Canto Grande: The work done

Again, my apologies. We do hope that, with a functioning computer, we can publish some pictures of our journey.
Back to Thursday: Our first task was to go and transport the pre-fabricated walls of the house from the bottom of the hill to the top. Br Gloss had contracted with a local carpinter, ¨Jorge,¨ to measure the existing ¨hut, ¨ and discuss with the family their requirements. So, we had our first foray into the area surrounding the school that the Brothers run, ¨Fe y Alegria.¨ It was an eye-opening experience. The area was extremely dusty (all of western Peru is desert) and there was a fair amount of garbage strewn throughout the area. There were a large number of stray dogs, some in good shape but some in truly horrific shape. No ASPCA to look out for them when so many humans lack the basic necessities!
In order to understand the area, one must understand that Canto Grande is, in fact, a squatters´town. People do not own their land but have simply arrived in Lima, mainy from the Andes, and found a place to squat. So, no one with money would freely choose to live up the hill. It´s inaccessible and inconvenient, but it is land for the taking. ¨Invasions¨occur, and people begin building huts in these area, starting with straw mats, cardboard, and a few rocks, and progressing, if at all, to more sturdy construction.
On our way to the house where the walls were stored (the house of the carpinter´s mother), we met Sr Angela, a Sacred Heart sister (I hope I got that right-I know it´s the same community as Damian of Molokai). Sr Angela, a sister originally from Ireland, has only been in Canto Grande for three years but has long worked in the developing world, especially in the Phillippines.
Our first task was to transport the tin roof up the hill. That doesn´t seem too difficult but the hill was substantial. Lucky for us, there are soon to be municipal elections and the politicians have just had stairs built up the hills for the first time ever. Where previously there was only a steep, dusty path, so steep that one would slip back down according to Sr Angela, there were now 134 steps. Br Goss later told us they are numbered so the politicans can list how many stairs they have built in their political campaigns. Anyway, it was still a difficult climb. Once at the top, we met the folks whose house we were to work on. It was a couple, about thrity years old with several small children. Their house was four walls made of a thin plywood or cardboard, held togther by wooden posts and topped with tin roofs. I was surprised to see a toilet, a sink, and a pipe for a shower, but all these were very very primative. We did help them remove a few more possessions, a dress which anyone in the US would have thrown out long ago, a dirty, stained mattress, and a few other things. When moving the mattress, I was startled by a rooster who was hiding behind it. I feared it was a rat!
Our next task was meeting the carpinter, Jorge, and carrying the walls. He had had them transported most of the way up the hill but the truck could only proceed so far as the dirt road become only a path. It was arduous but also kind of fun.
MORE LATER.