little boy living at the home for abused children, Santa Cruz

It's all about the little ones! The poorest, the little children, the widows and orphans and abused and neglected. Seeing the hard work the recipients of our help are willing to put in on the construction of water and power systems is incredible... they work sooooo hard. Trying to emulate Jesus' love and compassion for the most needy among us is a privilege indeed.

Rafael with ITDG in Peru

I'm continually amazed at our "Partners", people of great integrity who are working incredibly hard for the least among their societies. One was representative... "I could go to work tomorrow for the Gold Mine at a much higher salary and benefits, but I choose to work for the neglected of my country". We are actively visiting and corresponding with another 3 to 5 prospective partners. Many of our current partners would like to expand what they do with us. What we can do is up to our donors. We seek to demonstrate our ability and integrity, so North American Christadelphians will consider allowing us to steward all their charitable contributions. Steve's work on this blog has been amazing. We are trying so MANY ways to get the word out about Meal a Day. Having nearly 800 unique visitors to this blog from over 31 different countries  was incredible! So far Meal a Day of America has only received donations from a little over 100 donors (individuals, Bible school collections, ecclesias, and businesses), so the potential is there for the work to grow.

teen aged Bruce Peru student in Trujillo

I've had a chance to think deeply about Meal a Day, often along with Steve. We really want to get more young people involved, and are dreaming of a 2 week hands-on project in Latin America, where 20 or more young North American Christadelphians can learn first hand of the needs, and help to meet them. We dream of developing the next generation of Meal-a-Day leaders so they can run this program within 5 years. We like having both Brothers and Sisters as Directors, Sisters give a needed perspective, especially when caring for women and children!

My time with Steve was wonderful... he has been a blessing to me spiritually and naturally. As you can imagine, this trip has been demanding... we did NOT share some of the dangers or health challenges. We slept in a total of 14 different places along the way, including a bus one night. As Steve noted, this is tough on us "old geezers". If you wrote 4 "M"'s in a row, like this MMMM, that was what our trip was like, moving from close to sea level to elevations up to 14,000 ft, again and again. If you have never done it in a short trip, you have no idea how physically demanding (punishing) it is, but that is what this trip required, visiting 17 projects or potential projects. Please recall that no Meal a Day donations were spent on any aspect of this trip, we footed our own bill because we want ALL of your donations to go to the needy!

Seeing more than a dozen Christadelphians along the way was wonderful. Nothing makes up for missing Joanie and other beloved family and friends, but to see people of faith enduring challenging conditions... well, please join me in praying for them, including the missionaries there.

It has been a privilege to make this trip, to be sure our partners are performing as expected, and to become better informed and more thoughtful about the "good works in the name of Jesus" that we will continue to support with your donations.

In the Master's service,

Bruce

Steve's reflections after 3 weeks on the road in South America for Meal-a-Day:

near Suro Antivo, Peru

This trip has been about accountability.

I feel a great accountability to God and Jesus and to those who contribute to Meal-a-Day.   I want those we partner with in Latin America and the Caribbean to feel accountable to Meal-a-Day for the way they spend the money we give them.

Bruce Peru classroom

This trip has been about learning.

- learning how to evaluate work being done on the ground and communicating with our partners about how we’d like to see our resources go to help “the poorest of the poor.”

-learning from Bruce about how to ask good questions...and learning from him how to focus on being a spiritual person.

-learning how to do a blog.  Using new technology (at least, new to me) is good for my 57-year old brain.

I’ve learned that the world is not that big, with wi-fi in nearly every place we’ve stayed between forays into the wild beyond the grid.  I’ve also learned that the world is huge in its diversity, something that helps me appreciate my place in it.

I’ve learned that there is a great divide between the  “have and have nots”...the poor and those not-so-poor (i.e. people like you and me) who may live just a few blocks or a few thousand miles away.

This trip has been about possibilities.

Possibilities for children:

-       who won’t become sick from bad water, or freezing, damp bedrooms, or smoky houses;

-       in poor barrios who are inspired to go to public school and get an education;

-       saved from abusive environments, who might now not only survive, but flourish and become productive adults;

we met with teenage prisoners here

Possibilities for teens:

-       who might make better life decisions once they get out of prison; who will make better life decisions while they live out their sentence in prison.

womens' groups in Villavicencia & Cajamarca

Possibilities for women:

-       to improve themselves and thereby improve life for their families;

-       who get “a voice” in their community which leads to better health care, better education and ways to support their homes;

-       who won’t get lung cancer at an early age from breathing smoke from cooking fires;

Alto Peru shop owners

Possibilities for people:

-       who can harness the power of a little electricity to help them scratch out a living with a little less back breaking labor;

-       who can light their homes without smoky fires;

-       to mitigate the effects of poverty and to reduce suffering.

