It would be remiss of me not to mention our last visit to Fe y Alegria and the Canto Grande area our last day in Peru, Wednesday, July 7. It was a brief visit to say good-bye and see the final product of the brothers' and our efforts to rebuild the house for Henry and his family. I was thinking that we might be able to actually paint the front wall during our brief foray, but it was not to be. Instead, we ascended the 135 steps to see the final project. Henry, the father of the family (the son's name was also "Henry"), came out to greet us and welcomed us in. We were pleased with how the outside had been finished, especially as we were concerned about the gap between the bottom of the wall and the ground. That gap had been filled by stones, the walls attached and the roof mostly secured. I say "mostly" because the owners requested an addition not in the original plans and the carpenter still had to finish two extra walls. But what astonished us most was the newly poured concrete floor which made the house seem pristine and solid. It was also oddly more spacious than I would have imagined it could be. There were still some issues to resolve, particularly the "floating" doorframes, but it was edifying to see a house so much brighter, cleaner, and liveable than the one we had taken down just a few days before. It gave us all the feeling that, while we didn't change the world through our service, we sure did affect the world of this one family.
So, ten days on, how are we feeling about our work? Tonight we gather for some reflection and sharing, and planning of how to communicate what we have been through. The images will fade but what will our commitment to "Christ present and appealing in the poor" look like in the future?
Some possible answers?
A life of service as a lay, religious or even clerical missionary with the poor here or abroad.
Service at home in projects, large and small, to keep the commitment alive.
Donations of time, money, or other materials.
An appreciation, even a treasuring of all that we have.
The simple work of talking about the experience and, in sharing, bringing others to a deeper awareness.
A more sustained commitment to work that helps save the ecology of the earth, global warming, recycling, etc.
Educating ourselves and/or others further about the imbalances in distribution of the world's resources.
Create art, film, photography projects to reach these ends.
Who knows what else...
All I know is that I was often embarrassed to experience how much I have and how little so many folks in the world have.
Peru Trip July 2010
Monday, July 19, 2010
Sunday, July 11, 2010
The last service day Tuesday 6-VII
This is a lot easier to do on a computer that doesn't shut down and has a decent keyboard! This will be a summary of our last day of service. Later I will offer some "big picture" conclusions.
We headed out to Tahauntinsuyo (I will need to check the spelling) for our last day of service. There the Sisters of St Joseph of the Third Order of St Francis have been engaged in ministry for about 40 years, since the district was first formed. They had taught in a school until they gave it up but the convent still remains next door to the school. Other ministries have included a library and study center with books and internet access, a soup kitchen, and a senior citizens' daycare center. Our job was to paint both at the convent/library and down the street a bit at the house of a lay family who have been at the center of their mission. This couple have informally run a shelter for homeless folks at their own cost for decades. Now that they are getting elderly, they are not as active, but it was their initiative which caused the American sisters to get into adult care. When we arrived with our paint and supplies, Genaro and his wife were not quite ready for us. In particular Peruvian fashion, the supplies and one month's notice were not enough to get the couple to begin the preparations in advance. Instead, we arrived to two workers sanding and preparing the walls of the patio/garage, causing a delay to our work. Even so, we got to work as soon as we could compelled by the news that the couple had recently taken in 5 children from a family whose parents had died. These children were living in the patio/garage area where we were to paint and one of the children, Rodolfo, about 8 years of age, was around to help and socialize. Some of our group members talked with him, allowed him to paint, and played a bit of "futbol" with him.
The work was as one would expect; nothing exciting. But it is worthy of note that the most difficult area to work in was the part of the garage by the bathroom which reaked heavily of urine. It was there that the few possessions and the beds of the children were located. It was a long, tedious day of work in less-than-ideal conditions, but we were happy to see the results by the end of the day.
A note on the Sr Josephine, the only one of the three sisters present during our visit (the other two had returned to the US for a congregational meeting). She was very impressive in her warmth and patience, just a warm-hearted, loving, welcoming, and grateful person. She warmly embraced each of us as we dis-embarked and, later, got into the bus. I wondered about the "effectiveness" of her mission but she did convince me of the power of the "ministry of presence," that is the ability to minister to her community by BEING Christ, not trying, as we North Americans are wont to do, DOING for Christ. Like Edmund Rice, she sees "Christ present and appealing in the poor" and responds with a ministry of presence. I could learn much from that as one who simply wants to SEE results. May her ministry and that of her colleagues continue to prosper.
