awesome photo by marina
Add comment August 17, 2010
An Indigenous Woman’s Voice
Our second women’s focus group was a success. It is important that we offer the women something while they are giving information to us about their way of life. Since malnutrition is a huge problem, we decided to teach the women about healthy local food. The women enjoyed the nutrition coloring booklet created by our women’s empowerment team. It is full of images of local food and applicable health benefits. Heavy emphasis was placed on using visuals because the women cannot read. However, we did include both Spanish and Quechua content in the booklet. During the coloring activity we also gave out samples of all the food we talked about.
Our primary goal was to explore the positives and negatives of rural life from the perspective of indigenous women. We also talked about hopes for the future. Their hopes for the future are not that different than the hopes and dreams of the majority of women in both developed and developing countries. Freedom from domestic violence. Better health care. A market for their crafts. A better future for their children. But there are much more barriers that these women face which push this future far from their grasps. One of the negatives that they mentioned was how they can’t really speak at community assemblies. When asked what they would say at the assemblies, one women said she just wanted to have a say regarding the community issues discussed. In my reality opinions are sought, given, and considered all the time. What may seem as a norm to us is a right these women do not know. Now I even appreciate that little survey given to me by an IEP student last semester which asked if I would support carbon offset projects. Can you imagine not having a say in decisions that directly affect your family or community?
~tina
Add comment August 9, 2010
First Aid with the Qhalis
5 am is starting to be the common hour to wake up these days. Life in Peru begins at dawn. I am starting to appreciate my early mornings and how much work can get done in one day if the time is spent productively. The past weeks I have been drawing many of the first aid pictures that accompany the health manual DESEA is putting together. It has been challenging to put such complex practices on paper but in communities where illiteracy is not a foreign phenomenon the health concerns are still present. It is important to create tools which can be used in emergency situations that are comprehendible.
We began our four day First Aid training workshop two weeks ago. Four of the Qhalis (community health workers) were attending. The first day we went over some “obstruction of the airway” in adult, children and infants. The Qhalis were very eager to learn the different techniques and life saving practices. We spend six hours a day teaching them First Aid. The little space we were we taught them was located right next to a school in the community of Chaypa some 4200 meters high. By the fourth day, the Qhalis had learned as much as certified medics are learning in years. Their sharpness and motivation to learn First Aid was incredibly inspiring. The fourth day was all about simulations. Six students from the Becky Fund had a grand time playing with Halloween left over’s such as fake broken femur bones, fake blood and some glue-on cuts. We dressed up as victims and staged different scenarios such as car accidents, choking incidents and a bus crash. The Qhalis waited outside as we prepared the scene. When the door opened signalling that we were ready, they rushed in, threw on some gloves and started attending to us as though it was a real life situation. They did such a good job using all the skills they had learned. At the end of the day we decided to stage a scene on the playground. We invited the school children to come watch their health workers in action. Again the Qhalis did a flawless job of providing First Aid. By the end of the activity, our Quechua speaking nurse Vilma asked the children if they can trust their health workers. The children shouted a big “SIIIII” and started clapping in approval which surely put a smile on each Qhalis face.
~marina
1 comment July 30, 2010
And the whole town showed up…
On July 20th the community of Pampacoral gathered to work on preparing the land for the school greenhouse. Weeks of working with the community and gaining their trust paid off as over 50 parents arrived with shovels and picks in hand ready to work. The amount of land moved and rocks removed was astounding, its amazing what 50 people can accomplish. The physical accomplishment was great but most importantly the community came together to help their school, it was the definition of community lead development.
