Iquitos: Peruvian pride

The following is a post from Ben, who is serving in Iquitos with his wife Karen:

August 4

Not long ago my wife and I had one of the most amazing experiences here in Iquitos. We were invited by a member of one of our Self-Reliance groups to see the village where she taught school. We arrived at this small village by boat, half an hour or so up the Amazon River. Upon arrival we thought we would just go to her school so she could leave an assignment for her students to work on and then she would show us around the village. When we got to the school, however, we were informed that they were having an assembly that morning and that we were invited to stand in the back and watch. From behind, we observed some two hundred students from kindergarten to high school walk out of their classrooms and line up in formation outside the school. Once all the children were in their lines they started the assembly with their usual morning announcements. After the announcements they proceeded to explain that they, like they always do, would choose someone to raise the Peruvian flag while the rest of the students sang the national hymn. To our surprise, they invited us to the front of the assembly to raise the flag while the students sang. It was an incredible experience for us to raise the flag and watch as all the students sang with pride, the song of their country.

            I walked away from that experience thinking how thoughtful that was for them to include us in their assembly. They didn’t know who we were or what we were doing there but they still blessed us with the honor of raising their country’s flag. I continue to be amazed by the love and friendliness of the Peruvian people. They allowed us to experience something that we will never forget.

Iquitos: Such kindness and love

The following is a post from Karen, who is serving with her husband Ben in Iquitos:

           I am always amazed by the kindness and care that the people of Iquitos show me. A little over a week ago, I got the worst sickness I’ve had since we’ve been here.  I woke up one morning with horrible stomach pains and I couldn’t stop throwing up. Of course it was the morning that we were supposed to go paint a school in a little village called Manati. I wanted to go so bad, so I talked myself into feeling better, and I went. 

Not long after I started working, I couldn’t pretend that I felt okay anymore. I found myself sitting on the ground with my head buried in my hands, just hoping and praying that I would make it through the day.  Finally I was lead over to a shady spot where a few other sick people were resting. I laid down on a mat and started to break out into a crazy fever. There were a few Peruvian ladies sitting close by, taking care of all the sick people. They kept feeling my head and fussing over me, and making me drink water and take medicine. My fever wasn’t going down so they brought over a big bucket full of water, lemons, and some kind of leaves. They washed my hair in this mixture and continued to lay cold wet leaves on my forehead until my fever finally broke.

It wasn’t until we returned home later that day that I realized I didn’t even know the names of the kind women who helped me. They showed such love and concern for me, a complete stranger. They made me feel like I was home in the U.S. with my own mother taking care of me, even though I am thousands of miles away.

Semillas de Amor: Continued construction

The following is a post from Jena, who was a volunteer at Semillas de Amor:

 

August 5

We have been working hard this week on finishing the main room in the foundation. With a lot of help from our Colombian friends, we have the roof installed as well as plaster on the walls in preparation to paint a mural this week! The kids in the foundation are so excited to have the room to eat and play in. Some of the kids from the foundation even came after school to help us cement the walls. 

In between construction, we have also been working on making a banner with the kids for to hang in the building. I am excited to have the room finished so the kids can finally meet in a building instead of on the street like we have been. What a blessing it is to have all this help from our Colombian friends, we couldn´t have done it without them! 

We are looking forward to painting the mural with our friend Mikell from Mondo art this week! There is a lot of wall space, so it will definitely be a big project, but the kids are going to have hand in it as well, which will be sweet.

Iquitos: Meet Solange

The following is a post from Ben, who is an intern with his wife Karen at Iquitos.

The woman on the left in the picture is Solange. She had taken a class through the government to learn how to make marmalades. The government promised funds to help start her business but never followed through. Additionally, the government didn’t teach her how to properly run a business. When she heard about Eagle Condor and the business classes being offered, she decided that this was a way for her to get the proper knowledge of business principles and finally start her marmalade business.

Last week we had the opportunity to document the process. With the help of her friend they took the juice from fresh pineapples and turned it into delicious marmalade. The process took several hours and included digging out all the juice and pulp from the pineapples, adding the sugar and pectin, cooking it over a charcoal fire, and then separating it into little containers to sell. They told us that if they leave at sunrise to sell the marmalade by walking up and down the street, by sunset the same day they should be able to sell it all. Splitting the profits between her and her friend they both will walk away with about 15 dollars.

I’ve learned a lot about dedication from Solange. Even though she has a little 2-year-old girl that requires a lot of attention, she attends every single class, does all the homework she is assigned, and even goes to other meetings with us to tell others about her experiences in the class. Besides all of this, she is one of the most dedicated people in church. When her family was assigned to clean the church building one week, they went and did it practically by themselves, even though others were supposed to come and help but didn’t. I feel lucky to know such an incredible woman and I know that with her dedication and the help of these classes she will be able to become very successful.

Iquitos: Karen and Ben

The following is a post from Karen, who, with her husband Ben, are the FIRST interns in Iquitos.

Our very first week in Iquitos, my husband and I were wandering around,  trying to familiarize ourselves with the area. We came across some little souvenir shops over the river, and as we were glancing around at all of the products for sale, our eyes fell on this painting at the exact same time. It drew us in immediately and we couldn’t look away. We decided we wouldn’t buy it right then, but maybe another day we’d come back.

Not even a week later, we were wandering around again, conducting interviews for our economic report. Our feet carried us right back to the little shops over the river and again, we found ourselves face to face with the painting we had fallen in love with. We finally agreed that we just needed to buy it, and while the artist/shop owner was wrapping it up for us, we decided to interview him.

His name was Bily, and his story amazed me.  He hand painted so many beautiful Amazon masterpieces, each one taking close to a week to complete, but by the time his profits were averaged out, he was only making roughly 10 soles a day. As we asked more questions about his business, we found out that he sleeps on the floor of his tiny shop each night, and that his family lives 4 hours away down the river. He would only return home every 2 or 3 months to see his family, and bring them any extra money he’d made.

It was humbling to me, to see how someone with such incredible talent, was living on basically nothing. It made me take a good long look at myself, at all of the things I have, at all of the things I don’t need. It opened up my eyes, and as I remember all of the things I used to complain about back home (the internet isn’t working! There’s nothing good on TV! Gas is so expensive! I don’t have any cute clothes! Etc. etc.) seem so silly.

Semillas de Amor: Raising the roof

The following is a post from Jena, a new intern at Semillas de Amor: 

Here it is, the long awaited moment... today we RAISED THE ROOF!!! This morning, Mary and I worked along side four strong Colombian hombres (Uris, the founder of Semillas de Amor brothers and father) to assemble the roof of the building. We were amazed and a little surpised by the construction techniques of these Colombians, but we all worked hard and now we finally have a room finished. I am especially excited that its finished because that means we can work on the mural inside the room! Good work and thanks to everyone who donated and helped with construction!


Photos of other recent activities:

La Aldea Infantil: Good-bye

The following is a post from Jill, who just finished her internship at the Aldea:

July 25
This week was my last week as an intern here at the Aldea. As we said our tender goodbyes, we left an encouraging message with each of the children and reassured them that they have the power and capabilities to realize their dreams. We gave each child their own personalized card which pointed out their best qualities (most of which came from their peers) and reminded them that they can continue to develop these and other qualities which will help them to accomplish their goals.As the children received their cards, their eyes lit up and they were beaming with joy as they felt recognized and appreciated. We let them know that they are all special and an important part of the Aldea, and we will miss them dearly and terribly. The friendships and bonds we have made will not only affect the lives of these children, but will continue to affect our lives as well. This has been the most incredible and fulfilling experience of my entire life. I left my heart in the Aldea.