Different Perspectives

Thought of the Day: "The flip side also has a flip side." -- Chinese Proverb

Today was a day of different perspectives. Seeing life from the experiences of many of the children who live at PPA. We took public transportation to one of the many shantytowns of Lima. THe congestion of the streets, the competition of transportation vans for passengers, and the daring habits of Peruvians bring new meaning to the phrase "reach out and touch someone." It is amazing that side view mirrors exist on Taxis and vans! We learned about shantytowns from Molly prior to leaving--basic insight into how and why they exist in Lima. Our 2 hour 2 bus ride took us past a variety of visual images--some interesting, some viscerally challenging to Katie (the slaughtered cow hanging by its feet--fortunately for Erin and I we missed that sight!), and some difficult to experience (the slums of downtown Lima). The 3 of us volunteers really noticed and physically experienced the pollution, which visibly worsened the closer we got to Huaycan. The social worker from the PPA came with us as did 2 girls from PPA.

It is difficult to describe the shantytowns we visited, its best experienced. I suspect that no one visits a shantytown without being deeply affected by the sights, sound, and smells. For me I saw extreme poverty, shacks supported by pieces of metal and wood, homes made of cinderblock. Dirt roads and paved roads. Houses with electricity, houses without. Children playing in the streets, children watching us as we passed by. Being sensitive to the plight of animals, I saw many many dogs, scavenging for food and scratching flea bitten bodies. I also saw a puppy carried by a smiling, laughing child and a puppy curled up in a basket of laundry. And as we have come to know, there will always be a few dogs dressed in shirts and sweaters!

The experience is, at least for now a bit of a paradox. Through some eyes, the shantytowns represent land relegated as undesirable with sandy soil, a distance from worst employment, and void of services. Seen through other eyes, a shanty town represented the opportunity to own land, to construct one's home.

Through one set of eyes, one sees despair, through another set of eyes I see a phenomenal resourcefulness and resiliency of people who live int he shantytowns. Through one set of eyes, I see children who used to live at PPA because a healthy life could not be sustained for them in the shantytown. Through another lens, I saw the tears in the eyes of a 12-year-old girl who hugged her mom hello and goodbye in the span of 10 minutes and perhaps might of wished that she could have stayed.

The experience will forever be etched in my memory. But along with the memory of extreme poverty and hardship of day-to-day life, will co-exist the memory of 3 proud women at the soup kitchen, who warmly greeted us,thanked us for coming, and though Mili conveyed the importance of us visiting their community. A day of contrasts, a day of understanding, a glimpse into the lives of some of the children and parents at PPA. A day like no other.