Visiting Florinda´s House

As a part of my week traveling with the San Gabriel Team I was pared up with Andrea and Betsy, who will be helping to train the local ¨Teachers¨who will then train the rest of the people utilizing the water from the water system. It sort of reminds me of the each one teach one method.
In order to get a better grasp on what they did and did not need to teach Andrea and Betsy, along with the local pastors, arranged a couple of home visits so they could see how the local people utilize water in their homes and where it comes from (as in a well, a spring, city water, etc.). It was really cool to be a part of this.
I wanted to comment on our visit in Huanta to Mama Florinda´s house. It is a bit of a ride from the center of town where the church is. Galmiel took us in his mototaxi. Mama Florinda lives on her parents land. She was an only child. It is a grove of avacado, granadia, and nispero trees set back off a dirt road, behind a sort of rickety wire gate. As you ¨shimmy¨up the incline and pass the gate BOOM you are met by trees bearing avacadoes as far as you can see.
Florinda´s daughter was there and met us halfway in. Apparently we caught them by surprise (darn it!) Florinda was off to the side by the water spicket washing and combing her hair. They were not so sure about letting us in because they didn´t have anything to offer us to eat. Everywhere you go in Perú people want to offer you something to eat or drink, how hospitable. Pastor Eber reassured them that we had just eaten and food was unessecary. So we passed on. Later, a bag of Granadias was brought out. They have a semi hard shell, about baseball size. You crack it open and under the pulp (like an orange) are these seeds covered with an amazing GOO. I would consider GOO in this case to be a technical term. You eat the wonderful GOO and seeds together. YUM..SLURP!
So we were probably there for about thirty minutes when the tension started to ease. It just happened. Florinda talked about their water coming from a sping up the mountain. Collectively they treat it with clorox. It arrives to the crops once a month through a system of canals on a roatoing basis, and through pipes up to an outdoor faucet all the time. That is the family´s communal fuacet. They collect water their for cooking, wash and bathe, as well as brush their teeth and wash clothing there as well. This is over to the sideyard, about 30 yards from the house, right next to the Cuy (guinea pig) dormitory.
Up at the house is where Florinda had set out some chairs and we sat and talked. While we were inside the house one of us, it may have been me, asked about the young man whose picture hung on the wall in prominence. Florinda´s daughter hung her head and said that is my brother, her only son. ¨He died 2 weeks ago in an accident.¨ Apparently, the young man had been traveling in a car back home. It was foggy, and the road was obscured. They got out to see what the visibility was, and apparently a large boulder fell ontop of him crushing him. That has left his mom Florinda, and her daughter to tend the land and provide. They are still greiving as well.
There were moments of greatness in this visit to see first hand the way that the people use water, and to just be present with Florinda and her daughter who is in her 30´s. Florinda´s daughter, a single woman, has just adopted a beautiful little girl who was abandoned and had no food or place to go. This family does not have a whole lot to work with themselves, but their door was open to those who had even less. Florinda sent us back to Cristo Rey church with a bag of granadina´s to share with the group.
At church the next day some women during the time of tithes and offerings knelt at the front and placed bags of fruits and vegetables as their offering. Mama Florinda was one of them.
The next day, while eating dinner, Pastor Eber told us that Florinda was SO proud to have had us visit her home. He said she glowed as she told her neighbors and tapped her chest saying ¨Yes, my new friends came to visit MY house.¨ Pastor Eber felt that our visit and the church accompanying her during this time of grieving over son continues to help a woman who has only been a Christian for a month or so to feel loved, supported, and vauled as a human being. I couldn´t agree more

Living Waters for the World Coming to a Maynay and Cristo Rey Near You

I spent the last week of May traveling with a team of Americans from San Gabriel Presbytery (California). It was 6 pastors and 3 lay people. They are representing the NGO Living Waters for the World and I am happy to say have signed covenants with both Cristo Rey Presbyterian Church in Huanta and the nearby community of Maynay to work together to install water purification systems and do the approriate hygiene and water use education, again TOGETHER being the key word.
It is sort of exciting. I know that the people of both communities are excited.
So Cyndie, Rob, Roger, Sam, Betsy, Andrea, and Wendy arrived in Ayacucho on Thursday morning along with the ever fabulous Rusty and Sara (PCUSA mission coworkers) who have built relationships in the Ayacucho region already and help to guide groups and teams coming to the area as well. Relationship facilitators, among other things, that is what they are.
Rusty made a comment, and helped me again put into words the way that Presbyterians do mission...yes, we do it in partnership, yes we work to not create dependency, but to empower the individuals and communities to identify and harness their resources and be self sustaining. ¨What can we do better together, than we can do apart,¨ Rusty said. It has given me something to chew and reflect on.
The folks from San Gabriel invited me along to do some basic translating and accompany them because I too have built relationships in the Ayacucho area with the people of Cristo Rey, Maynay, Emanuel-Cuchipampa, and especially the Synod leaders Agripino and Juan Quispe. We did a little of the tourist thing, a little historical absorbtion at the Museum of Memory, and a little shopping at an alabaster workshop, and the ceramics barrio of Quinua. Then it was down to business. Water talk over trout and potato dinners, fraternization and relationship building with laughter over pork chunks and chuno. A week that started out with a lot of trepidation and agnst on the part of the travelers from San Gabriel who REALLY want to see a system installed, and with similar pressure from back home, slowly disipated into the realization that this trip was neccessary for multiple reasons: 1) to build trust and confidence in the midst of relationship 2) as much as could be done via email was, but there is something to a face to face meeting 3) allowing the team members to know the people, and the people of Cristo Rey and Maynay to know the team BEFORE installing pipes and doing education together, which is weighty stuff.
There was time for serious nuts and bolts discussion, much needed reflection and debreifing at night among the group of travelers, but also a lot of jokes and laughter and getting to know one another (Peruvians and Americans) amongst meals, worship services, and even volleyball games with the pastor playing in his dress clothes and another Peruvian dude serving backwards. All of which was a priviledge to witness.

