Lima, Peru: Arrival in Peru!

After meeting a few participants along the way, we arrived in the Lima airport at midnight to our wonderful host Ronal and the humid air of Peru. The airport was a busy place, with taxi drivers calling at us from every direction. We hauled overtired selves and our large amounts of baggage and wound our way Lima for about 30 minutes until we reached our hotel in Miraflores. It was surprising that although late at night, the city wasn't really that dark.

We got up for our first breakfast around 10am, and part of the group went to explore the area, while a few of us went to the IFEJANT office to sort out our work plans. We will be working about an hour away from our hotel, building washrooms for a school of about 120 working children. At first we were quite startled to learn that the school literally teaches the children to work, but after much contemplating and hearing how the school also emphasizes what we would consider to be 'typical' education of math, writing and sciences, we realized that these children have to work, and the school is teaching them better practices to be more profitable and create better opportunities for them later in life. We will be continuing the building process the Kamloops High School Student group recently started, and hopefully finishing the washrooms during our four weeks here, although we know building doesn't always go to plan.

With the exception of one participant fluent in Spanish, the rest of us are scrambling to pick up as much as possible, as quickly as possible.

Adios!

Erica
DWC Team Leader

April 24, 2010: Heading Home.

Day 14 was our last day together as a team and our return trip to Lima. After our downhill bus ride, we settled back into the hotel and enjoyed a farewell dinner as well as celebrating another birthday! Violeta was able to join us for the dinner making it truly special. Collectively we all feel really good about this trip - we made some excellent new friends - both from Canada and here in Peru - and we contributed to a school project (opening soon!) that will make a tangible difference in the lives of Peruvian children!

Adios amigos!!

Developing World Connections Volunteer Team
Huancayo, Peru
April 2010

April 23, 2010: The Last Work Day in Huancayo.

Day 13 was our last work day and we were all determined to finish as much work as we could! More bricklaying, filling forms, cleanup, and cutting rebar (500 pieces) rounded out our day! Ultimately, we were able to complete most of the structural work for the second level! The trench is also ready to go and we’ve prepped rebar for the next round of construction.

We also took a string of photos with our host partners and said goodbye. It is amazing how quickly our two weeks passed but we’re all really proud of what we accomplished and are looking forward to seeing the next steps! We also feel really lucky to have worked with such amazing people here in Peru. From our construction teachers to our host partner translators to waitresses we met at local restaurants, we have been treated royally and built lasting friendships. This truly was a memorable and fantastic experience.

Hablamos luego …
Pam
Developing World Connections Participant

Thursday April 22, 2010

Day 12 was another mixed day. Half of us went to the worksite and the other half visited a second local school. Work today was bricklaying and continuing to build and fill forms for the cement pillars that will be the second floor supports. We’re getting pretty expert at filling forms and our chain gang reached new levels of efficiency! We also had just enough water for the day … a waterline break meant the entire neighbourhood had no water for the afternoon. Good timing!

The school visit was another really touching experience. The kids greeted us with hugs and lots of energy! They loved the wooden toys and pencils that we brought as a gift and sang songs, showed us their school garden, and asked another string of questions! They knew where Canada was on a map and were eager to play soccer and volleyball with us. They also wanted to send us home with corn from their garden. It was a truly enjoyable experience

and we received some of the most amazing smiles of the trip!

Hamblamos luego…
Pam
Developing World Connections Participant

April, 2010: The final project days.

Wednesday April 21, 2010

Day 11 was ultimately a productive day, but we had a few setbacks. Setback one was a late pickup at the hotel so we got to the worksite quite late. Setback two was more trenching - we discovered that we needed to go a little deeper so the trenching crew was back in action. This involved kneeling in the trench to dig a few inches deeper. However, this few inches was through straight rock! Using only a chisel and arm power, mission accomplished by
the end of the day!

Setback three was a collapsed form midway through pouring the concrete …and we learned “it is not what happens but how you react that is important”. After some minor expletives and panicked staring, we moved to a quick solution and within 20 minutes were pouring more concrete!

The rest of the day was bricklaying - there are always more bricks to lay - and a visit to a local weaving shop after work. The weaving shop was amazing - hand made blankets, bags, coats, and everything else imaginable! The wool is alpaca and hand produced using natural plants and animals for dyes. We received a tour through the weaving process and a number of us walked away with some excellent finds. A neat end to an ultimately good day!


Thursday April 22, 2010

Day 12 was another mixed day. Half of us went to the worksite and the other half visited a local school.

Hamblamos luego…
Pam
Developing World Connections Participant

Tuesday April 20, 2010: Day 10

Day 10 was finishing off the last bit of the trench, laying more brick, and starting to pour the concrete columns. Bricklaying involved scaffolding today as we finally reached the height where it is required! Scaffolding also meant handing everything up a level so the passing began - bricks, cement mix, water, shovels, trowels, etc.

We all continue to be amazed and intrigued at how we are using no power tools in construction, but every job is accomplished with simple efficiency. Alejandro and Abel are masters of making walls straight using only string and a weight. We mix concrete using a volcano formation to pour in the water. Making sure walls are level means using a tube filled with water. It is truly remarkable and we all feel privileged to witness our Peruvian teachers in action!

As for the concrete columns, we first built wooden frames and filled in the cracks as best we could using the empty cement bags. The columns are the structural support and the result of all of our rebar tying and prep. Alejandro and Abel led us through making sure the frames were straight and once they were level we formed a chain gang to get the concrete up into the columns. We all wore a little concrete by the end of the day, but three columns are poured!

Hamblamos luego…

Pam
Developing World Connections Participant

April 19, 2010: Trenching

Day 9 was all about trenching. We also continued to lay brick, mostly completing the bathroom on the second level and all four walls to mid-level (scaffolding comes next), however, the trenchers carried the day! They unearthed some very massive stones using grade 8 math, fulcrums, levers, and sheer brute strength. By the end of the day the trenchers reached the 40 centimeter depth that is required and the very important sewer line can be completed!

A few team members were down sick with stomach aches, but this didn’t stop them from contributing and continuing to help out. It was also one of our team members birthday today so we had an excellent dinner complete with cake for the birthday girl.

Hamblamos luego…

Pam & David