Christadelphian Meal-a-Day Fund of the Americas is not just about helping those who have less in developing countries.  It has the potential to become a training ground for our next generation, a place to learn new leadership skills that will serve our community and communities around the world.  If our Lord blesses our efforts we plan to grow Meal-a-Day into an organization that provides a place for young people to develop a sense of service, that gives them a way to give back in a practical way as they internalize the spiritual values of the Lord Jesus, and do good works in his name.

To me, Meal-a-Day is an extension in the present of the ideals of the Kingdom of God.  If we’re excited about the idea of Jesus coming back to bring equity for the poor, to satisfy every need, to set things right on earth again, if we’re looking forward to that… then doesn’t it make sense to try to spread those ideals now in practical ways?

Bruce speaking to residents of Suro Antivo

Fundamentally, Meal-a-Day is your organization, if you want it to be.  I’m passionate about it but without money in the bank, there’s not much that can be done in a practical way.  The more financial support Meal-a-Day gets, the more good can be done, the more caring gifts from the Christadelphians can be given.  To that end, please consider letting us steward the money you might be giving to non-Christadelphian charities.  Please don’t divert any funds that you might be giving to preaching organizations like CBMA or WCF.  The work of spreading the gospel is vitally important.  But surely we all can do better when it comes to sharing our abundance with those less fortunate.

Thanks so much for sharing the journey that Bruce and I have undertaken in the last three weeks.  Please help us move forward into the future of possibilities as we wait for the Lord Jesus to return.

Que Dios les bendiga.

Steve

PS:    What are your reflections?  Hit Add a Comment and let all of us know.

PPS:   Please rank these catagories of projects from 1 to 6, 1 being most important to you and email me your list at   stephenjohnson@verizon.net  -   • child & teen prisoner education    •    child rescue and orphanages    •    pure water    •    basic electricity    •    women's programs    •    home improvements for health benefits

fresh water from a new deep well

Water is life!   It feels great to help people get pure drinking water.  The village of San Pablo on the Aguarico River has been drinking rain and river water.

Teaming up with the engineering NGO FEDETA, Christadelphian Meal-a-Day Fund of the Americas has nearly completed a new water system to serve this village of 200.  Bruce and I went there on Thursday to see how the work is coming along.  The residents are doing the installation with guidance from FEDETA.  They'll be done in a few more days.

this little girl will benefit from having pure water

Meal-a-Day is not a preaching organization but as Christadelphians, we are Bible readers and believers.  As night fell on San Pablo, Bruce got into a discussion about Jonah with Benjamin our host.  Benjamin is one of the town's church leaders.  We read the book together.  (Well, they read it in Spanish and I tried to balance my coconut and Bible and follow along.)  Eventually the conversation turned to the promises made to Abraham.  It was a wonderful spontaneous discussion and a great way to end the day.

On Friday we stopped in at another community down river from San Pablo to see if it would make a good candidate for a future Meal-a-Day pure water project.

this industrious woman uses a pedal sewing machine

When we got back to Coca we  jumped into another boat (it's so easy to do around here!) and took a ten minute trip to see something truly revolutionary.  Meal-a-Day has been instrumental in moving the development of the "Garmin Aquacharger" forward.  It's a device invented by Englishman Peter Garmin to create energy from slow moving river current.  Two of them are being tested near Coca. It's probable that this device will deliver energy to tens of thousands worldwide over the next several years.

Tomorrow (Sunday) we'll be heading for home!  Bruce and I will have some reflections on this trip and the future of Christadelphian Meal-a-Day Fund of the Americas for you to consider.  Thanks for taking the time to join us today!

genuine (live) Amazon butterflies with genuine CMaDFA cap

getting the help he needs

I'm sure you remember our visit to Bruce Peru schools in Trujillo, Peru.  Well, Bruce Thornton, with Meal-a-Day help, is trying out his method in Bolivia.  There is one neighborhood school in a barrio outside La Paz that is run by a dedicated teacher named Mary.  We dropped by to see how things are going.

Right now we're off in the jungle of Ecuador checking out three more clean water and electrification projects.  Not long now and we'll be heading home to evaluate what we've learned and see what we'll be able to support this next year.  Please consider making a donation to Christadelphian Meal-a-Day Fund of the Americas if you've liked what you've been seeing.

