People We’re Meeting Along the Way
Bruce here, blogging this one:
telling the folks at Suro Antivo about how the Christadelphians wanted to help them
We've been sharing our experiences with you. While they include geography, transportation, housing, humor and health, they're ultimately stories about people along the way. None of these projects Meal-a-Day is involved in would happen without the varied and impressive partners we've identified to work with here. So you've met Mauricio and Claudia, Paolo and Willie and Maria Cristina, Consuelo and Lilia, Bruce and Ana Teresa, and will meet many others who are working hard with our help to meet the needs of some very poor and needy people.
Mauricio and Claudia
Willie, Maria Cristina and Paolo
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Consuelo and Lilia
Ana Teresa and Bruce
Today we want you to meet some of the others we have been blessed to enjoy in the last week and a half.
Luis and Rosa
First are Luis and Rosa, a Christadelphian couple in Restrepo, Colombia. The nearest other Christadelphians are 4 hours drive away, but Luis is blind, so they rarely try that trip. They rejoiced to have Steve and me visit.
Jesus and Julita
Those nearest other Christadelphians I mentioned are Jesus and Julita, a couple in their 80's in Bogota. Julita fell and broke her hip recently. While they receive visits and lots of help from their daughters' families in the UK, they too welcomed our visit with joy.
our friends in Lima
There's a couple in Lima who have studied the Bible with the help of several Christadelphians, including Jim Millay, Jim Hunter and Duncan Heaster. Joanie and I have met with them on several occasions, and they came to the airport in Lima to spend 3 hours with Steve and me, including a long and fascinating discussion of Philippians 2:6-11.
As you can imagine, Steve and I are getting to know each other better as a result of 24/7 contact for the last 12 days! Steve knew I was struggling a bit spiritually before we left and has been a support in our daily prayers together.
We look forward to planned visits with others of our "family of faith" along the way. The mission of the Christadelphian Meal-a-Day Fund of the Americas is not a preaching mission, but it includes "doing good works in the name of Jesus". Encouraging others in their spiritual journey is a most fortunate byproduct of our time spent in these South American countries. We believe there are a lot of our readers who are praying for our safety and effectiveness and we thank you. Please pray also for our partners in the many Meal-a-Day projects and also for these other "People we are meeting along the way".
By the way, it is apparent that those who have commented are finding these daily blog entries uplifting as well as entertaining. That's GOOD! Steve is working incredibly hard to make sure there is something new for you to enjoy each day. Here's a request from us to each of you, please. Share your comments. We find them very uplifting to us, and I hope others are too. Get involved, first in the blog for the next 11 days, then in the ongoing work of Meal a Day, by prayer, by your wonderful financial help, and (stay posted) perhaps a group trip next summer, Lord willing, to get involved "hands on".
By God's grace,
Bruce
Reaching the Most Marginalized
meeting at Alto Peru
in Trujillo
Wow! Talk about contrasts. One moment we're with some of the poorest people you'll meet high in the Andes mountains. The next we're on SuperBus listening to (rather, being forced to listen to) Madonna singing Material Girl. Then not much later we're in some absolutely poor neighborhoods checking out the work of the Bruce Peru Organization.
Here are some random thoughts I had this morning at about 5 am on the bus:
I started to get ready for this trip physically about six weeks before we left. A lot of running, losing some weight, etc. The reason is because over the years I’ve learned that doing documentary style video work usually takes a little extra energy. For example, if you’re going to follow a group of people a half a mile or so across hill and dale, uphill, skirting vicious dogs, avoiding barbed wire fences, rocks, holes, etc. it’s good to be in reasonably good shape. The problem for the videographer is that he or she has to run to keep up with the group that is making steady progress by walking. You stop to get a shot of of people passing, then run up the hill a bit to get a wide shot of people passing, then run ahead a little get ready for a closeup of someone’s foot stepping on a rock, then run to catch up to the group going over a hill.
You get the idea. All in a day’s work, no pity being looked for. The thing is I’d never done this at 12,000 feet before. Wow! (Dyron, have you ever trained for an Ironman at altitude?) If it was hard to breath in Villavicencio because of pollution, it was just plain hard to breath in Alto Peru and Suro Antivo yesterday because of a lack of oxygen. Interesting experience. I was thinking that, now that they've got some electricity, what they really might go for up there is an oxygen bar.
Looks big enough...
The Material Girl comes along for the ride.
