Time slows a little here, and the volunteers' internal clocks are now beginning to sync with the pace of life in Peru. It's hot and dry; the streets are dusty, partly from a great deal of water main upgrading, and the general nature of the climate at this time of year as we're heading into summer south of the equator. We even had a whirlwind that was strong enough to tear some corrugated iron roof sections off a nearby house. The wind was welcomed by the volunteers because it becomes very warm when clouds open to bright sun in a blue sky. We are now careful to refill our bottles with water from our 25L water container, and rest when our bodies tell us we need to rest and seek shade.
The kitchen will take several weeks of labour to build, so our accomplishments are measured in metres of trench dug and the vision of setting up the first concrete forms and bending rebar. We marked the outline of the kitchen with lime. There will be six 4' deep holes dug for pillars, all joined by 3' deep trenches, dug into soil that is like soft sandstone shale. It's very hard and slow work.
Reporters from two newspapers, one named La Prensa, and one TV station "Hora 20" and a Radio Unico, showed up at the site. We have no idea how they discovered what we are doing, but we are elated that CEPRONAM and Developing World Connections are able to show the Peruvian world what community partners can accomplish.
Cam Grant
DWC Team Leader
Jaen, Peru: October 2011
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