One other note:  if you happen to make a donation and then Casey, our treasurer, is the only one who acknowledges it, there's a reason for that.  We decided some time ago to make it our policy that only Casey will know who our donors are.  His address is:

Casey Opitz,
1413 Orchard Hill Lane
Charlottesville, VA 22911

Good night, from Ecuador.

Steve

talkative members of "The Mother's Club"

We attended a session of the "Club de Madras Calamarca" on Monday.  This isn't something we're funding now but "Save the Children" wanted us to take a look.  "Save the Children" is a highly rated and effective charity organization that we've worked with in the past.  You may remember this little girl, learning to brush her teeth in a Meal-a-Day funded "Save the Children" Hygiene Education program in Bolivia.

Christadelphian Meal-a-Day Fund of the Americas is looking at funding a similar program to that being done in Calamarca.  The new program would involve poor indigenous Bolivian women farther away from the capitol city, La Paz.  (Let us know what you think of this sort of program.  Send me an email at      stephenjohnson@verizon.net   )  The exciting thing about helping these poor women develop themselves is that the whole family benefits.  Their husbands love the program.  We did extensive interviews with the women pictured above and learned what a positive impact this program has already had in their community.  You'll hear those interviews in a future (longer) Meal-a-Day video.  For now, here are three short clips to give you some idea of what's happening in Calamarca:

trying not to contaminate each other or La Paz

There's a reason for this.  A good reason.  We got invited to stop by the tea company (Windsor Teas) that may be working with the ladies of Calamarca.  We had to don the protective gear for the tour of the tea bagging process.  Thanks, Windsor, for the fascinating tour and the cup of tea!

thinking of the next generation

Our visit to Calamarca was a highlight of the trip so far.  And that's saying a lot because we've seen so many wonderful things.  On Tuesday we visited another neighborhood Bruce Peru school in Bolivia and went into the notorious San Pedro jail in La Paz to talk with teen-age participants in a Meal-a-Day sponsored workshop on "Better Decision Making Skills."  More on those projects later.

With love, from Quito,

Steve

What was in that dish was, finally, one of the most enjoyable meals I’ve had on this trip.  But I digress.  You want to know how that plane, 4x4 and boat ride went.

Well, as you’ll see in the video clips things were a little less dangerous than we had originally thought.

Let me give you some background on the Tumapasa Water Project.

Tumapasa is the kind of town where they dry rice on the street.

Kids get baths like this.  (I’ll bet that water is colder than anything I’ve experienced on this trip.)

Downtown Tumapasa looks like something out of an old Western, at least at this distance.

a scene right out of "A Fistful of Bolivianas"

About ten years ago Tumapasa had about 300 residents.  At that time they put in their first microhydro system, sized for about 300 residents.  Today the village counts upwards of 1500 souls.  The electrical system was converted to a diesel generator a few years ago, but it’s expensive to run.

Meal-a-Day helped the residents upgrade their system.  The people did the work (a lot of it!) with the guidance of this man:

Andreas from Prodener

He’s an engineer with an NGO named Prodener.  Having the two systems gives them a backup and allows them to continue to grow.  Roll the videos!  (There's a reason for three: This blog format limits videos to 2 mbs and this is a story that is bigger than 2 mbs!))

Part the First

Part the Second

Part the Third

Having electricity will help these people in a number of fundamental ways.  We wandered around town and found the clinic.  The medical assistant showed us a refrigerator where medicines are kept and an autoclave for sterilizing instruments.

We talked to a carpenter who uses electricity to build furniture.  His "workshop" is all outside, under the trees.

Now I'm going to tell you about the "not-so-wonderful" part of the day.  Shortly after that speech Bruce made he became sick in a big way, like passing out sort of sick.  They will be talking about him for years.  He had to be escorted to a car that was there (actually the taxi that had brought us to Tumapasa.)  One of the local women climbed in with us and was very distressed crying "Medico! Medico!"  as we slowly drove down the mountain from the celebration to the town's hotel.  She kept touching his chest over his heart and believe me, I was praying that the problem was actually located lower in his body, as he had indicated to me before passing out in the car.

And behind Door # 2...

I can kind of joke about this now but at the time it was all I could do to be calm (to appear calm) as I was thinking about how to manage an evacuation from this place out in the middle of nowhere Bolivia.  And I wasn't laughing at all.  What was needed was some rest-room and room-rest.  After emerging from the above illustrated facilities, Bruce lay down for an hour or so. We shared a big bottle of Fanta and gradually he recovered enough of himself to finish up the day.

