We’ve hit the ground running.  ROTH directors arrived safely on Monday to oversee the preparations required for this project. We have been running around all week visiting various sites and meeting an array of community elders, pricing materials, reviewing plans, negotiating contracts, organizing volunteer arrivals, and desperately grasping at any Spanish we think we can manage to store in our memory for rapid retrieval. 

With the first shovel supposed to go into the ground on Monday we were shocked to discover that the site has a 2.5 metre difference in height from one end to the other… we hope these incoming volunteers like digging.

It goes without saying that our foundations are going to be quite the masterpiece.   Our budget however, is going to be tighter than we anticipated, having already been forced to make changes to the existing plans.  Despite all this, morale is high, as we’ve decided that we could add a second kitchen to the building that will be used as a community kitchen to serve inexpensive meals for families struggling to make ends meet. 

Likewise, we’ve decided to extend part of the building to the women of the community so they can attend workshops and learn to use the computers, which were generously donated by McGill University. 

An interesting aspect of Peruvian society has emerged.  Almost as alarming as some of the conditions people have to endure is the rate at which the gap between the rich and the poor is increasing.  In the slums, not only do people endure the stigma of being from the lowest socio-economic status, but there is also an obvious degree of racism towards those whose ancestry can be traced back to the aboriginals of Peru, versus the more prominent descendents of the Spanish Conquest.  

Words are not enough to describe the warmth, affection, and hospitality of our Peruvian partners, l’Asociacion Gabriela Mistral.  We have been treated as one of their own since our arrival and ROTH is forever indebted to them for helping us make this project possible.  In particular Diana Gamarra and her godson ‘Lucho’ Banllesteros, who have already become like family to us.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

  The site where "Hijos de Manana" will stand. 

     

   

  Paul and Colin go over plans at the site.