We headed out to Tahauntinsuyo (I will need to check the spelling) for our last day of service. There the Sisters of St Joseph of the Third Order of St Francis have been engaged in ministry for about 40 years, since the district was first formed. They had taught in a school until they gave it up but the convent still remains next door to the school. Other ministries have included a library and study center with books and internet access, a soup kitchen, and a senior citizens' daycare center. Our job was to paint both at the convent/library and down the street a bit at the house of a lay family who have been at the center of their mission. This couple have informally run a shelter for homeless folks at their own cost for decades. Now that they are getting elderly, they are not as active, but it was their initiative which caused the American sisters to get into adult care. When we arrived with our paint and supplies, Genaro and his wife were not quite ready for us. In particular Peruvian fashion, the supplies and one month's notice were not enough to get the couple to begin the preparations in advance. Instead, we arrived to two workers sanding and preparing the walls of the patio/garage, causing a delay to our work. Even so, we got to work as soon as we could compelled by the news that the couple had recently taken in 5 children from a family whose parents had died. These children were living in the patio/garage area where we were to paint and one of the children, Rodolfo, about 8 years of age, was around to help and socialize. Some of our group members talked with him, allowed him to paint, and played a bit of "futbol" with him.
The work was as one would expect; nothing exciting. But it is worthy of note that the most difficult area to work in was the part of the garage by the bathroom which reaked heavily of urine. It was there that the few possessions and the beds of the children were located. It was a long, tedious day of work in less-than-ideal conditions, but we were happy to see the results by the end of the day.
A note on the Sr Josephine, the only one of the three sisters present during our visit (the other two had returned to the US for a congregational meeting). She was very impressive in her warmth and patience, just a warm-hearted, loving, welcoming, and grateful person. She warmly embraced each of us as we dis-embarked and, later, got into the bus. I wondered about the "effectiveness" of her mission but she did convince me of the power of the "ministry of presence," that is the ability to minister to her community by BEING Christ, not trying, as we North Americans are wont to do, DOING for Christ. Like Edmund Rice, she sees "Christ present and appealing in the poor" and responds with a ministry of presence. I could learn much from that as one who simply wants to SEE results. May her ministry and that of her colleagues continue to prosper.
Thursday, July 8, 2010
A Final Reflection
When I signed up for this trip over a year ago, I had no idea what to expect and was honestly a little hesitant. But as I look back on the trip now, I realize that I worried for nothing. The students, the teachers, and even the Peruvians all made this trip worthwhile. From the first day we visited Fe y Alegria 26 I was astounded by the enthusiasm from the kids. Asking for our autographs, phone numbers, and emails, they certainly brightened our day and I can only hope that we did just same for them. Most of them did not even know we were building a house just up the mountain yet they showed the same affection they would for someone they have known for years. Their joy and friendliness was truly admirable. Later we moved on to a medical mission for disabled children and these children showed just as much affection as the students from Fe y Alegria. We played soccer, spoke with each other, but knowing that we would not return made it difficult to leave those kids.
It was not only the kids, however, that we experienced throughout the trip. Sister Josephine, Dr. Tony, and the brothers at Fe y Alegria all gave up their lives to work with the poor in Peru and from the looks of it, it is certainly making a difference. And as Dr. Tony said that his medical mission was the only one like it in Peru, it means that he, just as the others, has to work even harder to make a difference. I am honored to be able to help the brothers in Peru through the missions at Iona and hope to continue to do so in the future.
The affection, however, was not one-sided. The members of our group showed tremendous love for these kids and families and I shall forever admire them for that. I thank you, teachers, students, and everyone involved for your generosity and am grateful that I was able to spend my time with each of you.
--(Sean) Cuddy
Wednesday, July 7, 2010
Medical Mission ¨Hogar de San Francisco¨
Mark, Kevin & Felipe posted a blog last night which discusses the joy of the students at Fe y Alegria. They mention the medical mission which we visited on Monday where children in desperate circumstances still manifest great joy.
