After breakfast this morning a few of us went with Maria, the social worker, to make home visits to some of the people further up the mountain. These communities, called "invasion settlements" or "arrival towns" are the newest generation to come down from the mountains to squat and find work. Most of the homes here are simple walls built with either stone or brick (depending on how much money they have) and most have dirt floors. This, by far, has been the most emotionally draining experience of the mission. The area we visited today was called "Mujeres con Esperanza" (Women with Hope).
On our way, Adan drove us in the van as far as the paved roads would go. Then, we got out and walked. At some point, we met up with a lovely young woman named Francisca. She was walking the dirt roads carrying her baby in a sling (a very common sight around here). Maria introduced herself as a social worker that is a colleague of Father Alex. Francisca tells Maria of a few families she knows of that might benefit from some of the services Father Alex´s mission supports. So, we follow her to visit some of these families...
The first home we went to was difficult to imagine. A 14-year old girl and her 9-year old brother lived there. The parents had built the home some time back, but left the children (for now) and headed back to the mountians, leaving them to make a life without them. No one was home when we got there, but we were told the boy was at school and the girl had gone into the city to work. Perhaps we will meet up with them later...
Our next stop was to say"hola" to another young mother and her son... he was playing with a dump truck outside their humble abode. Watching little Luis Fernando reminds me of Camden, and I quietly tear up watching him dump rocks into the back of the toy dump truck imgining my son doing the same in his sandbox in our grassy, landscaped back yard... a luxury I have sadly taken for granted.
From there, we are invited to see where Francisca lives... who graciously welcomed us into her tiny one-room home. Some of us sit inside on a makeshift bench, while the others sit on the single bed while Francisca tells us more about her and her family. She is 24 years old and has a husband (who is in town working construction) and two children. Her 6-year-old daughter is in school at the time, and her 3-month-old daughter (Christina) is bundled in the sling and tied around her shoulders. They bought their land for 100 soles (or, approximately $40), built the block-walled home (with no windows and dirt floor) a few years back. Their plot of land is approximately 300 sqare meters... so not very big. We sit and talk for quite some time, with Bob interpreting for us since neither Maria or Francisca speak English.
After leaving there, we head back down along the ravine toward Alto Cayma. We must have walked at least 5 miles, I´m guessing. Francisca follows us the entire time, carrying her baby on her back. Karen offers her bottle of water to keep hydrated, and Francisca graciously takes it. As we guessed, we finally run into Alba, the 14-year-old that lives alone with her younger brother. Maria invites her to come with us, so that she and Francisca can come to her office in Alto Cayma to talk about services Father Alex provides with the mission. They both agree to come. Our last stop before heading back to the volunteer house is to see an elderly woman named Luisa. Before we got to her house, though, Maria stops at a tiny store to buy the old woman bananas. Luisa is 86-years-old and lives with her son, Guillermo. He´s busy outside sewing on an old machine. Luisa is inside her home (I´m guessing she can´t walk too well). We go in to say hello and she kissed me on the cheek. Guillermo´s wife is away, working in the city, my guess is she works to provide the income so that Guillermo can take care of his mother. A short visit later, and we are headed back home.
No comments:
Post a Comment