the little bug expedition - day seven (pam)

Now we're back in Lima, the noisy city! Mind you, Cajamarca, up north, wasn't too quiet last night! Celebrations were going on everywhere. After the New Year's Eve fiesta with the ninos, Wayne and I were totally worn out physically and emotionally. We said our goodbyes to our new friends, and Feliciana, eager to go home, told us all that we would clean up the fiesta mess today (January 1), so we were back at the hotel by 9:00 pm on New Year's Eve. That was a good thing. Our plan was to leave for El Bichito at 10:00 am today, so that people would have a chance to sleep in a little. Wayne and I didn't think we'd need to set an alarm. What a mistake! We woke up at 9:48 am, brushed our teeth, threw on some clothes, and headed for the bus that would take us to El Bichito.

I was so disappointed to see that Feliciana had cleaned up most of the mess by the time we had arrived. Bless her heart! I just love that lady! We did what we could to help. I snooped around a little and found all the fruits and vegetables that we had purchased two days ago tidily put away in a box under the kitchen counter. Needless to say, I was ecstatic! I thought they had been stolen.

We had planned to take the vegetables, rice, noodles, and oil to a very needy family of seven children ... Dina, Carmen, Israel, Eva, Lazaro, Marta, Madai. I don't know that I have the words to describe how they live, but I'm going to try.

The children and their mother moved to Puylucana because they had heard of El Bichito. The children show signs of being severely malnourished. The family had no way of supporting themselves. The father, in prison, has served two years of a ten year sentence. The mother doesn't make enough money to pay rent, so the landlord lets them live in a one room mud hut. Three small beds take up most of the room where all eight of them sleep. When it rains, it is evident that part of the room gets soaked because of the gaping hole in the tin roof.

These humble people have no possessions -- only what have in two large sacks. They share a "kitchen" with the landlord -- an adjoining mud hut. You wouldn't feed your animals in there. Often these children have no food other than what they get at El Bichito on their way to school.. Their mother makes whatever she can by doing laundry and cleaning. Today, we waited for the mother to return home after finishing up a laundry job. She washes twelve articles of clothing for 3 soles = $1. She can't even afford to put clothes and shoes on her own children.

The oldest child, Dina, who is fifteen, has not been able to go to school because the family cannot afford the school fees and school uniform required for secondary school. She is the primary caretaker of the family while her mother works. We committed to helping the family as long as the mother sent Dina to school. The mother is a sweet lady who was overwhelmed by the generosity of the Southern Cross volunteers. She cried in Wayne's arms. The children cried. I am happy that I got to share that special time with Cameron, Kate, Wayne, and Feliciana. I will never forget this day.

What a blessing to be here again in Peru at the New Year. Prosperos Ano Nuevo! Pam