Hola,
I arrived in Cusco on Saturday morning, the sun was out the sky was clear and the surroundings just beautiful, completely the opposite to what Lima was like and anything I had expected, needless to say I was very pleasantly surprised just as well because what came next is not something that I could ever have prepared for.
I met with Jess the lady from POD and over lunch we talked about the placements I would be volunteering at etc.
In the afternoon I visited Casa Hogar La Esperanza (safe house for girls) to say hello and get to know my way around before actually starting there, this is my morning volunteer placement.
The house is well kept with the girls having a shared bedroom, a room where they do arts and crafts activities and a room for them to play with their children in. The girls at the house come from abused backgrounds, whereby their families have thrown them into prostitution, have been abused by male members of the family and they have either managed to escape or have fallen pregnant as a result of the abuse and then abandoned by their families, and all this to deal with at a tender of age of 12, 13, 14 and on. It is truly heartbreaking seeing these young girls with babies of their own and there you are looking at a mother who is merely a child herself and you cant begin to imagine what these poor young girls have been through, what they must be feeling or even what you and I see to be a normal life must be like. Upon hearing about their stories I was totally heartbroken. On a positive note I am really looking forward to spending some time here at the safe house, I have some activities in mind varying from sports such as rounders and seven stones to cooking small things like rice crispy cakes so please please can you send me some recipes (nothing that requires an oven though), I also think it would be lovely to make a fuss of these girls so what better then manicures all round, I know that to you and me these may seem like rather mundane things but when you hear about what the girls have been through these are the kinds of activities they enjoy, being able to behave their age and seeing the end results makes them feel like they have achieved aside from that before coming to the safe house they have never had the chance to play or cook or be pampered! Nb All other ideas most welcome.
Regretfully having had such a productive day on Saturday I fell ill during Saturday night with a bacterial infection which knocked me out so Sunday and this morning (Monday) was a write-off, I am however better now and back on track again.
This afternoon (Monday) I went to see what will be my afternoon volunteer placement a place called San Juan De Dios (an orphanage for disabled children). This place is just amazing as soon as I walked in the children were literally reaching out to hold my hand, to be hugged, to be played with and get my undivided attention, they were desperate to show me that they were able to stand up out of their wheelchairs unaided even if briefly, the pride they felt and their big smiles when they saw how impressed I was with their big achievement is just something words cannot describe. Needless to say I was in tears within minutes of being there. I will be stronger tomorrow.
The age ranges of these children varies from 18 months to a 30 year old lady who suffers from autism. The children are well looked after, dressed, fed and have their own beds, what they absolutely crave and lack is love and affection, once they have hold of you there is no letting go, one little boy really did fall out with me when I momentarily went to see to a baby who was crying in his cot, I am going to have to win the Chiquito around tomorrow! What is so special about these children is the look out they have for each other, tending to each other when crying, helping one another out of their wheelchairs, helping wheeling each other out if they have got stuck in a corner, it truly is amazing.
I am looking forward to tomorrow in the hope that I can put a smile on these children's faces and of course to win over the Chiquito who I inadvertently upset today, wish me luck!
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