Sorry no new update

I didn't get to finish the blog yesterday, and today was filled with exploring Cajamarca and not a lot of time to write tonight.  We have an early flight in the moring to bring us back to Lima.  Hopefully there will be some time tomorrow night for me to put into words just what an amazing trip this has been.  I'm not sure I can due justice to the beauty of Peru.  I have lots of pictures I can share when I return.

Night for now.

Ann

Apparently there was an Earthquake?

So just found out there was an Earthquake today in Peru.  We were 4000 meters in the mountains so we felt nothing and we are all fine.

I’ll have the detailed post of what we did today late for you tomorrow J

A bumpy ride…literally

Today was a jam packed day of driving through the Andes and seeing many different aspects of Plan’s work.  We left San Marcos for our first community visit, the road was very windy but mainly smoothn and I was thinking back to the pictures and stories from other visits to plan communities and thinking how lucky we are that other than a twisty turny road it wasn’t so bad…then we turn off the main road.  Then my thought was, Chris would love to bring the quad here and go bombing around the road or even taking the Jeep and putting it in 4x4.  We weren’t in a Jeep, it was a van, and it was very bumpy.  I have nothing to compare it too, it was that bumpy. 

After winding our way through the road and bumping along we had our first stop.  It was a newly constructed school that was made possible by a major donor in Canada.  This school is one of 8 he is helping fund in the Crisnejas program area.  To see the contrast between the older building and the new building was significant.  Where the old building was solid it had a few small windows with bars versus the new building with walls of glass to let in the natural light along with all the amenities needed for learning.  It made me smile.  I have a bit of a soft spot when talking about education especially children in primary school (in Peru that is grade 1 – 6) because my mom loved being a teacher and took great pride in shaping the minds of future leaders and it is so clear the same passion exists in Peru. 

The teachers and the students at this school were so excited to bring us in and show us their classrooms and demonstrate their reading skills.  We saw 4 schools in total today, 1 preschool, 2 primary schools and 1 high school.  The other primary school we visited was also selected to beneficiate from the 8 school project however construction hasn’t started yet.  We were provided with a presentation on how disaster planning and education will benefit the whole community.  The presentation took place in the court yard of the school and there wasn’t the excitement to show us their classroom.  The passion for learning and teaching is there and it will be a great day for the community when their new school opens.

Other than the 2 primary schools we also visited a Pre-School.  This was probably the most touching moment for us on the trip so far.  It was the place we had the longest time to interact with children and the younger children are much less shy than the children we met at the primary school.  Plan and the government are trying and encouraging different types of learning techniques.  This school was concentrating on showing affection and praise.  The teachers encouraged all the children to show their appreciation for the gifts we brought by giving us all a big hug.  I think it’s safe to say that the children will have a special place in our hearts.

The final school we visited was a high school where we had the opportunity to speak with 6 teenagers who are actively taking part in a plan project designed to empower youth.  They work together to put on a Radio show every week that reaches not only their community but also the whole San Marcos region.  They take turns interviewing guest, writing copy to present, offering advice to their peers and speaking on the radio.  This program has been in place for 2 years and all 6 want to have a future career in broadcasting.  After we finished with the presentation and we were heading out to our next stop one of the girls who is part of the radio program came up to me to let me know that she is being sponsored by a Canadian and has been for 2 years and wanted to know why this sponsor hasn’t written to her.  “Not once in two years” she said.  Shelia is going to see what we can do for her, but it broke my heart.

We had 2 other locations where we visited and learned about what plan is doing to assist.  The first was a health clinic where plan filled a room with all the materials needed to help stimulate infants.  They have worked hand and hand with the hospital to educate the staff on different techniques that are effective.  We then went to a community center and leaned about another project that is very common in this area of Peru, which is educating people on how to fix broken water pipes to ensure that the community will be able to repair it and keep fresh water flowing into the community.  They are also working with the locals on how best to take advantage of the rainy season to maximize their crops.

We also took a little time to just enjoy the landscape that makes up this region.  We have a nice lunch and the best chicken noodle soup I’ve ever had. We also were able to visit one of the natural hot springs in the San Marcos area.  Don’t worry when I return home I’ll have lots of pictures to share.  I filled up my memory card today but not to worry I transferred those pictures to my laptop and emptied the card so I have lots of room for tomorrow. 

Second Day - notes will come tomorrow

So it was an amazing day, but I can only post and the end of a day, so I will create a detailed blog tonight and I will post it end of day tomorrow.

:)

First Day in Peru

So I didn’t get to post yesterday’s blog and today was another long day, we spent another 2 hours in an airport and drove for 2 to get to San Marcos where the program unit we are visiting is located.  I’ll get to the second part of the day later.

Our morning started at 9am Peru time we met for breakfast at the hotel before heading over to the Peru Country office for a Security briefing, an overview of work the National office does and a tour of the Peru country office.  On the way over there, the crazy driving and the traffic jams were crazy.  The Traffic is so bad that there are people who walk between the cars selling their merchandise.  Laura did pick up a bad of sweet potato chips for 1 Peruvian dollar (about 40 cents Canadian).

