids. I also coordinate a children's liturgy of the word during Sunday mass and I help out with the choir. It is very different here with the youth - they clamor for more retreats and meetings! They love to get together! Both first communion and confirmation will be held in December. Strange timing...

Currently, with the help of my friend Elena, we're trying to get some scripture reflection groups started. We gather the bible study leaders on Wednesday afternoons and we study and reflect together on the scriptures for the following Sunday. Each leader, then, meets with her group (there aren't any men leaders yet) sometime before Sunday. Many of the women did not have the opportunity complete their schooling, so many don't read. They have a very simple delightful faith. Although so many struggle against terrible adversities (domestic violence, extreme poverty, illness) I really enjoy sharing the scriptures with them. I get a lot out of it. It gives me a new perspective on life. Sometime I'll write a little more about some of my experiences with the women.

Although life is quite different in Perú, I'm adapting well. I'm always concerned with Hannah and she is doing well. I'm making some very good friends and I love that. Good friends make the world go around!

Our Work

Theresa

Hannah

Enjoying Cajamarca, Peru!