Now, about that overnight bus ride from Cajamarca to Trujilllo. These buses, or coaches rather are really quite nice. The seats tilt way back, there’s a thing to put down for your legs so you can stretch out…if you’re the size of the average Peruvian. Bruce and I are not. I’m six three and I have to look way up to Bruce. (Anyone who has had a hug from Bruce knows what I’m talking about!) I’m not sure my right knee will function the same when it comes time to disembark (just kidding, Arlene.) (Sort of.) When we got on the bus a collection of Madonna’s music videos was playing on the big TV at the front of our section…with a speaker right over our seats. We left promptly at 10:30 pm and the music went on til about 11:15 (“Material Girl” played at about 10:56.) I’m thinking “Why?” Anyway, as I write this it’s now 6:06 am and the wheels are still turning though thankfully the TV is silent. Unfortunately, fancy as this ride is it doesn’t have a shower. We got back to Cajamarca in time to eat dinner around 8, slam together yesterday’s post over a hamburger and fries, run a few blocks to the hotel lobby where we stayed Sunday night to filch a little free wi-fi to upload the blog and then just make it in time to the bus station. After a night on the road we're now pulling into Trujillo.
Oh, my goodness! The TV just lit up! Bruce said “More Madonna!” And, no kidding, her music videos just started playing again!
We’re heading for a day of looking at a project Meal-a-Day has been supporting this last year that involves providing schooling for some very marginalized children.
Ana Teresa Rosell, Presidente and Bruce Thornton, Founder - Bruce Peru Organization
Bruce Peru Organization has been serving the 26% of Peru's school age children that do not attend school. This group is made up of campesino children, kids who live on the edges of Peruvian society.
typical Bruce Peru neighborhood that is served
What happens is this. For cultural and economic reasons kids from these neighborhoods don't attend public school. Bruce Peru sets up small schools in the neighborhoods and encourages children to come. Once they see that learning can be fun and they begin to have a sense of accomplishment, they thrive in the classroom. Bruce Peru's mission is to get these kids up to speed with their in-school peers so that they can be integrated into the public school system. Founder Bruce Thornton says that when they checked their figures several years ago, 85% of those who started their one year support program completed it. Bruce Peru continues to follow these kids for two years once they're back in public school, paying their expenses and providing other services. 80% of those who return to public school are still there two years later. (Please note: Bruce Thornton is quick to point out that his figures may be in the high seventies now.) Meal-a-Day has been contributing to Bruce Peru this last year.
Tomorrow it's off to high altitude again. Bruce just told me to wear my boots and long johns. I didn't pack any long johns. We'll be looking at homes that are being modified with inexpensive materials to make them warmer and having stoves with chimneys installed to eliminate smoke inside the dwelling.
We're looking forward to it! (And we're halfway through our travels!)
Cutting Edge Projects
happy resident of Alto Peru
Our visits today to two small Peru communities, Alto Peru and Suro Antivo, reminded us why we get involved in electrification and pure water projects. These people are very poor and are neglected by those who have money in Peru. Each project was relatively inexpensive, yet dramatically changed the lives and health of the residents of their small communities. Each project has unique new aspects, and each has the potential to benefit poor people throughout the WORLD! That’s a BIG claim… take a look…
There is a light in this kitchen now.
Suro Antivo now has a clean water system thanks to your contribution.
Meal-a-Day provided a water system. Residents provided a lot of labor.
Part of our funding includes training in sanitation for the kids. Here they are learning about why a latrine outside the home is so important. A cholera outbreak killed hundreds here in the 1980's.
Kids show where latrine should be located.
Clean water at the school and throughout the village!
What really excites me about both these projects is that Meal-a-Day is on the cutting edge of the use of wind turbines in extreme topography. And the water project was adapted to the highly dispersed nature of the village using multiple water sources.
Wish I could write more but we’re running to catch the 10:30 pm overnight bus to Trujillo.
Buenas Noches!
Little Ones
Willie, Maria Cristina and Paolo
Paolo created the Fundacion Santa Cruz with his wife (now deceased) more than twenty years ago. They were soon joined in the work by Willie and Maria Cristina. The Fundacion is a home for children who have been severely abused and have been legally removed from their parent(s).
Please note that we talked to these three directors of the Fundacion about all of what we're now sharing. They gave us full permission to show pictures of the children and to share their stories. Here is one story that is typical.
This little girl came to the Fundacion just over a year ago. She told us that beginning at age eight she was repeatedly violated by her father and uncles with her mother's consent. Her mother also offered her as a prostitute. This is almost unbelievable except that her mother and father are now in jail, her mother having been held responsible for this tragedy. This girl was a witness at her trial. What she told us was confirmed by the Fundacion directors and psychologist. The reason we're telling you this is not to be sensational. Looking at these children now, it is nearly impossible to believe that they come from absolutely wretched backgrounds, from all over Colombia. Knowing what kind of background these children have helps one appreciate the work of the Fundacion Santa Cruz and how it is helping them heal.
