It doesn’t look like a typical Lambayeque Region desert
village. It more resembles the scattered jungle villages Maribel and I had seen some years
ago near Iquitos on a tributary of the Amazon River. There isn’t much here other than a few
houses, some livestock pens and a pronoei (on the right).
Six months ago the pronoei Los Niños y Su Mundo didn’t
exist. The kids were walking two miles north to the larger village of Los
Bances. In January the parent’s association was notified that there was no room
for their kids in Los Bances for the coming school term. At a hastily called meeting of the Alto Peru parent's association an unused room
attached to a private house was offered for a classroom. Calling it a room is probably
too generous – ‘space’ would be more appropriate. The walls are crumbling and
the roof had long since disappeared.
The members of the parent’s association who met us there
this morning were eager to show us the painting they had done and the roof they
had erected last month. It’s only a sheet of galvanized metal resting on bamboo
crossbeams and doesn’t cover the entire opening, but they were rightfully proud
of their accomplishments.
Karina Chaponan has seven years of pronoei teaching
experience. She has 14 students this term and will have 3 more next year. The hodgepodge
furnishings are borrowed from the villagers. There has been discussion of
locating an inexpensive lot to build a new pronoei on, but it’s likely that is
just a dream that will probably never happen.
Karina and the parent’s association asked for 3 tables and 4
chairs…nothing more. Alto Peru is the
kind of situation we look for. It’s a poor village, the need is obvious, the
teacher is qualified and caring, and the parent’s association has shown initiative.
What we hope to donate is:
4 tables - $144.97
4 chairs - 55.57
2 storage shelves – 48.32
1 whiteboard – 42.28
Transport – 25
Total - $316.14
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