Little background PP president(Bob Owens) has been traveling to each of the projects in Peru in the last few weeks both in Moyobamba & Iquitos. He has been working with the kids on various activities but also talking to various local agencies involved in ensuring that the projects accomplish their goals and continue to be sustainable by benefiting the children of Peru. he just sent me an email about his adventures (some mispelling due to email connections)
'We arrived in Tarapoto, after one flight was cancelled due to rain,(its the rainy season!) Saturday night and stayed there for the night.Sunday we took an early car to Moyobamba - an hour a half trip that took two hours due to road mantenance through some of the most beautiful country side in the world - mountains drapped in rain forest jungle. There is a fair amount of deforestation but it is still absolutely spectacular scenery. '
'We arrived in Moyo set up a time to meet with the leaders of COCID and discuss our plans for the week. I was traveling with Javier Rios, an expert on the organization of charity organizations in Peru- He planned on sitting down with the leadership all Monday morning and map out what they are and where they are going so we could have a basis for funding different phases of the program. '
We also looked at the property so that we could plan out what kinds of construction they could start with to supply the minimum structure to continue the program - A roof to provide the kids a place to study; ak kitchen to provide the food supplied by the local government - plus a plan for the construction of different phases over the next few years. (currently the program is functioning in a temporary building, PP has been discussing finding permament location for the projects to continue and grow)
A compost, Pictures & Homework!
They did very well that Monday morning! I was in charge of helping the kids with their science problems(he is a retired science teacher) and taking pictures - I took the pictures and ended up helping them with their english home work! :-). I also took a couple of hours preparing to build a compost pile for their garden - plus teaching several of the boys how to build them - turn them and start new piles - so they have a continuous supply of fertile compost that can be added to their garden. Everything worked out well- two of the boys worked with me and were instructed on how to build the pile - plus we had a stream of kids bringing buckets of water to wet the vegetation and the different kinds of manure that the kids brought in Tuesday morning- guinea pig, chicken, and who knows what else!(Oh dear!) The pile was working well when left on Friday.
Fernando-PP Scholarship student
I also spent quite a bit of time with Fernando - the recipient of our scholarship to continue his education as a car mechanic - He is a super kid! along with a couple of his friends he kept me company on my morning runs - These kids think they can keep up with the öld man¨- they could and almost killed me! Each day I helped with the tutoring, got to know several of the kids, especially those who were diligently working on their homework- Those are the kids we really want to help - the ones taking advantage of every aspect of the program that they can.
On Wednesday I went out with Victor to photograph some of the homes of the kids in the program. They look like normal kids from normal homes when they are at the center - in their uniforms that the program provides- but their homes show where they really come from- shacks with holes in the wall so you can literally seen their bedrooms from the street - mud floors and limited bathroom facilities! It is amazing that they can be as clean as they appear to be at the center. It was a pleasure working with them.
Luisa(Mami la Madrina) and are now in Iquitos dealing with ASDA - our program here. We will be talking with the leaders of this program today and tomorrow- then return to Lima.
More to come! with pictures too!
