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Published: August 19th 2005
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Woman with flowers
This woman welcomed us in the first community we visited. Hello everyone! Believe it or not, today was my favorite day yet. We took a trip with Care Corps to see more of their influence in action. We loaded into two vans and took off out of the city of Ayacucho into the countryside. First of all, the roads in Ayacucho are not great, to say the least. Often, you are riding on a small, two lane road a foot from the side of a huge cliff. But the scenery is so beautiful, you almost forget to be scared! We drove and drove and drove, and just when i thought the road couldn´t get any smaller or bumpier, it did. We went on roads in those vans that I would be afraid to drive Ian´s truck on. It was certainly an adventure! The first stop we made was the community of Paraccay. This is a place about the size of the Christian camp near my house and had about 45 families living there. It had a soccer field in the middle (of course) and houses surrounding it. When we pulled in, we heard yelling over a megaphone that was a little strange, but we found out that they were calling the
Helping carry barley
This is for those of you who think I´m not doing any work while I´m here! whole community to come meet us. An elderly woman came first and gave us all fresh flowers. Others followed and shook our hands or examined us from a distance. Another man gave us all nectorines that smelled wonderful. We were there to learn about what they were doing to improve their way of life in cooperation with CARE. They had a whole display they showed us that outlined all their improvements and future goals. They are all responsible for different jobs in the community that help it function. Their health has also improved greatly in the past five years since CARE has been working with them. They have a map of the community that shows all the houses, who has small children, who is pregnant, and even the families that are on birth control. They are very serious about beating poverty and taking care of the community as a whole. I sound like a broken record, but once again, I am inspired. It is a common misconception that people living in the middle of nowhere are savages or to feel sorry about all the things that they are living without. I saw today that they are quite ¨civilized¨people who want
to educate themselves and the rest of the world about the cycle of poverty. When we were leaving, the same lady that welcomed us with flowers, threw petals on our heads for good luck.
After lunch, we went to another community called Colpa. We actually helped them cut and carry barley from their fields. They took us up to a waterfall not far from their houses which was beatiful, but also involved another frightening ride in the van. Some of the volunteers wanted to swim in the water, but they explained that they had a much better place for us to go. Some people jumped into the vans, but those of us that were thankful to be alive after the last ride, opted to hike. One of the men in the village told his son to lead us. This little guy was around 5 years old and he was a hardcore, relentless guide. He took off and wouldn´t stop for anything. We struggled to keep up with him and wondered, at times, if he even knew we were there. At one point we heard a bunch of dogs barking and the little boy picked up some rocks. We all looked at each other nervously and quickly picked up some rocks too. That´s when we realized we were out in the middle of nowhere and completely at this childs mercy. But sure enough, we turned a bend and there sit a swimming pool overlooking the mountains. It was the strangest, most wonderful thing. It turns out this is something the people in Colpa built to attract people and earn an extra income. We all payed one sol to wade in the pool.
We then went down to the village where they fed us soup and rice, which I´m sure they couldn´t afford. I also used the bano there, which was a cultural experience in itself. Forget an outhouse, this was a hole in the ground with places to put your feet and grips to hold on to. You should have a good laugh visualizing that! After we ate we watched them use horses to crush the barley we had carried. They chase the horses around in a circle until they have seperated the barley from the stalks. All the men stand in a circle and yell at the horses so they keep working. One of our volunteers even jumped into the circle to chase the them. Crazy Gringos! My favorite part of the day was seeing how hospitable these people were. They may be poor but they are rich in spirit and continue to share everything they have. They shook our hands, huged us and told us to come back someday. I know they meant it.
I know that I have written a book, but it was a remarkable day that I had to share. I am going llama treking this weekend so I´m sure I will have new stories next week. Again, please forgive my horrible spelling! Thank you all for the great emails and comments. They make me so happy! Christa, I am receiving yours, thank you! Also, many people have written about ways to get school supplies and books to the children here. I know it is very expensive to mail anything to or from Ayacucho. I am looking into different options to continue giving aid after I´m gone. I will let you all know what I find out. Buenos noches mi amigos!
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Abbie
non-member comment
Bano
Hi Stacy! I'm enjoying your blog, finally...Stan told me it was on our computer at home, which I usually don't look at much. (I have email at work, and that's where I do most of my email reading. Anyway, it's great that you are recording your experiences, thoughts, and feelings. It will mean a lot to you after you've been home for awhile and wonder: Did I really do that?!? Then you can go back and reexperience it all. And it's great that you are sharing it with us! I really admire the impulse that sent you on this journey, and I'm proud of you for listening to and acting on that impulse. It's inspirational to me! About the bano experience: they have toilets like that in Italy, too. What a trip! YOu have to schooch back with your hands gripping the handholds, and your feet in little metal floor grips, and try not to fall into the hole!!! I'm glad I got to experience that, but I'm really really glad I don't have to experience it anymore. I may be going to India in the Spring with Tenzin, so there may be new and even more "exciting" bano experiences awaiting me... ;O Adios, Abbie