Sunday 15 June 2008

Ventanilla update

We arrived back in the UK last Wednesday after an eventful trip home. It feels very strange to be back in Sheffield after being in Peru for 9 months, and having been in Ventanilla only last Friday.

As always it was a blessing to be there, as well as a challenge. Added to this, it was more of a challenge than normal to get there. Normally it takes at least two hours to get there, due to its location. However a traffic jam, due to an accident on the only route to Ventanilla, I (Mark) ended up arriving after leaving three hours twenty minutes travelling. I usually get a combination of bus and taxi to get there, however due to the traffic jam, I decided to get out to walk at 12.18 (I needed to be at the school before one o clock), hoping to get a bus at the other end of the seemingly endless traffic jam. I however had to get a taxi, then a motor taxi (taxi and motorbike combined) and then walk the further 45 minutes to the school, up through what coculd be described as a dirty large sand dune, which is the area that Alfredo is working in. I arrived at 13:25, and thought the kids would have left, but they were still there, and waiting for me to arrive.

Some of the students at 'Discovery High School' primary school!


They then wanted me to introduce myself, and ask me some questions. (Most of the questions were regarding the price of my camera, or what their name, or another word was in English).
They then showed me their favourite game, skipping, but using the school’s giant hose. (See photos and video below)

Tug of war with a giant hose! (guess which team won)

I was then introduced to a few songs they knew, as well as taking photos inside and outside the school. It was a real privilege to be there yet again, and to see the joy that these children who have virtually nothing financially, but are full of joy, and receiving an education with great happiness and thankfullness, that I haven’t seen in the UK.
The children stayed over an hour and a half after school should have had finished, (again I can’t imagine seeing that in the UK) and were given biscuits and pop, before going home, hopefully, to a good lunch.

Many of these children have no breakfast and a very small lunch. One example of this is the family below, with no dad, and a mum who works now and again, when she can get work sewing or cooking, they have little or no money. Their normal lunch is a bowl of the soup, you can see below, which has beans or pasta in it, and no more. Alfredo was talking to me about this, and saying he would love to be able to provide a basic breakfast of a glass of milk and a roll for each student. We reckon this will only cost about 40 pounds a month, and will really help these children. Things like this have really spoken to me since we got home as this is just taken for granted over here in the UK.

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