The mission is called ¨Hogar de San Francisco de Asis¨and it is truly a home. Dr Tony, a second order Franciscan established the home in the early 1990s after working for a few years for a medical mission a few kilometers away from its present location, Chaclacayo, outside of Lima. Before coming to Peru he had been a pediatric doctor with a tenured position in, I believe, a university in Georgia. He left it all to work with the poor and his focus was naturally children. The first few years his work with the other medical mission led him to understand the need for a separate facility just for children, and that is what the Hogar is.
There is a capacity for about 45 children in the home but there are often 50 and Dr Tony has hosted up to 65 at a time. The children are not necessarily abandoned by their families but the parents are indigent and/or unable to provide the level of care needed by the children. The idea is to give them a safe, happy home to live while their medical needs are addressed. When they are cured or nothing else can be done for them, they return home. Home can be anywhere in Peru, but most come from the high sierra (the Andes), or the jungle (Amazon basin), where access to medical care is difficult.
A variety of medical needs are addressed by Dr Toy and his staff. Many children have suffered severe burns, often do to thing unheard of in the US: Mothers cooking in one or two room huts drop vats of boiling oil, some fall into vats of boiling water that are left on the floor temporarily because the ¨stove¨has only one burner, and there was one boy who was burned when the hut he was living in was burned to the ground with him, his sister and his mother in it, probably because someone wanted the land on which they had squatted. There are a number of infants who have medical issues easily addressed in the US like cleft palettes. We saw some of the parents of these young people visiting in the livingroom. Another major category of medical problems are orthpaedic in nature, again, usually addressed early on and with ease in the US. There are also cases of leukemia, cancer, and incurable disease such as MD. Dr Tony told us many other stories including the case of a young girl of 13 whose severe headaches were ignored for too long. By the time she made it to Lima her brain tumor had spread so much that it was impossible to remove all of it in the Lima hospital where she was taken. The doctors gave her three months to live but she lived another year and a half as a joyful presence in the Hogar. Only in the last stages was she able to return home receiving paliative care, and dying with her family at her side. Such cases would be more readily addressed in other parts of the world. Even leukemia, which now has an 80% survival rate in the developed world, only has a 40% survival rate here due to the lack of ealr intervention and resources.
In a way much like the children of Fe y Alegria, these residents were characterized by joy. Dr Tony has a real home there in which the children share large dormitories for boys, girls, adoescents, and infants. Everyone has a chore, they all go to school or work with a teacher at the hogar, they all take cre of each other. It is truly touching.
By chance, there was a group of wonderful, mature group of young women from St John the Baptist of Long Island there for the week. They showed our guys the ropes and we quickly warmed up to playing with the student. One, Jhon (the spelling here is accurate due to the fact that many Peruvians want American sounding names so they need to adjust the spelling) took an instant liking to using my knees as a launching pad. Jhon was there for hearing as well as orthopaedic defects. His Spanish was difficult to understand at first, but after a few rounds of reviewing his times tables, my ear adjusted to his speech impediment. He jumped into many a lap, ran around, fought over the table hockey game, and generally was like any other kid.
At lunch I sat with a group of adolescents who were happy to give me there opinions about the World Cup- good timing on that for I don´t know what topics I would have had in common with them otherwise! Of the five, three were from the jungle, all burn victims, and two were from the sierra. One young man was a mature 27 years old, the oldest resident by far. He was making progress in his orthpaedic issues as well as his education. He has been in the hogar for over seven years. It was this group that challenged our guys to a futbol ( soccer) game. A wonder given their physical disabilities, but a joy to watch.
The mission is called ¨Hogar de San Francisco de Asis¨and it is truly a home. Dr Tony, a second order Franciscan established the home in the early 1990s after working for a few years for a medical mission a few kilometers away from its present location, Chaclacayo, outside of Lima. Before coming to Peru he had been a pediatric doctor with a tenured position in, I believe, a university in Georgia. He left it all to work with the poor and his focus was naturally children. The first few years his work with the other medical mission led him to understand the need for a separate facility just for children, and that is what the Hogar is.
There is a capacity for about 45 children in the home but there are often 50 and Dr Tony has hosted up to 65 at a time. The children are not necessarily abandoned by their families but the parents are indigent and/or unable to provide the level of care needed by the children. The idea is to give them a safe, happy home to live while their medical needs are addressed. When they are cured or nothing else can be done for them, they return home. Home can be anywhere in Peru, but most come from the high sierra (the Andes), or the jungle (Amazon basin), where access to medical care is difficult.