For the Becky Fund and Team Peru the community work day proved the value of our agricultural project and the level of trust we have gained from the people of Pampacoral. I was very proud of the team and I am confident our greenhouse project will be successful in Pampacoral.~aaron
Add comment July 28, 2010
The People of Totora
Vilma and another women named Sabina lead the way up another dirt road next to the river until we arrived to a shaky bridge that lead through a yard with some piglets and two goats. On the ground sat a man who was shaving the fur of a dried out goat skin. He had few teeth and even those were in bad condition. Chewing on coca leaves to relief the pain he explained to the women that he has not been able to walk anymore. He pulled up his trouser leg and showed us what truly did not look like a knee. Thin to the bone, his knee had been inflated with liquid and not in the spot it should be in. He carries himself on his knuckles or occasionally if the strength allows he manages to walk with a cane. His leg is useless and slows his life down, slows his income down. His hands were strong and showed years of work and even in his bad health conditions this old man still managed to laugh. The next person we visited was an old lady trekking up the mountain in front of me while I was out of breath following her. No more teeth than the previous man, she showed us her hand made scarf with details that must have taken ages. We sat in between two mud houses to escape the afternoon heat. The women held their conversations, laughing away and occasionally steering back to health issues. She was fine, still holding strong and feeding some herbs to her guinea pigs. Lastly we went and saw a couple who sat on the ground, a large tarp provided them with shade and the cats, dogs, hens and pigs were circling around them. Both of the people were weaving skilled and detailed carpets on an innovative weaving frame. They told me that they spend two weeks, ten hours a day to complete one which they then sell for only 100 soles (about $ 35). With their eyes focused on the colorful pattern and their hands moving fast, they said that they are in need of a market where they can sell their goods for a better price, a fair price. To conclude an eventful day with some valuable lessons the bottom line is that these people are living parallel to the land, to the seasons and simple. They have little and they do not ask for much. They deserve basic human rights in order to feed their families, seek health care, and have an education. It all seems to be common sense but apparently common sense is not so common at all. I was thinking, after visiting and spending some time with the people, in the school, and hiking around this breathtaking area how admirable these people are. To give their time to teach children although not being paid much, to continue to work hard even though a disability is making even the smallest movement strenuous, to hike as though years have never passed, to weave with perfection for a bit of an income… These people are heroic. Every house I visited, the people ran to grab a log, removed the cloth from their back to provide a cushion and asked me to sit, offering me fresh boiled potatoes and laughing out loud. The sense of community in Totora was in inspiring and the humble hearts along this day remind me how little help can go such a long way. Sandra’s health workers attending to the people, giving them someone who cares, even if it is just to visit and hold a conversation provides the community with hope. ~marina
Add comment July 28, 2010
Training Qhalis
Chris & Marina work with DESEA to teach emergency response health care to the Qhalis. They are rural health workers in some of the most remote communities.
Add comment July 21, 2010
Before Our Time is Done
I did not really spend a lot of time with Team Peru but three weeks is enough time to create life-changing bonds that will hopefully last me a lifetime. I say this at the risk of sounding melodramatic, but I am willing to live with the consequences of that. My time with Team Peru has been unique, to say the least, and I must confess not at all what I expected. My favorite, most touching moments here are many and difficult to summarize. I must choose the absolute best ones, though, and so I must start with our dance party in Calca. This might sound somewhat shallow, but I believe it was an important and defining moment because it was our true first bonding experience. We were the life of the party, being the first ones to hit the dance floor, and I got to dance to some of my favorites (Billy Jean, Like A Prayer, Chorando se foi).
Another special moment was when I went to Accha Pampa with Tina, Saskia and Cheryl. We went to visit the little children in the pre-school there and as soon as I walked inside the building my eyes fell on this little girl who was just sitting there, looking at the world with confused, frightened eyes. I sat next to her the whole time we were there, trying hard to get even a single word out of her. She would not reply, though, just stare at me with big bright brown eyes. When it was time for us to leave I felt my heart did break right there and then and I cried for her, for her wrinkled little hands and her dusty clothes. But in the midst of my despair I also felt hope, because I understood that there is much that can be done. And finally, I must say that every time we went out to the communities and shook hands with the people, and every time I saw their shy smiles and heard their sweet voices saying hello to us in Spanish, and when I saw the faces of little children with sunburned cheeks, my heart would brighten and fill with love for this people, their bright-colored ponchos over hardworking shoulders, their dirty feet trapped in worn-out rubber sandals, and their good, simple hearts. Much like the good, simple hearts of all my teammates, who’ve worked so hard every day to make a difference in these people’s lives, and their smiles and laughter and words, which also brightened my day and filled my heart with love. I can only say that you have all changed me, killed some of my jadedness, some of my lack of hope, and made me into someone that believes much more in people and the power of amazing minds and big hearts put together. ~elsa (t&i)
Add comment July 21, 2010
Potato Presents
With over 180 varieties of potatoes grown near Pampacorral, potatoes are a common gift given by the communities with whom we work. These potatoes were cooked in a dirt oven and served warm. Delicious! ~cheryl
Add comment July 18, 2010
Pampacorral Community Assembly Meeting
Three weeks and many meetings later, the Agriculture Team presented their plan to build a greenhouse for the Pampacorral school during the community’s monthly assembly meeting. The meeting solidified the partnership between The Becky Fund and the community in furthering the nutritional well-being and agricultural knowledge of the students, and consequently, all of Pampacorral. The community has scheduled a faena, or community work day, to prepare the land and begin making mud bricks for the construction of the greenhouse. The first faena is planned for Tuesday, July 20, and we will be bringing ample food and beverages for the occasion. ~cheryl
2 comments July 18, 2010
Rebecca Walters
tNovero
Thomas Ebner
Michael Cutino