Earthquake Relief Trip

Amazingly, I was able to make that trip to the earthquake zone after all! As a result of our e-bulletin, we raised funds and were able to deliver some help to Chincha, one of the affected cities, this past Saturday. Jaime Avellaneda, a pastor and our mission's administrator (known around here as the man who can do anything) made all the arrangements, and I went along to take pictures and report back to our supporters who donated to the relief effort. Here's my take on the day's events.

*****

A brief report on the relief trip we took to Chincha this weekend, exactly ten days after the earthquake. The worst of the cleanup has already taken place, but I believe we were able to deliver help to some people in real need.

Jaime coordinated our relief effort together with the brothers at Los Olivos church in Lima, which has been collecting donations. He rented a bus and purchased about $1000 US worth of blankets, plastic sheets, diapers, food and water, and adding in the food and clothing donations collected at the church there was barely enough room for us to fit in.

We decided to go to Chincha because one of the brothers at Los Olivos had a sister there, and they were able to coordinate with a group of neighbors and families in need to gather at her house. We left Lima about 6:40 am and traveled down the coast, past lots of sand dunes and ocean views. A few sections of the road were damaged and we had to travel on a single lane, but the traffic was well regulated and we did not have any major delays. We began to see damaged highway rails, walls and rocks when we got closer to Chincha. Driving through the town itself, there were collapsed structures everywhere, and some tents outside where people had taken shelter.

We arrived around 10:30am at the sister's house, finding about 20-30 families (nearly all women and children) gathered outside. We carried pre-packed sacks of groceries and blankets into the house for later distribution. Jaime preached a short message to those gathered.

I asked the sister's husband whether other help had arrived, and he said the gov't had delivered some food and supplies. It appeared the people were getting some help, and access to water had been restored, but of course much more help would be needed to reconstruct people's homes. He told me that about a third of the homes in Chincha had collapsed. (Pisco, further south, suffered much more destruction, and currently is receiving most of the aid.)

Afterward, we decided to drive out to the "pueblos jovenes" (ie the informal shantytowns outside most cities in Latin America, where the poorest live), since aid was being distributed out of Chincha's central square and we did not want to duplicate efforts. We drove through several neighborhoods, first going from house to house, but quickly discovering that wherever we went people would gather and form a line, requiring us to distribute directly from the bus. For the most part the distribution was orderly; we tried to only give to women so that we would be more likely to reach families rather than individuals. Those who were elderly or carrying a baby were sure to receive a new blanket. Several of the people told us they had not received help out in the pueblos jovenes. Everyone was very excited about our gifts, and curious about who we were since we were traveling in a Lima city bus!

Finally around 2pm we had distributed everything we had. We had to turn away 5 people at the last distribution point, where the largest crowds had formed. However in the end I think we must have given something to at least 200 families, maybe more. The most popular items were the blankets, plastic sheets to reinforce shelters, and diapers! Food was also in high demand; clothing was not as needed.

At one point we crossed paths with a bus giving "Atencion Medica Gratuita" ("free medical care"), to whom we gave our donated medical supplies. They asked me where we had been, so as to know which areas were getting help and which still needed it. We also passed a few other gov't trucks distributing goods. What we saw confirmed the news reports we'd been hearing: that a lot of aid was arriving, enough to keep people from being destitute, but not enough to meet all of the need, and not in a very organized manner. Those who were lucky enough to have a bus pass by, and who ran to get a place in line, received aid; but it was difficult to know whether those who needed help the most were being reached.

All in all it was a good day, fortunately without any danger or disorder, and with the amount of goods we distributed we gave some help, whether it be a lot or a little. It was a twelve-hour day counting the four hour trip out, four hours of distribution, and four hour trip back. When we got back to Los Olivos, we had a short "debriefing" session, during which the brothers from Los Olivos expressed a desire to continue to go back and get to know the people a little better. We have received more funds dedicated to long-term construction, so we will definitely be looking for a trustworthy local connection to work through, most likely a church.

You can view my photos at this link. I took about 200 photos in all, but cut this album down to 125.

Grace & peace,
Clara Lee

Earthquake

Being in the northern part of Peru, where we barely felt Wednesday's earthquake, I can't report much beyond what the newspapers are saying. What I can say is that it appears very little damage occurred outside of the Ica - Pisco area -- but the damage there was considerable. The good thing about an earthquake hitting a more rural area is obviously that there are less casualties; the bad thing is that the rural parts of Peru are the poorest parts, and their houses and infrastructure are more likely to fall apart.