For more information about the Fundacion, watch the video at the CMADFA.com website.
Nini
This woman is a former resident of the Fundacion who worked for a few years elsewhere. She came back to teach here even though she makes less money because it gives her more satisfaction.
a gift
Some of the children made a card to present to us.
"Thank you very much, Christadelphian Meal-a-Day Foundation of America. Thank you! God bless you for your support of our work. 'The one that gives something to one of my little ones gives it to me.' -Jesus"
Cajamarca, Peru town square
We flew into Cajamarca, Peru today and had a briefing with a Green Empowerment representative about what we'll be checking out tomorrow. We'll have some terrific things to share with you about how Meal-a-Day is affecting the lives of some poor Peruvians with electricity and clean water projects.
Anna with Green Empowerment, another charity that helps ITDG
Hotel Cajamarca courtyard
I'm not getting any Marriott points for staying here but even though it's only ninety soles a night for two of us($30 USD), the Hotel Cajamarca is more than adequate. Free Wi-Fi too!
Buenos noches!
Sowers of Love
tour of poor barrio served by Semilleros de Amor
Semilleros de Amor, “Sowers of Love”, is a project of a group of elderly widows in Bogota. Years ago they formed a social group for mutual support. Then they decided to do something good for others, and began a daily feeding program of street kids. The area originally served became too dangerous for these ladies, so they’ve moved to the current location near a poor barrio. An apartment complex near the barrio donates a room. Most of the clothes the children wear are donated by the ladies’ friends. A part time teacher is paid to handle educational exercises with the children. And a nutritious lunch is served. Meal-a-Day provides half the funds for this simple program, and the ladies provide supervision and pay for the other half of the expenses.
This rose is blooming because of love.
view of the Foundation of Santa Cruz
We visited the Foundation of Santa Cruz today. It's a wonderful home for children who have suffered great abuse. Lord willing, I'll have some video to show you and more information to share tomorrow (Monday) from our visit.
girl who is being helped at the Foundation
Our time in Colombia is now finished (for this trip) and we're off on a 6 am flight to Lima, Peru. Christadelphian Meal-a-Day Fund of the Americas is involved in a number of exciting projects in Peru and I can't wait to tell you about them in the next few days. Meanwhile, if you've never checked out our website, this might be a great time: cmadfa.com
Remember those bug bites? The prevailing opinion is "coloraditos." Vicks Vaporub is a remedy. Imagine what our section of the plane will smell like today!
Thanks for all the comments
Adios!
Seemed Like a Good Idea
looking for oxygen after 4.98K
While I catch my breath, allow me to comment on trying to run in crowded cities. It seemed like a good idea at the time but if the traffic doesn’t kill you the air pollution will. The carbon monoxide/dioxide levels in my blood when I took these pictures after running through the Villavicencio neighborhood must have been staggering. They actually ban cars from the city every once in awhile to try to reduce the pollution levels. September 18 was one of those days. We had to wait until 8 pm on our return from El Viento before we could drive into the city. This is one of the reasons Mauricio is dedicated to finding “green” solutions to energy production.
they look worse than they feel
There was something out there in the Llanos that bites! Bruce and I both have a multitude of these little spots in various places on our bodies now. He’s been trying to get me to believe they are the beginning of Dengue fever. Speaking of which, there was a fellow from El Viento who helped us with the car, then shook hands all around, THEN told us he didn’t feel well because he was getting over Dengue! (Where is that hand sanitizer when you need it? Buried in my suitcase in the back of the truck!)
Helberto and Mauricio
There were two exciting developments yesterday as a direct result of Meal-a-Day’s support of Mauricio’s work. A year ago we funded him to travel to ten remote villages to talk with people about how they can use microhydro to improve their lives. These were places that he already knew were interested but because of the expense, hadn’t been able to visit previously. Yesterday one of those visits bore fruit. A small Indian village up in the mountains got funding for its microhydro installation from a hotel in Scotland. (The hotel plans to use photos of the village with its electricity and clean water in its lobby.) After his Meal-a-Day sponsored visit, Mauricio submitted an application to an organization called Mercy Corps which finds contributors for worthy projects like this one.
This is an illustration of how Christadelphian Meal-a-Day Fund of the Americas is always trying to leverage the donations it receives. We’re always looking for ways to plant seed money, small amounts that allow people to illustrate to other larger resources the value of what they are doing. I’ll give more examples in a future blog.
