Los Reynoza part one completed

We completed the first part of our Los Reynoza project this morning and also learned something in the process. Recently we’ve been asked by several schools to donate bottled gas cooking stoves. We didn’t understand what was prompting the requests until we noticed these bulletins taped to a wall in the school. The bulletins are being distributed to all national schools by the ministry of education and health. The bulletin on the left (click on it to enlarge) emphasizes the importance of cleanliness in the kitchen and proper food preparation. The second talks about washing hands prior to eating, and finishes with the proper disposal of uneaten food and clean up. I can’t help but marvel at how far these images are from reality in 95% of the Lambayeque Region schools.

Contrast the idealized kitchen in the above illustrations with the kitchen of the Los Reynoza school which is representative of most schools we’ve visited. Many of them have not been used in months or years. It takes too much time to prepare food for 25 or more students over a small wood fire using common household cooking equipment. And many villagers tell us that wood for cooking has gotten scarce over the years. We and the villagers certainly agree with the message in the bulletins…the problem is the government doesn’t supply the means to comply.

We bridged part of that gap this morning when we delivered a two-burner bottled gas stove with an industrial sized cooking pot, fry pan and serving spoons. We also supplied plates and cups for each student and took their measurements for uniforms to be delivered in mid-August along with storage shelves.

We were able to help this community through the generosity of Chris R., Clif Brown, the Alice Cool Foundation and others. Thank you from us and the folks of Los Reynoza.