A Brief Response to the Comments Section

Ok, I’ll try to tackle some of the questions posed, though I’m not sure I can answer them all, some are probably better left for our roundtable.

Why are there so many more orphans in Peru than in the United States.
The most apparent reason for the amount of orphans is, of course, poverty. While perhaps not qualifying as a third world country, Peru is definitely quite impoverished in relation to the States. This especially pertains to the indigenous population, who make up a majority of Peru’s population and from whom most of the orphans come. The indigenous people face an interesting dilemma; they can abandon their culture in attempt to keep up with the current modernization and globalization occuring in their country, or they can remain true to their heritage and remain entangled in poverty. Most of the orphans come from homes that just simply cannot afford to keep them. This is not indicative of a lack of love on the parent’s part, they just want their child to have a better life than they can provide. Many times parents will even come visit their child in the orphanages, or even take them out for lunch. At first I thought this was rather bizarre, but you come to realize that a lot of parents want to keep connections with their children and make sure that they are happy.
The second reason is lack of birth control. Peru is a very strongly Roman Catholic country, as is most of South America, and many people obey the Vatican´s doctrine that birth control is immoral. In addition, many indigenous people simply have no access to birth control, even if they chose to use it. This leads to large families and with more kids than they can afford to keep. Every other woman you see on the street is carrying a baby strapped to their back.
The third reason is rape. Rape is regrettably exceedingly common here, and a lot of the children we see are the byproduct of it. Mothers are unable to bear the strain of being reminded of their ordeal, and many abandon their children.
Those are the three primary reasons that I have seen, though there are of course others. These include children with mental or physical disabilities who parents can’t afford to get treatment for, children with abusive families who run away, and children who simply aren’t wanted for whatever reason, be it sex, appearance, sexuality, etcetera.

Why do most Peruvians not volunteer as well as international volunteers.
Again, it ties back in with wealth. Few Peruvians have enough money to be able to afford to take time off from their regular jobs to help volunteer. Those that do tend to work at non-profit organizations where they will get paid something. For example, all the orphanages we work at are run by Peruvians, who get paid minimal amounts to take care of the children. Maximo Nivel, the organization which organizes are volunteering, is run by a mix of both Peruvians and foreigners. All the international volunteers we work with are from wealthy, first world countries who can take time to volunteers. We have met people from Sweden, Iceland, England, Scotland, Australia, New Zealand, Holland, England, France, Spain, Germany, Canada, and the United States. We have not, however, met volunteers from other South American countries, Central America, Africa, or Asia, continents which tend to contain still developing countries.

Are you taught anything about these orphans or are you just thrown in to do your best?
Pretty much just thrown in to do your best, you get a brief introduction and if you are lucky some guidance from one of the people running the orphanage. But most of it you pick up on your own or learn from other volunteers. Perhaps the most challenging thing about volunteering is planning out what you are going to do with the kids and how you are going to keep them interested. You are often working with a wide range of ages that have a wide range of interests. It is a constant learning process.

What is the situation with Fernando?
Fernando is a very interesting kid. I am working in La Policia with him now in the afternoons, and he is one of the most effusive and loving kids I have ever met. He is constantly coming up to me and giving me hugs, or proudly showing off a picture he colored. His dark side is that he has a tendency to fight with other kids, often resulting in one or both crying. He is the poster child for ADHD, unable to sit still or focus on anything for over five minutes, a difficulty listening to instructions, constantly interrupting others games or activities, and constantly running about. Beyond the obvious ADHD, he does not seem to have any other mental problems. He is quite intelligent, gets along with other kids fairly well when they are not fighting, and is generally in a good mood. However, he has absolutely no education. He cannot right his own name, say the alphabet, or do simple mathematics. This seems to be caused more by his ADHD and lack of schooling rather than a lack of intelligence.
Fernando is the child of a rape, and his mother cannot handle having him around. His stepfather actually likes him and has tried to persuade his mother to take him back, however she refuses. The orphanage, La Policia, often sends him to their home in the hope that seeing him enough will soften his mother’s feelings toward him, but so far that has not occurred. He hates life in an orphanage, preferring to live on the street and fend for himself. He has been sent to numerous orphanages, only to run away at the first chance. It has reached the point where the court clerk who assigns children to orphanages has given up, and has left him to remain in La Policia. I believe his hope is that he will reach the age where police will stop picking him up off the street if they see him and leave him to his own devices.

Ok, the rest of the questions posed seem like they apply to our roundtable, so we will try to answer them there.

- Tom

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