Peter Mogan, leader of the University Chapel work team to Peru and FH Canada Board Chair, writes: "Monday we started to work on the kindergarten building. There was a huge pile of rocks and dirt (15' x 8' x 6') to be moved to become fill behind a new retaining wall. The sun was hot and the work was hard. Yet there was something very fulfilling and joyful in what were doing together. We were joined by men, women and children from the Community and there was laughter mixed with sweat and dirt as we worked alongside each other. There is hope here: hope for education, hope for being a united community; hope for families and children. And there is the deep pride of accomplishment. Karen and I are really happy about getting a chance to use our elementary Spanish with our new friends; all the hard work of studying is paying off. After a hearty meal, and a time of sharing, I fell into bed exhausted – with a big smile on my face…
Tuesday we learned about the family violence and the health and nutrition work of FH Peru in the Lima hillside communities. About 70% of the women in the communities report physical, psychological and/or sexual violence. The need for education and transformation is huge.
Then back to Rinconada for Kids Club – two hours of organized pandemonium – with the children of the community. For the first half hour, more and more kids kept coming, girls and boys, little wee ones and their older siblings, a few moms and soon we had nearly 100 people in the 5m x 8m room. Karen and Bruce did an excellent job of creating and delivering a two hour program of teaching, songs, games, puppet show, story, crafts and more. The energy level was high and stayed high and the theme of "Respect" was well communicated and reinforced. The children were very comfortable around us "Gringos" and we all had a great time. Some of the children wanted to hold our hands as we walked down the 45◦ path back down to our minibus. God grant that I never take their joy and love for granted…
We took the FH Peru staff out to a nice restaurant for dinner. It is our intent to honour them and give them an experience they rarely get to enjoy. We are joined by Rosaura Menzones, former Country Director, who led our team in 2007. It is great to see her again and to share stories with this wise and elegant woman who loves the Lord and loves her country. Stay tuned . . .’’
