So yesterday we headed back to Cusco a day early due to the national strike...our 6 1/2 hour bus ride through the night was uneventful. We then headed by taxi back to the Sacred Valley by taxi...about 20 minutes outside of Cusco our cab came to an abrupt halt...strikers were throwing huge boulders onto the road to disrupt travel...bus drivers and taxi drivers were throwing them off to the side to pass through...much loud angry yelling ... Our taxi had 8 occupants we went high and dry on a boulder and had to get out and push/lift to get threw...
I thought getting to the airport this morning might be more of the same..but it was an uneventful trip back to Cusco. I arrived in Lima at was met by Brigid at the airport...then we traveled for about an hour to her house...in San Juan Lurigauncha ( sp ?). It just over 1 1/2 million the poorest district. It is my 3 time staying with her in Lima...but I again am startled by the poverty. The people of the Andes are equally poor, but they live in a beautiful setting...urban poverty seems so much more oppressive. We had lunch with the other SNJM's plus a young volunteer Erin from the states.
Then we bused to the center where her projects are. Women learn how to sew and create cottage industries to create income and develop better self esteem in the morning..in the afternoon it transforms into an after school program ...but we we went to yet another after school project, just end started by Lordes. So many young families come to Lima... "ciudades invasión" where they find a plot of land and " squat" starting with straw, then plastic...as they find enough bricks they construct walls. Theses structures and families now climb up the hills of Lima. The new families are higher up the mountain. So we took a colectivo to the end of the road and then climbed up the hill to a wooden shack, dirt floor with no electricity...the community donated the building, and found some old beat up desks...some donated school supplies and some puzzles. We barely opened the door and moved the desks around...when we were surounded by about 15 kids. David had a word search homework..my guess is that he was 7-8...he barely knew his letters ...so finding words was a challenge ...what life will these children have..they start way behind the eight ball..their families are here to have a better life......but eagerly they come..this project is only a few months old. Already three of the older kids are learning to help the younger ones...that may be the greatest accomplishment ...community and leadership development.
We packed up the room and headed down the very steep dirt road before dark..greeted all the way by smiling kids and families...this afternoon will burn into my heart and soul
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