Our mission just sent out this e-bulletin. It is nice to be close enough to a third-world disaster for once to be able to help directly. I would like to go visit the area myself when it's a little safer (it's a 12 hour bus ride directly down the coast from Trujillo).

Also, a local Knoxville news channel did a story on the earthquake, interviewing two of our missionaries coming down to Peru in the next few months. Click here to view.

****

Earthquake in Ica, Peru Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, As many of you know, a massive 7.9 magnitude earthquake struck Peru Wednesday evening at 6:40pm, killing hundreds in the southern cities of Pisco and Ica. One church in Pisco collapsed during a memorial service, which alone has left an estimated 200 dead. The quake thankfully did little damage in the capital city of Lima 90 miles away, a city of nearly 10 million where many more might have perished. The mission's own RUF pastor John Ferguson, with his wife Heather and their children Colton, Jason, Justin, Kevin and Miranda, and our SALI director Caleb Sutton, all happened to be in Lima at the time and experienced some of the panic that occurred there. In northern Peru where our mission works, we felt the tremor, but did not suffer any damage. The people of Peru are responding to the disaster and sending aid to the affected regions. As a mission, we will also be sending aid through the local church and/or the National Evangelical Council of Peru, which has already taken steps to collect needed items. If you would like to give to our brothers and sisters in need, you may send your contributions to the following address: Christian Missionary Society Re: Earthquake Relief Fund PO Box 53363 Knoxville, TN 37950-3363 We will pledge to use 100% of any contributions received by Thursday, August 23 toward buying emergency supplies for those left without water, electricity or shelter, and 100% of any contributions received afterward toward ongoing care of the victims of this natural disaster. Thank you again for your prayers. In His Grace, the Peru Mission team

Musical Interlude

Now that I've figured out how to upload videos to YouTube, here are some samplings of the kind of music I've heard in Trujillo.

First video: from left, this is our mission engineer and architect, and a couple guys from our local church. Gives an idea of traditional Peruvian folk music.




Second video: This is a concert that took place outside of Plaza Vea this Saturday morning, performed by a US Navy band. They were from the HSHS Comfort, a hospital ship docked in nearby Salaverry to do some charity work. The video is a bit grainy since it was taken on a cell phone by Ludwig Celiz - who coincidentally is the far left musician in the video above! You can hear me asking him to take pictures at the very end. This was such a New York moment, going grocery shopping and randomly stumbling into a brass band concert, which is why I have such a big smile on my face.

Note the sign and slogan for Plaza Vea: "Toda Cuesta Menos"!




And finally, this is a video I took a few months ago at our intern farewell party in May. The guitarrist is a local musician I don't know, but he was a whiz on the guitar.

Shopping in Trujillo

While in Santiago, I was reminded that one of the great pleasures/distractions of life in the developed world is shopping. There was so much eye candy everywhere: big shiny department stores, cute cafes, cozy bookstores, Dunkin' Donuts AND Starbucks... I'm ashamed to admit how much I miss these places to idly spend money on useless items, now that I'm back in Trujillo.

So what is shopping like in a less-developed, mid-sized city in Peru? Well, everyday shopping is more of a chore than a pleasure. Peru has the curse of great natural resources, which in the developing world often correlates with the encroachment of predatory multinational companies, who quickly take control of all the moneymaking industries. (Or so I've heard.) So first of all, despite being a producer of first-class products, all of Peru's best coffee, poultry, vegetables, factory-made clothing etc. get exported to richer markets, leaving the the poorer local population to consume mediocre products sold to them by foreign companies. It is a bit tragic when you live in South America, but can't get a decent cup of coffee because all the local market can bear is cheap instant coffee by Nestle, a Swiss company!

Second, in much of the developing world, nobody can afford $15 for a CD or DVD, so literally the entire market for these products is bootleg. As in, go to the local shopping center and you'll get the same $1 pirated copy of Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix that you'd get on the street. (This leads to the odd phenomenon of people in the slums and shantytowns sometimes owning DVD players - as in the States, it's just cheaper than going to the theater!) I feel bad buying bootleg - I know the money's probably going to a mafia of some sort - but there's no other choice!