The other exciting development was the visit Mauricio got yesterday. The man pictured with him traveled four hours by boat and an hour by small plane to come to Villavicencio to talk with Mauricio about his plan. He lives in a very remote jungle area with others who are ready to do the work to put in a microhydro installation. He came with pages of drawings, measurements and photos of his river to learn how his dream can become a reality.
One of Helberto´s drawings
How do you say ¨Woo Hoo!¨ in Spanish?
Last night we stayed with Mauricio’s mother in Bogota. She is a wonderful hostess and our visit was very pleasant. And she has hot water! This morning’s shower was fantastico!. This is the first time in a week, even at our hotel in Villavicencio (hardly expected water in El Viento) that we’ve had hot water. How pleasant the little things are. We don’t know how good we have it back home.
Too pricey?
One last note. The candy bar was calling to me from the display case in the restaurant last night. “Would you like a Hershey bar, Steve?” Si! “Only $2300.” To figure out the equivalent in USD you need to divide by 2000. After doing the math I splurged and bought two.
girl with dreams from poor barrio
Semerillos de Amor
orphanage in Bogota
children being cared for
Yesterday we visited a feeding and education program that Meal-a-Day has been supporting named Semerillos de Amor ¨Sowers of Love´ and an orphanage in Bogota. Our Lord willing we´ll show you some video tomorrow from these very impressive programs.
A Visit to El Viento
Main Street, El Vientro, Colombia
Yesterday I showed you the incredible journey Bruce and I took to get here, El Viento. (Just a reminder: Bruce and I are funding all of our travel expenses so that Meal-a-Day contributions go entirely to fund the projects we take on.) Why go to the trouble of coming all the way here? Of course, we are just a little bit adventurous (i.e.crazy.) But, really, we feel the need to fully understand what it is Christadelphian Meal-a-Day Fund of the Americas is supporting. We feel a tremendous obligation to you to do the best we can with the resources you're putting into the Fund. And there is no better way than to see the needs first hand and talk face to face to the people we'd like to help.
Misleading photo; there was no light at this village committee meeting because there is no community electricity.
It actually looked more like this time exposure.
El Viento has at least a couple of problems, one regarding electrification and another involving clean water. Meal-a-Day has been working with Mauricio Gnecco (see earlier blog) to help with a clean water project. Basically, the water table is high in El Viento. Every house has its own shallow well. And every house has its own septic system...which is usually not far removed from the well. The wells often get contaminated...E coli, etc. You get the picture. The health of the village is often compromised. A possible and probable solution is to fix this well:
Broken deep well that could serve the community.
The well itself would need to be repaired and a water line run to each house. By seeing the situation first hand Meal-a-Day was able to understand the issues involved in a community project like this one. CMaDFA was able to offer some suggestions for alternative approaches for a long term solution to this problem. The mothers of El Vientro are eager to fix the problem because they want very much for their children to be healthy.
This little girl is ready to walk through the mud to school.
While we were in El Vientro, we took the opportunity to slog through another ten miles of mud (after you've done 100 km of mud what's another 15?) to visit an experimental farm. Meal-a-Day is not doing anything with the farm but it gave us a chance to see a "microhydro" electrification and clean water installation. This is exactly the kind of technology that small, poor villages in remote areas can install and operate themselves. Mauricio is an expert in making this sort of system work. Since this blog is getting a little long, I'll roll the video and fill you in tomorrow on an exciting microhydro development involving a village of indigenous Colombian Indians. Mauricio just found out about it today and was thrilled to tell us the news. Meal-a-Day had a direct hand in helping these people who live up in the Andes take a big step toward electrification.
Mud
stuck fast for four and a half hours
The idea was to visit a small village 350 kilometers east of Villavicencio. Three quarters of the road is reasonably good...some asphalt, some gravel. It's the last quarter that is amazingly horrific as roads go. A couple of years ago I rode on the Trans African Highway in western Kenya and described the experience as absolutely indescribable. The road to El Viento redefines indescribable. The trip was supposed to take 14 hours. It took 30. Thankfully our friend Mauricio brought along his friend David, a veterinarian who works with cattle in eastern Colombia. Between David and Mauricio and another fellow named Don Alejandro who happened along on his motor cycle, we were going again after only four and a half hours of being stuck in the mud. (Bruce and I did a few things to help, too.) We all displayed an amazingly good humor about the whole thing...even when night fell and mosquitos began hunting for human flesh.
Success!
We accomplished our mission in El Viento on Tuesday and had to repeat the trip to get back to Villavicencio on Wednesday. I'll fill you in on what we actually did in El Viento on Friday. We thank God for our safekeeping. Here are a couple of clips to give you an idea of what travel in the hinterlands of Colombia is like:
Thanks to all who have sent us words of encouragement! It means a lot!
