We first went out with Jennifer, who is from New York, a week and a half ago. To get there involves an hour long journey on a very crowded bus, followed by a 20 minute walk from the plaza in Oropesa. When we arrived we were astounded by the contrast to the Elim orphanage where we had been volunteering. The orphanage is in a beautiful setting in the mountains, with brightly coloured buildings covered in murals, and lots of outdoor space where the children can play. We met Alcides, the founder, and some of the boys who were already home from school. All the boys we're really polite and friendly, and obviously had a lot of respect and love for Alcides.
For four weeks at this time of year, groups of English school children come out to help with short term projects at the orphanage. A new group had arrived on the same day as us, which meant that we were swept into a welcome ceremony complete with streamers and songs by the boys. Following the ceremony, the English students played football with most of the boys, whilst we were taught how to play 'Chipies' by some of the younger ones. It was soon time to head home, but not before making a decision that we wanted to devote a lot of time to this orphanage during our stay in Cuzco.
The next time we visited the orphanage, we talked to Alcides about the future plans and needs for the orphanage, as Petra and I had decided we wanted to try to raise some money to help the boys. We had a long discussion, and it turned out the most-pressing current need is for more functional kitchen equipment, including an oven. Although, having observed the state of the mattresses, we decided we'd like to raise enough for new mattresses as well. We then talked to Tom (an English guy working with the school group, but who is based in Lima and working in Environmental Education) who ran through a more detailed history of the orphanage to help us prepare our donation request letter.
Some people reading this will have received this letter, and some of you will have already have kindly donated. I'll post details of the history of the orphanage and how to donate in a separate entry. In less than a week Petra and I have raised enoough money to buy a new oven and kitchen equipment, and are well on the way to being able to afford new mattresses for the boys. More money is still needed though, as any excess will be put towards building the new (warmer) dormitories for the boys.
In subsequent visits to the orphanage I've been able to help the boys with their homework (even though interpreting written maths problems in Spanish is a bit of a challenge), play games with the boys, try to get involved in some of the building work with the school group, and help to bake a cake. When the current wood-fired oven was lit, it became apparent just how important is the need for a gas oven. The kitchen filled with smoke and it was impossible to work in there. Even after the fire had calmed down a bit, the kitchen was still very smoky and it was necessary to go outside every few minutes to get some air.
Yesterday, whilst helping Anastacia (the cook) prepare dinner, I chatted to her and she told me a little of her story. I already knew some of her history from Tom, but I think it's nice for her to have some female company at the orphanage and someone to chat to, even with my limited Spanish skills. Anastacia lives at the orphanage with three of her four children. Her eldest daughter lives in Cuzco with Alcides and his family, as she is settled at a school there. Five years ago when her youngest child, Carmen Rosa, was only 14 months old, Anastacia's husband was killed in a construction accident. After struggling to support herself and her family, she worked for Alcides in his house for a while, before being given the job at the orphanage. Her sons, Dani and Wilmer, sleep in the dorms with the other boys, and Carmen Rosa (being the only girl on site) shares a room with her mum. As part of our conversation I discovered that Anastacia is the same age as me and it is still so shocking to think how different our lives are.
Whilst Petra was helping the boys with her home work, she decided to support them by doing some of her own Spanish homework. One of the older boys, Arnold, took it upon himself to be her 'teacher' and make sure she completed her work! Having spoken to Arnold earlier in the day, we discovered that he couldn't attend school at the moment; because he has only been at the orphanage for three months, Alcides still hasn't managed to gather all his paperwork together. He has to spend a lot of time calling and visiting his mother to try to rectify this, and it's hard to fit everything in along with his full time job.
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| Arno |
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| Helping with homework |
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| A game of ludo |
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| Cake baking on a grand scale |
On Saturday, the last school group was leaving, so we were invited to stay for dinner and a campfire. The atmosphere was brilliant with us all enjoying a filling soup (which I had helped Anastascia to prepare) and then heading outside for the campfire and hot chocolate. Moving speeches were given by Alicides, Tom and the kids and I felt incredibly lucky to be part of the Azul Wasi family (and to be able to appreciate the star-filled sky).
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