Ollanta Humala, Peru's New Presidente Elect

Yesterday Peruvians, in Peru, but also all over the world via their embassies went to the polls for a "segunda vuelta" or a run off for the Presidency. Who would it be? Ollanta Humala, holding fast to the campo and his father's Ayacuchano roots, but living and hailing from Lima or Keiko Fujimori, the daughter of one of the most corrupt-human rights abusing Presidents (Alberto) in recent past. Back in April the field was narrowed down to these two. Lately, Keiko seemed to be saying I will continue all of the social programs (giveaways to the campo to appease them) that my father began. Paving roads, giving uniforms and shoes to school children, constructing houses, but nothing to change their situation. Nice huh? Too bad the elder Fujimori used them to disguise his embezellment and human rights abuses. I am not just blowing smoke, Alberto Fujimori sits in jail serving sentences for human rights violations and corruption. Keiko says, if elected, she will not use her Presidential power to pardon and release her father and his croanies like Montesinoes. Funny the country is split on who loves and who hates the man as well as his daugher. Fujimoistas they call themselves. That trickled right down to his Harvard educated daughter, Keiko.
Ollanta Humala, a more leftist candidate, whom the Peruvian news media is skeptical of. They say we have never had a leftist President before. So we will wait and see....he is a former military man, and has some big money backing his campaign from Hugo Chavez and as of late Brasil who he seems to be loving up on. Ollanta wants to return Peru to Peru, by slowing down the invasion of foreign investors and businesses coming into and exploiting Peru, its people, and natural resources (especially mineral wealth). That has Chile in a bit of a raugh, because heck alot of Peru is Chilean. He speaks of freedom of expression and democracy (I thought they already had that, maybe not I can give some examples). Some say his wife is even more educated and might make an even better candidate than he.
Nonetheless yesterday at the polls, and it was a close one, Ollanta Humala was elected the next President of Peru. He will take office on July 28th which is Independence Day and will govern for the next 5 years.
Alot of people are waiting to see what will happen and what will be done during Ollanta's Administration, but the Fujimoristas are not going away...their are a lot of them hanging out in Congress.

New PyE Ayacucho Team Members

Last Friday, May 13th we indoctrinated some new team members into the PyE Ayacucho regional office, and to the specific work of the mental health team. Milagros and Yudy said ¨Hey Lisa! Come look at our new titeres. As I was walking back to the office I was thinking ¨What in the mother is a titere? When I turned the corner I got a load of our new teammates and found out what a titere is. A titere is a puppet and our new teammates are (Given their names by the folks in Loricocha and Cangari) ¿Como Tú? (Hamqina in Quechua) the bloodhound (see photo), Patricio the puppy, Omar and Suzanna the people puppets, Ollanta the Burro, and Keiko the pig. For your knowledge Ollanta and Keiko are the current presidential candiadates in a run off for June 5th. We used the new Titeres in our workshops with the GAMS and look forward to integrating them into our work with the niños and violence/abuse prevention.

The Good Samaritan Goes Quechua

Every other Friday, as you know, I travel to the campo or countryside of Cangari. It is a small farming pueblo just southwest (I think) of Huanta headed back toward Ayacucho. It is in the municipality of Iguaín. During the violent years this community was affected by the activities and unwanted presence of the Sendero Luminoso.
I really enjoy the folks who are a part of this group. Usually our GAMs or Grupos para Ayuda Mujeres are just that, all women. In Cangari, the group includes about 5 men. They only add to the group life and personality of the group.
Two weeks ago, as a part of the workshop, the folks in Cangari split up into three groups. They were asked to recreate the story of the Good Samaritan, after they picked it out of the bible based on the description of a real life situation of being in trouble and passers by will not help and are full of excuses by Milagros, my compañera. Most of the people in this group are Catholic so one of the ¨passing by characters in the story was changed to a sacerdote or priest, for effect.¨
I LOVE working with the people of Cangari, I may have mentioned it before. They are so funny and really get into our work, which is good for them. They take really good care of one another from week to week.
We divided up into 3 groups. One group was short a person so, I was victimized..I mean volunteered, and of course they made me the good samaratain because they said ¨You are an extrañjera or gringa, perfect!¨ It reminds me of having to play Goliath in the Guatemalan Christmas program 6 years ago because I was taller than everyone else.
The Cangari folks are ready for their close-up and their Oscar. They are great actors, with props and everything. They brought the story of the Buen Samaritano to life as only the indigenous Quechua speaking people of Cangari can, and they had a good time doing it. My compañeros and I almost died laughing at their realism, and acting ability. The people especially liked the part of attacking the person getting robbed. Then the vicitm lay on the ground, writhing around yelling ¨AUXILLIO! AUXILLIO!¨ Which means help! help! in Quechua. I almost had a personal accident just watching their presentations.