A variety of medical needs are addressed by Dr Toy and his staff. Many children have suffered severe burns, often do to thing unheard of in the US: Mothers cooking in one or two room huts drop vats of boiling oil, some fall into vats of boiling water that are left on the floor temporarily because the ¨stove¨has only one burner, and there was one boy who was burned when the hut he was living in was burned to the ground with him, his sister and his mother in it, probably because someone wanted the land on which they had squatted. There are a number of infants who have medical issues easily addressed in the US like cleft palettes. We saw some of the parents of these young people visiting in the livingroom. Another major category of medical problems are orthpaedic in nature, again, usually addressed early on and with ease in the US. There are also cases of leukemia, cancer, and incurable disease such as MD. Dr Tony told us many other stories including the case of a young girl of 13 whose severe headaches were ignored for too long. By the time she made it to Lima her brain tumor had spread so much that it was impossible to remove all of it in the Lima hospital where she was taken. The doctors gave her three months to live but she lived another year and a half as a joyful presence in the Hogar. Only in the last stages was she able to return home receiving paliative care, and dying with her family at her side. Such cases would be more readily addressed in other parts of the world. Even leukemia, which now has an 80% survival rate in the developed world, only has a 40% survival rate here due to the lack of ealr intervention and resources.
In a way much like the children of Fe y Alegria, these residents were characterized by joy. Dr Tony has a real home there in which the children share large dormitories for boys, girls, adoescents, and infants. Everyone has a chore, they all go to school or work with a teacher at the hogar, they all take cre of each other. It is truly touching.
By chance, there was a group of wonderful, mature group of young women from St John the Baptist of Long Island there for the week. They showed our guys the ropes and we quickly warmed up to playing with the student. One, Jhon (the spelling here is accurate due to the fact that many Peruvians want American sounding names so they need to adjust the spelling) took an instant liking to using my knees as a launching pad. Jhon was there for hearing as well as orthopaedic defects. His Spanish was difficult to understand at first, but after a few rounds of reviewing his times tables, my ear adjusted to his speech impediment. He jumped into many a lap, ran around, fought over the table hockey game, and generally was like any other kid.
At lunch I sat with a group of adolescents who were happy to give me there opinions about the World Cup- good timing on that for I don´t know what topics I would have had in common with them otherwise! Of the five, three were from the jungle, all burn victims, and two were from the sierra. One young man was a mature 27 years old, the oldest resident by far. He was making progress in his orthpaedic issues as well as his education. He has been in the hogar for over seven years. It was this group that challenged our guys to a futbol ( soccer) game. A wonder given their physical disabilities, but a joy to watch.
Tuesday, July 6, 2010
Alumni Blog - Happiness in the Hearts of Peru
Having only one day left, there is a lot to look back on. There have been several eye-opening experiences on this journey. From the school in Canto Grande to the medical mission just outside of Lima, we have witnessed many things. Our first impression of Peru was very depressing, however, soon after interacting with the people we learned that things were not as sad as they appeared. When greeted by the children of Fe y Alegria, the amout of joy on their faces was matched only by their greatness in numbers. The swarms of children that ran out of the classrooms was remarkable and all were extremely excited to see us. The happiness of the children rubbed off on us erasing any feelings of gloom. We built a house for one of the students and knew of the terrible conditions they lived in, and were astonished by the ever present joy in their hearts. This same feeling was experienced at the medical mission. Doctor Tony told us of the horrors that the children live with. We then met the children and discovered, regardless of their condition, they were as exuberant as any of the children we had previously met. They cheered for us and joined us as we held a game of soccer in the park.
On the last day, we plan to visit the childreñ of Fe y Alegria once again. We will be saddened to have to leave them but we will remember them as the happiest children we have ever had the pleasure of meeting.
-- Mark, Felipe, and Kevin
On the last day, we plan to visit the childreñ of Fe y Alegria once again. We will be saddened to have to leave them but we will remember them as the happiest children we have ever had the pleasure of meeting.