All's well that ends, I always say.

So after staying the night in Rurrenabaque and eating at a place called Camilla's, which looked like Humphrey Bogart should be sitting at the bar, we made a hasty retreat back to La Paz.  At the airport we noticed this poster-

When we got back in town we immediately headed to a fascinating "Save the Children" program to evaluate it.  Lord willing, I'll fill you in on the details on Thursday.  Here's a visual preview:

children who were at the meeting with their mothers

So, about that empty dish.  Bruce needed food.  I needed something safe, reassuring, sweet.

no remorse or guilt

We're traveling to a new country today- Ecuador (which I have learned is not spelled with a "q").

Flying through Lima one more time, we should be in Quito by midday.

There are so many things we don't give a second thought to.  Chimneys for example.  But not everyone understands the principle and how using a chimney can eliminate smoke inside the dwelling.  Part of the funding we've given Grupo (remember the trombe walls from a couple of days ago?) has gone towards educating people about using chimneys on their stoves.  Several homes and their associated stoves have been outfitted with chimneys.  The idea is that the converted houses are something of a "home beautiful" model in the neighborhood.  The ideas Grupo has been demonstrating to these people have been catching on.  The aim is to improve the overall health, cutting down on respiratory ailments and reducing suffering.

We'll soon share our experience in the La Paz prison and tell you about our work there in association with Save the Children.  And there's the microhydro installation out in the jungle to show you, too!  A lot of interesting stuff this week so please click back each day.

Adios!

Steve

my bed in El Viento, complete with mosquito net

It's fascinated me for some time that every twenty four hours every human being on the earth needs to go completely unconscious and be absolutely vulnerable for a few hours. We all need a safe place to crash.  Even homeless people look for the least unsafe place to sleep on the street.  So anyway, we've discovered that it doesn't take too much to provide the basics.  And if there is hot water, all the better!

our hotel in Cuzco...can you spot it?

Actually, at $30 a night for the both of us together, the Hotel del Inca was great.  The shower was great!  And as you can see it was well appointed:

nice decorating

But here's what really caught our eye and gave us a chuckle...the regulations on the back of the door.  I've copied the three most interesting out below.

but...what do they mean?

#2. For more confort our guest as are requested to cancel their bills at the reception desk on the day before departing.

#3. Reporting to the Lords to passengers for the purposes of payment the day ended at 10:00 am if, for any reason the passenger does not have withdrawn their belongings must make a new day for lodging.

#7. Back of the room will be delivered to the lobby every time you leave the passenger’s hostal equal to withdrawal.

Then there are the rules posted in the bathroom at the hostel we're staying at in La Paz:

in the Adventure Brew Hostel bathroom

The Adventure Brew Hostel is $7 a night per person when you sleep dorm style.  Notice the sign doesn't say anything about no guns.  Fortunately I left my paisley tie at home due to weight considerations.

mine was #8 on top

We got to La Paz around one A.M. and had to creep into our bunks using flashlights so we wouldn't wake the other people in the room.

kind of scary looking but delivered the goods

This is the shower head in the Adventure Brew's bathroom.  It's got electricity running through it to give you an extra tingle.  Okay, not really.  What happens is that as soon as water flows through it it heats it up right there on the spot. Notice the nice job of hooking up the wires.  Here's the thing: the voltage in Bolivia is 230.  I find that and being very grounded in the shower a little disconcerting.

It's kind of hard to imagine that we still have a bunch of projects to review in the next week. And that there's still one more country to visit. I'm looking forward to our prison visit here in La Paz on Tuesday.  We just discovered tonight that three inmates are taking a Christadelphian Bible correspondence course.

Thanks for your continued interest.  I'll fill you in on chimneys and smoke free homes tomorrow.

Steve

The following is pulled from SOS Children's Villages website:

"Colombia is a country of stark contrasts. A picturesque country, rich in natural resources and with a highly qualified labour force, it has been described as one of the most attractive, exotic and mysterious countries in South America.

Yet the beauty of the Andes Mountains, the Amazon rainforest and the stunning coastline stand in direct opposition to extreme deprivation, where an estimated 70% of families live in extreme poverty, and where violence and corruption permeates the country. The well-documented drug problems, decades of violent conflict, civil war and human rights violations have all taken their toll on Colombia, and on Colombia's children in particular.