We arrived at Peru’s countries office at about 10:30 where we met Cristina Arrasco who completed our security briefing – don’t get into a tico (free-lance taxi), don’t eat street food and look both ways before quickly and carefully crossing the streets.  She did provide many tips and suggestions for our trip, but those were the ones that stood out the most.  We also met Mauricia the National Sponsorship Coordinator along with Maria Espinoza the Program Support Manager.  They prepared a great presentation that walked us through sponsorship in their program, and the direction they are taking in the next 5 years. For my Inspire friends I’ll consolidate all my notes and provide them.

Then it was back to the airport for our hour flight to Cajamarca where Manuel Cisneros the Program Unit Manager for Plan Crisnejas (Plan Peru’s newest Program unit) picked us up and took us the 2 hours to reach San Marcos.  When we landed in Cajamarca I think collectively as a group this is what we were expecting, a small airport, nice people and the city itself was quaint.  This is where the blogging is going to start to get hard for me.  It is really hard for me to put into words what I saw, but I’ll give it my best shot.  In Cajamarca there was a lot of construction, like many urban cities in Canada, growth in the cities is decreasing farm land and being replaced with housing developments.  Not as fancy as in Canada, but appropriate for the economics of the regain.  Shelia and I were speaking to Carol our translator about the new developments to find out how the developers get the land.  The most common way to get property in Peru is to inherit if from a family member.  It was all very fascinating. Once we travelled outside Cajamarca it was the most amazing landscape, the houses on hills, and the mountains as a back drop, the curving winding road, and the multitude of time the van we were travelling needed to move over to avoid, families and children walking on the side of the road, donkeys, sheep, dogs, merchandize.  It was a shame when the sun set and we lost the view.

We then arrived at the Program Unit in San Marcos and were treated to a wonderful presentation on the Crisnejas program and the different places we will be visiting in our 2 days in San Marcos and met 5 of the 15 staff that work in this region.  The region itself has 2452 sponsor families in 52 communities in 7 districts in 1 province.   After the presentation we had a nice dinner at Restaurant Donde Freddy where we will be having most of our meals for the next few days.  The food was very good; I had a beef and potato and onion dish.  I think I’ll try the trout tomorrow.

Then it was off to the hotel which doesn’t have internet L but Plan’s office does so I’ll take my laptop to the office and see if I can post today’s and yesterday’s message before we head out.  It is going to be a very exciting day.  We are scheduled to see 3 districts tomorrow ranging from 1000 meters above sea level to 4000 meters above sea level, so I’m going to get some sleep I have to be up in 6 hours. 

A Day of Travel – and Touch down not just south of the boarder, south of the Equator!!

So I finished packing, and we made it to the airport at 5:30 am, and all was well. The flight to Miami was very uneventful.  I slept a little on the plane and was nice and refreshed for our 4 hour layover in Miami. Our 4 hour layover in Miami which should have taken off for Peru at 4:30 had some trouble with the main cabin door. They couldn’t get it to shut so our 4 hour layover turned into a 5.5 hour layover.  Not to worry they were able to fix the door and we landed in Lima safe and sound. 

I’m not really sure what I was expecting when we landed in Lima, it is a lot more Americanize than I had anticipated, and I’ve never seen so many KFC’s in one location.  From the Airport to our hotel there were at least 6 KFC, 3 local Fried Chicken places, even the McDonalds in Lima has Fried Chicken on the menu.  There were 4 Pizza huts or Pizza hut expresses and a handful of Domino’s Pizza.   So we won’t have to live on rice and beans while in Lima.

I also did not anticipate the crazy driving.  In case you didn’t know, that a honk in Lima is to let the vehicles around you know you are there and not because you are commenting on their driving skills.  Also that stop lights and signs are really just suggestions.  We did make it to the hotel without an accident, barely, but we did make it around 11:30 Peru time (12:30 am in St. Catharines).  After a 20 hour day we were all exhausted and calling it a night.

Still not packed Yikes

It’s 8pm the day before our journey begins.  I can't believe that in 13 hours I will be boarding a plane and in 25 hours I will be touching down in Peru.  It still hasn't hit me yet, probably because I have laundry in the washer and my dining room table is covered in items to take with me.   The last 3 weeks have passed in such a blur I can’t believe how close I am to starting this adventure. 

I’m taking 10 minutes now to reflect on how thankful I am for this opportunity.  When I started at Inspire last November, I remember how excited I was to start working for an organization that makes a difference every day. I’m in awe that I have the opportunity to see firsthand just what that difference is.  I think part of the reason I haven’t really taken a moment to reflect before, is that I’m so overwhelmingly grateful that Inspire and Plan want me to have this experience.  This is the biggest adventure I’ve ever undertaken and now I just can’t wait for it to begin.