Peru Trip 2001

In the 1990s there were as many people killed by terrorism in Peru as in 40 years in Cambodia. For some reason the problem in Peru never really made headlines the same way. Many children were left orphaned in a county too poor to care for them. That is not the only problem plaguing Peru. They are the second highest exporter of cocaine. Many of the men in the country have abandoned their families because of issues of drug use. Women in Peru have many children and large farms to care for. Many women do not live past their thirties to care for their families. Peru is rich in natural resources but historically has been exploited by other countries who come in and harvest their resources for their own profit without investing any money into the economy or infrastructure of Peru. Today most of Peru is very much like you would have found it if you visited there a hundred or a thousand years ago. Because of extreme poverty, many families migrate to the capital city of Lima to look for work. Currently 60% of Peru's population is living in Lima. Lima does not have the jobs to support this number of people and it leaves very few people actually harvesting their natural resouces like farming and silver in order to sustain the people in the city.

In January of 2001, I took my son Benjamin to Andahuaylas, Peru. We went there to build an orphanage. We absolutely fell in love with the country and the people there. Below you will see a collection of some of our favorite photos. We hope to return sometime to do more.







We built tables and bunkbeds for the kids. Most children who arrive at the orphanage have never slept in a bed or ate at a table with plates and silverware. Many have spent their lives wandering through abandoned fields eating what they can find and dig up.











Ben really enjoyed giving piggy back rides. The children definitely enjoyed Ben!
















A rousing game of Duck Duck Goose!















We even taught them to play jump rope! Isn't hard to imagine children who have never seen play?

You can see the roof going up on the multipurpose room we were building behind us.









Forming a line for piggy back rides!













This little boy is named Joshua. (pronounced Ho Sway). He and Ben became good buddies. His parents were educated in Lima both have masters degrees and are choosing to live in Andahuaylas in order to develop resources for the community, including an orphanage, medical clinic and school.













Ben and Annie right when we landed in Andahuaylas after thiry five hours of travel! These children were most likely orphans but did not live at the orphanage. They are selling cocoa leaves for tea. The tea helps with altitude sickness but used in large quanities can have the same effect as cocaine.







I planned and carried out the first Vacation Bible School to ever happen in Andahuaylas! We had over 150 kids come!!!













A young mother watches as we play games with the children at Vacation Bible School. She eventually joined in and played too!


















Children at Vacation Bible School.















Great group for Vacation Bible School! They loved it! We ran it for five days and every day we had more and more kids! It is my understanding that the orphanage continued this outreach to the community even after we left!