We found the SOS Children's Village in Bogota to be a refuge for children like this little girl

There are currently five SOS Children's Villages in Colombia, one of which is in the country's capital city, Bogotá. With facilities including 22 family houses, a community house and a carpenter's workshop, SOS Bogotá is the second largest SOS Village in Latin America and was Colombia's first SOS Village, opening in 1971. Alongside their academic work children are also able to benefit from learning practical skills and are taught handicrafts in the village's workshops."

SOS Children's Villages are orphanages run as national associations that are registered and organised as a foundation and non-profit company or society. They're not church organizations.  Christadelphian Meal-a-Day Fund of the Americas is always looking for worthwhile projects to support,  so while we were in Bogota we stopped by the Children's Village there.  We were very impressed by what we saw.

[See post to watch Flash video]

This little boy and girl lost their parents during a F.A.R.C. action on the edge of Colombia. (The F.A.R.C. is a revolutionary group that has been trying to overthrow the Colombian government for the last forty years.)  They were  campasinos...farmers.  Now they are growing up in the loving care of the SOS Children's Village.

Our visit illustrated to us why it's so important for us to come see first hand the charities and projects we're supporting.  Last year we visited a very well known project named Ninos de los Andes and weren't impressed by what we saw.  Consequently we decided not to get involved with the organization.  What once had been a premier Colombian agency to help street kids had turned into a rather  cold and institutional operation.

Whether or not we'll be able to help SOS Children's Villages (we'd like to!) depends on how much support Christadelphian Meal-a-Day Fund of the Americas gets...from you!

Tomorrow it's planes, 4x4's and boats (sorry, that didn't rhyme) as we fly down to Rurrenabaque, then drive and boat to Tumapasa to check out an electrification project we funded.

]]> http://cmadfa.com/blog/2009/09/27/sos-childrens-villages/feed/ 4 http://cmadfa.com/blog/2009/09/26/new-food-groups-etc/ http://cmadfa.com/blog/2009/09/26/new-food-groups-etc/#comments Sat, 26 Sep 2009 05:05:24 +0000 Steve Johnson http://cmadfa.com/blog/?p=423

fish soup for breakfast in the Llanos

Surprisingly not bad.  Then we had grilled fish for the second course...

corn and beans in Suro Antivo

We were eating the whole beans, everyone dipping out of the bowl with spoons.  A bit later in the meal, we noticed that our host, the assistant mayor (the man in the hat in the next picture) was carefully peeling off the husks.  I figure it was just good roughage!

food and friends...and no electricity in the best house in town

you'd be surprised at how this goes down

Ever had papaya juice?  It looks so good!  Like a nice glass of orange juice, to which it is a distant relative.  Distant for sure.  We've been trying to figure out a nice way to describe its consistency.  Bruce suggests the juice equivalent of okra.  Slimey.  Notice the viscous coating on the glass after only one swallow.

And now for cuy (pronounced more or less "coo-ee")

cuy on the hoof in the corner of the kitchen

We saw them in Alto Peru in one of the homes we visited.  It was explained that, no, they were not pets.  They were food not requiring refrigeration.

Cuy are a delicacy in these here parts.  Wandering around in a brief tourist moment in Cuzco today we spotted them on the menu of a local restaurant.

roasted or fried...lip smacking good!

Another restaurant had a "pick-by-the-picture" menu.

poor little guy!

I ordered the burger and fries.

Okay, so I pulled a fast one yesterday.  We were eating breakfast at Don Pablo's house.  He had hired a lady to come in and prepare our meal (which we then paid for.) Five of us ate for less than six dollars (Bruce: "It was overpriced.")  I could tell it was "meat" with onions.  What cut of meat I'm not sure but this I do know.  About halfway through I just plain lost interest in trying to not offend anyone by not finishing.

it looks better than it tasted

So I pretended there were pictures and video that needed to be taken right then!  Bruce figured out immediately what I was doing.  But he didn't have a camera or a job that needed to be done right then...except to polish his plate.

That just about does it for food.  Now for a quiz.  What is out of place on this door?

You'll have to get closer.

Homer Simpson in Sicuani, Peru! Hmmm, maybe not so out of place...

Surprise, surprise. (How did someone even plug this in?)

Speaking of electricity as we have been on and off, I was surprised though fortunately not shocked to find this arrangement by my bedside table at the "Centro Vacational", the hotel we stayed at the other night.  I was going to unplug the table lamp in order to hook up a battery charger when I thought to look where my fingers were going.