This group has been a delight to work with. So here´s to Salome, Delfin, Augusto, Elvira, Alejandra, Pedro Pablo, Saturina, and all the rest in Cangari who continue to unpack painful details and feelings with us, but more importantly one another as they walk the road of grief together.

A New Campaign for PyE Ayacucho

Last week the mental health team of Paz y Esperanza began a new campaign or project here in Ayacucho. It is much needed. We will be going to local elementary schools and working with the 1st-6th graders on parts of the body and working to prevent the violence and abuse of children.
The first school we will be working at is Virgen del Carmen in Pilacucho which is down further in the valley. The kids here go on to study at the secondary school known as San Ramon de Ayacucho.
Last week we worked with the 5th graders. They were pretty cool and glad that we came. We worked first on parts of the body and the fact that we, as human beings do not have a price, meaning we cannot be bought and sold, and that our bodies our ours, and unique. Next, the students in groups, made life size drawings of the body and labeled the parts by tracing one of their group mates. None of them want to label the private parts of the opposite sex. They kept pushing the marker back and forth saying ¨You do it, no you!¨
Some of them even meticuolusly labeled the internal organs even though we did not ask them too. After that, when Milagros was asking questions she asked ¨Is there a part of your body no one should ever touch?¨ One kid shouted out REALLY fast ¨Your intestine!¨ Milagros replied ¨A good response, but I was thinking more about on the outside of your body, which we studied today.¨
A good start to a much needed campaign. The work part of all this is coming up with age and developmentally approipriate activities. The kids are fun to be around and like the fact that we bring cheese sandwiches and papaya puree for a snack.

Ayacucho Coffee Roasting (I mean Toasting)

On Sunday evening my host dad Paco saw me staring at the empty coffee jar on the table. He asked me if I wanted to roast some beans and grind my own coffee so there would be some more. I asked how long it would take and did we have everything we needed. It was of ocurse Sunday evening and I had to work the next day. He replied ¨30 minutes, no more!¨ So I agreed and we set to work. All we needed was a wooden spoon, the coffee beans, a beat up metal pot, a gas stove, and a meal grinder (which was used yesterday to grind corn for humitas).
Now, I have been living in Ayacucho, Perù for around 9 months now and I can safely say that this valley colonial city is most certainly more famous for its corn and potatoes, rather than its coffee. Until I met Paco and went to their house I thought all Peruvian coffee came from the jungle. Well pretty much it does!! The thing is, geographically speaking, the departament of Ayacucho (kind of like our states) has a little smidgen of jungle on its eastern boarder where the Apurimac River is located. The rest is soaring Andes Mountains. The jungle area is known as the VRAE or Valle de Riò Apurimac. This is where Paco secures his unroasted coffee beans. He tells me they are of the escencia variety. I am not totally sure what that means. He said they are not quite as as well known as the cafè from the high jungle of Perù which is north of Ayacucho in Junìn.
A couple of things I learned from roasting my own coffee Sunday evening are these; your hands are still going to smell like coffee even after you wash them, face it. Next, is that we (in english) say roasting, but in spanish it is toasting, roasting is for meat. Then there is the ever wonderful asking of ¨Hey Paco! Are these frijoles de cafè ready yet?¨ Here in Perù, as Paco says, ¨Cafè es cafè, what is this frijole business?¨ as he chuckles. So Sunday evening, I guarded a small beat up metal pot on a stove and I stirred and moved those beans to my hearts content, and until I thought my arm would fall off. That is when they were done. ¨You have to keep them moving or they will burn. We want them to be the color of gold, which in the case of cafè is brown (not black),¨ Paco said. Then we sat across from one another at the table and removed the skins. This is no less tedious than herding cats, but we got the job done.
The next day for an after lunch conversation, I brewed up a pot of the good stuff. Paco came up the stairs and said ¨WOW! Lisa the aroma of our cafè is really strong, I smelled it as soon as I came in the house.¨ JACKPOT! The taste as we drank it and talked about culture, politics, and theology (all the things you should probably avoid) was incredible, and a sheer delight to consume. So heres to a cafè adventure in the land of corn and potatoes.