After a straight forward KLM flight to Lima (via Amsterdam to pick up some of the Amoria Bond team) we were welcomed off the plane by the lovely family that oversee Project Peru who drove us to Project Peru HQ where we were given the warmest of welcomes…..genuinely touching.
The staff & children gave us heartfelt cuddles straight off the bus, before treating us to a bonfire, burgers and a musical performance…before a group game of football which proved to be a great ice breaker and a lot of fun for all involved.
It´s immediately apparent how much respect everyone here treats each other with and the compound is well cared for with everyone having designated responsibilites and a strong sense of communal responsibility.
Day 1 of the project saw the team (Adam, Ben, Ben, Daniel, Gareth, Ian, Jorn, Marie, Natalie, Peter and Richard), carry all of the materials necessary for 5 homes up the steep, narrow terrain of upper Las Laderas. 100´s of beams of wood and packs of timber cladding, corrugated roofing and everything we´ll need for the construction of the first build.
It is immediately apparent just how important and how much of a difference these homes mean to the owners who each came and were moved to tears in explaining how ´their dreams had been answered and they´d never thought they´d be able to build their own home´. The stories had a similar thread – hard working people who struggle day in day out to earn 5 sol ($2) doing whatever they can to survive.
A humbled team as 3 recipients cry with gratitude at just how much a new home means and the positive impact it will have on their lives
Mother Rosa who is a pillar of the community and runs the Comader (soup kitchen) open 6 days per week, gave us an overview of the situation here. The Cormader feeds 280 children visiting for breakfast on their way to school and for meals later on plus many more adults who collect a daily meal to take away.
Having moved here 26 years ago and been one of the first people to arrive at Las Laderas there are few people better to tell us about the situation! She explained how people from rural Peru come to Lima in search of a better life. The combination of challenging, subsistence living alongside the perception of better prospects in the city lure people to sell what they have and come to seek a better life for their family in Lima.
However, work is very hard to find, with people having to do what they can to survive, from washing and cleaning to street vending, recycling materials (bottles etc), street performing etc. Men try to get what labouring work they can, but competition is high, opportunity low & the result is much unemployment, low morale and the resulting symptons of domestic abuse and alcoholism.
There´s a strong work ethic and culture. People are up early and work until late, doing what they can to tend to their families. Rosa´s very proud of the women who come and work at the Comader. She´s seen dozens who had previously been unable to get any form or work, blossom as they contribute to the local community, feed their family and get out of being trapped at home. Indeed the Comader is a haven for many and serves the community and participants on many levels.
Rosa´s hope is that families will simply be able to live together in a home and be able to find steady work so they can live a normal life without having to struggle & worry every day.
From the tears of appreciation and sense of gratitude shown by the Las Laderas community and recipients of the new homes, there is absolutely no doubt that the Amoria Bond – Project Peru initiative is making a HUGE difference to the lives of many.
THANK YOU.
This 2 metre tarp was their shelter. Thanks to you they will now have a home!