-- Mark, Felipe, and Kevin
Fe y Alegria- the school
While I was not at the school as much as some in our group, it did leave me with a lasting impression. ¨Fe y Alegria¨ or ¨Faith and Joy¨ is actually a network of school founded by the Jesuits in Peru. The concept is not too different from charter schools in that the state pays the salaries of the teachers but other groups, especially religious communities, run them. In this case the ¨26¨ is the number of this school in Canto Grande run by the Christian Brothers.
The thing which is most obvious about this school is the joy demonstrated by the young students in particular. As soon as we were spotted, we were mobbed by a number of school children. There was hugging, and talking, and lots of playing. We felt like movie stars and were even asked for autographs. As Mr Daly noted, contact with us was one way of ¨traveling,¨of having contact with another world, of ¨touching¨a new reality, much as we were there to witness to their reality. Given the poverty, many of these student would never even leave Canto Grande, not to mention travel to the US or experience a drastic change in their economic future. Sure, there have been plenty of ¨success stories,¨people who have done well in the world who are alumni. But most will be in anto Grande for their whole lives. And, even if they leave, most will always be affected by their experiences at¨Fe y Alegria.¨ For instance, Friday, after the bonfire we had with the high school students, a woman who was the mother of two very successful alumni of the school traveled on the bus with us home. She remains committed to the community, supplying meals and support to the students as well as the brothers.
Perhaps one of the most striking things about the school is its large footprint. I mean that in the sense of the area it takes up to be sure, for it is a large compound with a wall which claims territory way up the hill into the community where we built the house. But I also mean ¨footprint¨ in terms of the educational and spiritual well-being. The students are engaged in activities there at all hours of the day and night. It is a kind of youth center or haven in a community which has little else to offer them. It raises the spirit and brings ¨faith and joy¨to the entire area. It is a kind of sanctuary, a holy place of escape and renewal. And, surely, our spirits were renewed there as well.
It is my hope to have other participants add there own reflections here. Allow me in the meantime to mention the topics yet to be covered: Our touring, the people of Peru, the Hogar de San Francisco in Chaclacayo, and our day today in a women´s and children´s shelter.
The thing which is most obvious about this school is the joy demonstrated by the young students in particular. As soon as we were spotted, we were mobbed by a number of school children. There was hugging, and talking, and lots of playing. We felt like movie stars and were even asked for autographs. As Mr Daly noted, contact with us was one way of ¨traveling,¨of having contact with another world, of ¨touching¨a new reality, much as we were there to witness to their reality. Given the poverty, many of these student would never even leave Canto Grande, not to mention travel to the US or experience a drastic change in their economic future. Sure, there have been plenty of ¨success stories,¨people who have done well in the world who are alumni. But most will be in anto Grande for their whole lives. And, even if they leave, most will always be affected by their experiences at¨Fe y Alegria.¨ For instance, Friday, after the bonfire we had with the high school students, a woman who was the mother of two very successful alumni of the school traveled on the bus with us home. She remains committed to the community, supplying meals and support to the students as well as the brothers.
Perhaps one of the most striking things about the school is its large footprint. I mean that in the sense of the area it takes up to be sure, for it is a large compound with a wall which claims territory way up the hill into the community where we built the house. But I also mean ¨footprint¨ in terms of the educational and spiritual well-being. The students are engaged in activities there at all hours of the day and night. It is a kind of youth center or haven in a community which has little else to offer them. It raises the spirit and brings ¨faith and joy¨to the entire area. It is a kind of sanctuary, a holy place of escape and renewal. And, surely, our spirits were renewed there as well.
It is my hope to have other participants add there own reflections here. Allow me in the meantime to mention the topics yet to be covered: Our touring, the people of Peru, the Hogar de San Francisco in Chaclacayo, and our day today in a women´s and children´s shelter.
Monday, July 5, 2010
House rebuilt
Most of Thursday afternoon had the student volunteers back up the 134 steps at the sight of the rebuilding. Some students held the walls in place while the carpinter measure, re-measured, leveled, re-adjusted, and finally secured the walls. One side of the wall was attached directly to the neighbor´s concrete and brick wall but the other side was only secured to the next piece of wall. It was a slow, painstaking process. Most of the rest of us continued leveling the floor and removing rock. We had made a fair bit of progress on the boulder but there was more back breaking rock breaking to be done.
