| Lima City Overview Photo Gallery Director Bio Journals: · Jun 30 2008 · Jul 02 2008 · Jul 04 2008 · Jul 09 2008 · Jul 25 2008 Trek 2008 Home |
Global Urban Trek 2008
Urban ImmersionJuly 2, 2008
Imagine you are a parent of ten children, and your only available resource is a single sheet of paper. You need to create something of value with this paper to sell it and feed your children for the day, yet time is of the essence. In no more than fifteen minutes, could you make something with this paper and then sell it at the marketplace?
This was the challenge given to the Lima Trek team by our hosts during our first morning in Peru. Participating in this simulation gave us our first real glimpse of the despair and helplessness that many urban Peruvians face everyday. How could we convince someone to buy our products when they clearly had little monetary worth?
Some of us managed to sell what we had. A Peruvian took pity on us and bought our product. Others of us came away empty handed
with the sinking feeling our stomachs that, had the situation been real, our children would have faced empty bellies that night.
Such is a day in the life of the Trek team in Lima, Peru. Our thirteen-person team made it here safely at 5 a.m. on Sunday, June 22, after completing an array of orientation activities in Miami the week before. On Sunday, feeling both excited and exhausted (after a six-hour flight delay the night before), we were welcomed warmly by our hosts at theYaycuy Camuy house and introduced to Lima through a variety of exercises.
Walking through through the Galeria Viva, a nine-room exhibit in the Yaycuy house, we got a brief glimpse of the struggles and ingenuity of the Limeñan poor and the ministries that the Yaycuy volunteers have created to come alongside them. Throughout Sunday night and Monday morning’s exercises, we pondered how best to serve the urban poor in a way that both affirms their dignity and acknowledges the harsh realities of their situations.
What situations do some Peruvians face everyday? For many of those we’ll work with (the poorest of the poor), water is a luxury. Others, like the displaced who have recently fled violent rural areas to move to the city's shantytowns, relive memories of the horrors caused by the terrorist group Shining Path or the Peruvian military.
For many Limeñans, going home requires a long climb up a steep, muddy hill. Though this hill, called El Cerro, is officially condemned by the government, many have no other option than to squat here for survival.
Our team is split into two groups to partner with two holistic-ministry organizations in Peru. At Paz y Esperanza, Gracie, Laura, Amy, Amy (yes, two!), Kelton, and Brandon work with community churches, make home visits and help with workshops addressing local problems like sexual abuse. Check out their progress at www.limatrek08.blogspot.com.
At Yaycuy Camuy (which, in Quechua means, “come in and make yourself at home for a while”), Sean, Sarah, Andy, Alicia, Walter, Jeff and I help plan and participate in programs to educate and serve local children.
More to come, though finding internet connection here is a challenge.
- Jacque
Print
Email