About half way there...

We did a touristy thing this morning before running to the airport.  There is a big white statue of Jesus on a hill overlooking Cuzco.  It's called "the White Christ."  Interestingly enough, it was given to the people of Cuzco by the Palestinians in 1945. The plaque on the statue didn't elaborate on that.

Anyway, it's quite a climb!  I asked Bruce at one point what the Spanish is for "hospital" in case I needed to get him help.  He suggested that I could start doing CPR and someone else would probably see us and go get help.  I told him that I don't know CPR. "What kind of traveling companion are you?" he asked.

On the way up we ran into Llama Lady.  Tim and Donna, this one is for you.  It cost me 2 soles (67 cents) so I hope you enjoy it.  The llama was well behaved and didn't spit.

I declined to have my photo taken with the llama. I know llamas from staying with the Andersons. You want to keep your distance.

So we made it to the top and I'm sure it was worth it.

(Create your own caption)

This tells you something about Cuzco.

Right inside the baggage claim area at the Cuzco airport was the free oxygen lady.  There really is less air here.  But at least what air there is is free.

Inca Kola. A favorite drink from the past.

The Incas were once a mighty people, known for their advanced culture.  Inca Kola is (reportedly) made from an ancient secret recipe although the kola the Incas drank lacked "gaseosas personal", an ingredient listed on today's version.

"See any chiggers under here?"

It's hard to believe that we were doing this a week and a half ago!  It's becoming a blur.  And there's still a week to go with a number of projects to visit and evaluate.

Steve gets himself tangled up in another fine mess.

For some reason Bruce finds this picture of me getting hooked on barbed wire amusing.  It's that weird Vermont sense of humor. Other Vermont readers of this blog will probably be laughing, too, although people from other more sympathetic states may not be.

We've got matching Meal-a-Day caps thanks to Susie Lange. Thanks, Susie!

When you're reading this we'll be in La Paz, Bolivia, getting ready to visit a microhydro project, check out a Bruce Peru startup operation in Bolivia and see what we might do with Save the Children in the La Paz prison.  Stay tuned!  And please continue to remember Christadelphian Meal-a-Day Fund of the Americas in your prayers as we continue to seek God's direction and blessing in this work.

Que Dios les bendiga.   "May God bless you!"

Bruce and Steve

On the square in Cuzco

We made it safely to Cuzco yesterday, took a short walk around and Bruce (who has been here before) pointed out the amazing stonework of some of the buildings.

ancient stones, perfect joints

That was about it for my tourism experience.  I'll have to come back when I have more time.  We met up with Bernardo, our contact from the NGO Grupo, had lunch and jumped into another Toyota HiLux 4x4 (remember the mud?)

Bernardo and our ride

Our mission took us to some very rugged but gorgeous terrain.  There wasn't any mud this time as we wound our way higher and higher into the Andes.  Our driver's name was Jehu...he drove furiously, on narrow, winding, bumpy, loose gravel roads.  (Just kidding, I don't know what his name was.) Here's the view looking down from my car window:

At one point, as we skidded around a corner with a shear drop off, I said to Bruce, "There's something to be said for mud."  You probably can't die getting stuck in a mud hole.

Bernardo explaining "trombe" walls to us

What was taking us here?  In this remote, cold, very elevated area of Peru, communities suffer tragedies each year… hundreds of children dying of pneumonia. One official source puts the infant mortality rate (children who die in their first year of life) at just over 30%. Grupo is a highly motivated University engineering group from Lima that has a heart to help the poor and indigenous peoples of Peru.

In this project they, along with the Red Cross and Meal a Day, are providing demonstration modifications to homes in 3 communities, to show the benefits of inexpensive solar heating and of chimneys (a concept unknown here). The plastic lean-to is called a trombe wall.  The mud brick wall behind the plastic is painted black and holes are made in it.  Warm air circulates into the house by means of convection.

one of the houses we saw today with its trombe wall

cold air in at the bottom, warm air out at the top

As more local families follow the example of these demo houses, the combination of 15 degree warmer,  smoke –free homes should greatly reduce the incidence of respiratory illnesses, aleviating suffering and saving lives.

We're off to Bolivia tomorrow afternoon.  We're taking a look at a Bruce Peru project that's starting up in Bolivia, an electrification project (Arlene: this is the part where we fly in a small plane that lands on the grass...but only if it's not raining...too hard), and a Save the Children project in the La Paz prison.

Buenas Noches!  (Bruce had to coach me again on that.)