One of the things that constantly struck me as bizarre was the fact that there was a bathroom which was ¨permanent,¨ and, all the while it stood exposed to full view. It had a concrete base, a toilet bowl with no seat, and a singular pipe which topped off at about 5 feet. It was not much but it was better than many huts in the pueblos jovenes that I had been in in Peru back in 1990. There is stood, in full view, as we worked around it.
There was some urgency by later Thursday afternoon to get enough of the walls up to have the family back sleeping in the house for the night. The main culprit in the slow-down? The boulder. Despite all the work done, it was still in the way, blocking the correct alignment of the wall. Thus, when we left Thursday, the two back walls were not in place at all and had to be supported by beams.
Naturally, Friday morning we were anxious to finish the job. The delay? The rock. It was hard, tedious work. As we looked around we saw how much more elevated the walls would be in some places due to the uneveness of the ground (which was also the floor). Later, we were told, when everything was in place, the family would have to move rocks into place to fill the gap.
Another delay was the discussion between Brother James and the family on how they wanted to change he original plan. In any case, there was a lot of down time, so we watched the World Cup on the television the family had brought back into the house (Holand was winning). Most of the waiting was for the removal of the boulder. Often we thought how easily and quickly the job would be done in the US with a power tool. But there was none to be had and human labor, while slower, is much cheaper in Peru.
By lunch time we hoped to be done for we were not supposed to return in the afternoon. But we did return after lunch to help with making windows and doors. They were very basic: A wooden fram onto which cheap tongue and groove pieces of wood were attached. We nailed things into place and Jorge came with a circular saw to cuts the ends evenly. When we returned down the hill for a meeting between our students and those of Fe y Alegria, the roof was the only element that had yet to be completed.
Back down at Fe y Alegria 26, the other hall of the group was meeting with students, going into classes, and playing a great deal. They also identified a relatively easy project to work on. The name of the school was painted on the brick wall half way up the hill that we were working on. As one sat at the bottom, it was clear that the letters, each over six feet tall, needed to be repainted. So, our immersion trip members spent much of the time repainting the letters and renewing ¨Fe y Alegria.¨
One of the things that constantly struck me as bizarre was the fact that there was a bathroom which was ¨permanent,¨ and, all the while it stood exposed to full view. It had a concrete base, a toilet bowl with no seat, and a singular pipe which topped off at about 5 feet. It was not much but it was better than many huts in the pueblos jovenes that I had been in in Peru back in 1990. There is stood, in full view, as we worked around it.
There was some urgency by later Thursday afternoon to get enough of the walls up to have the family back sleeping in the house for the night. The main culprit in the slow-down? The boulder. Despite all the work done, it was still in the way, blocking the correct alignment of the wall. Thus, when we left Thursday, the two back walls were not in place at all and had to be supported by beams.
Naturally, Friday morning we were anxious to finish the job. The delay? The rock. It was hard, tedious work. As we looked around we saw how much more elevated the walls would be in some places due to the uneveness of the ground (which was also the floor). Later, we were told, when everything was in place, the family would have to move rocks into place to fill the gap.
Another delay was the discussion between Brother James and the family on how they wanted to change he original plan. In any case, there was a lot of down time, so we watched the World Cup on the television the family had brought back into the house (Holand was winning). Most of the waiting was for the removal of the boulder. Often we thought how easily and quickly the job would be done in the US with a power tool. But there was none to be had and human labor, while slower, is much cheaper in Peru.
By lunch time we hoped to be done for we were not supposed to return in the afternoon. But we did return after lunch to help with making windows and doors. They were very basic: A wooden fram onto which cheap tongue and groove pieces of wood were attached. We nailed things into place and Jorge came with a circular saw to cuts the ends evenly. When we returned down the hill for a meeting between our students and those of Fe y Alegria, the roof was the only element that had yet to be completed.
Back down at Fe y Alegria 26, the other hall of the group was meeting with students, going into classes, and playing a great deal. They also identified a relatively easy project to work on. The name of the school was painted on the brick wall half way up the hill that we were working on. As one sat at the bottom, it was clear that the letters, each over six feet tall, needed to be repainted. So, our immersion trip members spent much of the time repainting the letters and renewing ¨Fe y Alegria.¨
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