From Villavicencio- Buenas Noches
Steve
The Bible Rationale
picture of a village girl Bruce took on last year's visit to Latin America
We’re still way off-line in the Llanos somewhere. I asked Bruce “what does Llanos mean?” (I haven’t come across that word in Rosetta Stone yet…only words like beber, comer, correr, ninos…) He says it means “the plain.” That’s what the Llanos is: the flatland that contrasts nicely with the Andes that run down the middle (somewhat) of Colombia. Mauricio has been telling us that getting across the Llanos in the 4x4 to El Viento will take 14 hours. We'll give you a full report soon. In the meantime...
We got to talking last night about how much there is in the Bible about helping the poor. I’ll admit that up until a year or so ago I really wasn’t aware of how much there is about this. Then for part of our Meal-a-Day website, we put together a collection of passages (http://www.cmadfa.com/contact/contact/scripture.html ) and I was impressed by the number of statements, in both Old and New Testaments about the subject…simple statements like “Defend the cause of the weak and fatherless; maintain the rights of the poor and oppressed; rescue the weak and needy; deliver them from the hand of the wicked” (Ps. 82:3-4) or “He who oppresses the poor shows contempt for their Maker but whoever is kind to the needy honors God” (Prov. 14:31). It’s these kinds of statements that are the driving force behind Meal-a-Day’s work.
waiting in the clinic in Peru (photo from last year)
But there is so much poverty, so much need in the world that it’s impossible to imagine that we can really do much about it. I appreciate what an absolutely tiny drop in an ocean of need Meal-a-Day represents! So what’s the use? Well, for one thing, any person who is helped IS a person who is helped. It makes a difference for that person and Jesus is about individuals not about numbers.
Maybe what is more important is how helping others affects us. It puts me more in touch with reality as I see that most of the world outside the U.S. has substantially less than I do. It makes me very conscious of and thankful for my blessings. I’m hopeful that it contributes to God’s pleasure in a small way.
In Matthew 25, Jesus tells a parable about judgment. He lets us know that he thinks compassion for the least, the most vulnerable people is very important to him. He tells us that he considers service done for the poor as service done for him.
What do you think? Why is helping others important to you? Why should helping the needy in the world be important to us as a community?
The Buzz About Electricity
We should be in El Viento right now which doesn't have electricity yet. That means I actually scheduled this blog before leaving Villavicencio because today there is no practical way to use the internet where we are at.
So...let's talk about electricity. If you're reading this it's because you've got some. I've been reading Thomas Friedman's latest book Hot, Flat and Crowded. Here are a few thoughts he has about Energy Poverty (chapter 7) that are pertinent to Christadelphian Meal-a-Day Fund of the America's village electrification projects:
- Indoor air pollution, resulting from cooking and heating with wood or other biomass causes 1.6 million deaths per year, ranking only lower than malnutrition, unsafe sex and lack of clean water and sanitation.
- One fourth of the world’s population has little or no access to electricity. “Every night is a blackout for these people”. (And near the equator, that blackout happens at six pm! - Steve's note)
- Energy is, at its most basic level, the capacity to do work.
- Without electricity in a village you can’t:
o Pump water (mostly women haul it from great distances)
o Pump water from a clean source, or through a dependable filter (many more intestinal and other diseases)
o Communicate with the outside world (cell phone, internet access, etc)
o Have effective evening literacy and other classes (study time for children increases by 33% when homes can access electricity)
o Cook or heat a home without daily collection of wood or dung to burn (again, mostly women shoulder this burden)
o Substantially increase incomes (they typically grow 15- 20% with dependable access to energy)
o Dependably sanitize medical equipment, see to perform evening surgeries, preserve medicines, etc.
o Retain talented village youth, who instead move to over-populated cities because “that’s where the jobs are”.
- Just as much of the rural and 3rd world populations are beginning to have cell phones, without ever experiencing land-lines and telephone poles, etc… the transition from energy poverty to energy access for many will be via solar/ wind/ local hydro-electric systems… without ever becoming part of the large electric grid, with its power lines and poles and often polluting power sources. The transition can provide access to energy without adding to pollution!
- Access to communication and the internet can facilitate the change in education from rote repetition and copying to one of research and self-learning… from learning facts to learning to think.
- Access to the internet is the first introduction for many rural people to cultures different from their own, strengthening cultural diversity.
- As education and the standard of living increases, mothers begin to have fewer children.
Steve here again - some things to think about, huh? Bringing electricity to people can truly empower them. For more information about why CMaDFA is involved in electrification projects check this out: http://www.cmadfa.com/projects/projects/electricity.html
While you're there please take a look at the rest of the website.