Finally, venues for shopping are limited, and very frustrating. Most are chaotic "shopping centers" consisting of a maze-like row of small vendors, or informal bodegas and storefronts with very limited selection, low quality (as mentioned above), and no ability to order something they don't happen to have in stock. Customer service is pretty abysmal here - if you need a refund, or help with something, you're often greeted with cold stares and lots of "no's".

However, the breaking news here is the opening of a brand new, enormous, Walmart/Target-style "hipermercado" called Plaza Vea. With better groceries. Its slogan is "Toda Cuesta Menos" - "everything costs less" - and it's true! Economies of scale, moderately good customer service, and even real official DVD's have arrived in Trujillo! This threatens to revolutionize the shopping experience in Trujillo - although appropriately it's still sitting in the middle of a dirt road and corn fields.

Granted, this is a harbinger of Western-style instant-gratification consumerism in the city. Pretty soon they'll be idly spending money on useless things just like in Chile or the States, and maybe money they don't have to spend. And of course, the smaller bodegas and grocery stores with bad service will probably be suffering for some time to come. But most people agree that Plaza Vea will pay taxes, employ many locals, raise the bar for commerce and ultimately amount to progress. And as a consumer, for the first time I can find a good selection at a good price and get my shopping done in an hour -- and I can buy seafood and know it won't kill me.

This was such a symbolic step for the city and the region that Peru's President Alan Garcia showed up for the inauguration. He was quoted as saying, "This commercial center will raise the level of urbanism (?) and consumption, the quality of life of the population, will have 80,000 square meters of land, and will be a powerful impulse for the modernity of this beloved city." Another huge shopping center is already being constructed on the other side of town. Pretty soon it'll be just like home.

****



A typical Peruvian convenience store










Peru has the creepiest mannequins - and the clothing is pretty low-quality










One of the more upscale shopping centers in Lima. If you look at the bottom left you'll see stacks of bootleg DVD's - not one of them is real




And finally, video of opening day at Plaza Vea in Trujillo...

Santiago

Just got back from a few days in nearby Chile. I have to leave the country every 90 days to renew my tourist visa, and two of the other interns here were planning a trip to Santiago, so I decided to join in.

Chile is the richest country in Latin America, and Santiago did not disappoint. Everything was clean, organized, even hip. A couple of the most visible differences from Peru:

• Santiago was much colder, and the vegetation less exotic or floral
  
• Lots of European influence in the architecture and culture.
  
• Every American business or name-brand you can think of.
  
• Did I mention the city and the people all looked pretty well-off?

Returning to Peru afterward, my home of nearly 3 months, felt like a "homecoming" of sorts, but odd too. It was like after getting used to living in the less-developed world, a sudden reminder of what I am "missing out" on. I am a bit more homesick now. Hopefully I will get re-accustomed to dusty, half-built Trujillo again pretty quickly.







A real public bus! No combis or colectivos here...
















The Santiago Metro was probably the cleanest, newest, best-value subway I've seen yet

Confessions of a Lima Taxi Cab Driver

I've kept in touch with some of the "street boys" I met in Lima from my first trip to Peru in 2004. One of them is now a cab driver (or taxista in Spanish) and gave me the lowdown on the job. Apparently a typical Peruvian office worker, like a receptionist or customer service rep, makes about 20 soles a day ($7 US). However a taxista in Lima can take in 120 soles (close to $40), of which about 50 is spent on gas (hugely expensive here, and very low diesel quality), leaving 70 soles take-home pay ($22).

Now cabs, as I've mentioned, are a sketchy business. Many of them are practically falling apart. Both taxistas and cab riders risk being robbed or assaulted if they get in a car with the wrong person. My friend called it an "ugly" job, and dangerous. But certainly practical, even smart, if you can afford the car and want to save up some money.

Emigration is an even more lucrative option. A housekeeper told me her friends in Chile make 500-1000 soles a month (about $160-$320 US) cleaning houses or taking care of children -- I imagine in the US it would be much more than that.

Of course most people would prefer having an office job to driving cabs or cleaning bathrooms, but the economic motives are all slanted toward the latter. Yet another reason the cycle of poverty here continues. Would some of you social entrepreneurs out there please think of a way to make it more economically lucrative for a Peruvian to become a scientist or entrepreneur than a cab driver?