The Barrios and Schools - Bruce Peru

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My purpose for spending close to five weeks in Trujillo has primarily been to work with the Bruce Peru Organization. The group´s mission is to solve the problem of lack of education among Peru´s poor (this applies to South America in general, actually). This of problem is reportedly more serious than indicated by national figures, as many of Peru´s impoverished children are never registered with the state.

For information about Bruce Peru, go to bruceperu.org. Here I am going to describe my experience day to day, rather than the structure and accomplishments of the organization.

A Typical Day.

On weekdays, volunteers wake up just before 8 A.M. to have breakfast and then head out to schools. I have been to two schools so far, in the barrios of Alto Trujillo and New Jerusalem. The method of transportation depends on the school. In Trujillo there are organized taxi and bus services that operate as a type of public transportation. These rides in the morning (and on the way back) are an excellent substitute for coffee. On the weekends I go through adrenalin withdrawal. The music, almost always salsa, is insanely loud, and the streets are lively. People are in and out of the cabs and buses with their grocery shopping from the local markets, or with the goods they are selling. In the cabs (economy sized) we seat three in the front, four in the back, and sometimes an extra in the back compartment. Add one more if there is a small child. Traffic is controlled by the general apprehension of imminent collision. Shock absorbers are for sissies.

The barrios are built in the desert. They consist of small houses made with concrete walls, typically one room (as I´m told by other volunteers who have been to students´houses), with mats spread on the ground. Stray dogs are everywhere.

The children are like kids everywhere else. They laugh a lot, cry a lot, yell, fight, and are usually friendly and happy for attention. Also similar to other kids, it is hard to get them to focus. Unfortunately, the environment they grow up in is not conducive to learning, and the culture in these areas looks on education with skepticism. As a result, the general lack of focus in kids (no, its not A.D.D) is exacerbated here. The goal of the organization with the education program is to catch these kids up and get them into public school.

Besides the daily lessons, the kids have activities such as face-painting, soccer, and coloring. As the school year wraps up, they will be having a Christmas party this Sunday, where kids from all of the schools in Trujillo are brought to one location.

After lessons, volunteers take the return trip to the organization headquarters for lunch. We have some time off at this point, which is usually spent primarily resting (kids are tiring), preparing lesson plans, or running personal errands. Additional activities myself and other volunteers have gotten into include salsa lessons, the occasional gym trip, movies on cable translated in english, and Gossip Girl (the flat is comprised primarily of females).

In the evenings, we have a Spanish lesson provided by the schools, followed by English (or French) classes we teach in order to raise money for the program.

Weekends usually involve Huanchaco and archeological sites, which I will post about separately. Photos still to come...

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