My First Pasa Calle

Lava, lava, lava bien! Tapa, tapa, tapa bien!

Saca el dengue de tu casa!

Click here to see more pics. of the Pasa Calle

This last Saturday I woke up early and traveled out to Cesar Vallejo, one of the communities where I work, in order to participate in an important community event. Imagine 50 little kids and 10-15 mothers/ community health promoters chanting the above and marching around dusty roads following a big Land Cruiser truck plastered with posters proclaiming similar messages, as they handed out balloons and flyers educating their neighbors about how to prevent dengue. What was it? A circus or parade? No - only a simple community based public service announcement.

In most of the communities were we work there is no running water, and people get their water from delivery trucks twice a week that deposit the water in large containers near the road plastic or metal drums or concrete tanks). Not only is this system of water delivery inadequate as it does not provide enough water for each family to do all their cooking and cleaning, but it also poses a health threat by creating excellent breeding grounds for mosquitoes. On Saturday we passed through several communities to educate about how to prevent mosquitoes from breeding in the water tanks by making sure they are clean and cosed with a lid of some kind. A simple, but important message delivered in a simple way. The event was a success in terms of raising awarenenss about dengue prevention. But more than that success, the event was also a success in building community in bringing members of the community together to serve their community.

What am I doing here in Peru...?

Here are some pictures of the beginning of the year training meetings we (FH health ed. project) with community health promoters. Below are two other posts that explain a little more indepth how things have been going the last month or so.

Hope you are all doing well.

Love,
Lauren

Training Sessions with Health Promoters

Mirian - A Story of Change

(Mirian with baby of one of the health promoters at a community meeting)

Here is the "Story of Change" I wrote about my co-worker and friend, Mirian . The story was included in a report to FH-US. Hearing and telling Mirian's story has helped me better understand the work the Lord has called me to in Peru, and I hope it gives you some insight as to why and how FH works to transform lives.

Hacia el Desarrollo is young community founded in March of 2000, where FH-Peru works as a part of the Cost Center of Motupe. The community is located in the district of San Juan de Lurigancho (SJL), about an hour east of the downtown Lima, the capital of Peru. San Juan de Lurigancho is one of the most populated and poorest districts of Lima.

One of the community members of Hacia el Desarrollo is Mirian (22 years), who comes from the Peruvian department of Tarma. Miran lives with her parents, Orlando (43 years) and Mery (43 years), as well as her three siblings, Ever (21 years), Pilar (18 years), and Wilian (14 years). Their home is a small wooden house with a kitchen living room and two bedrooms. Mirian and her family have lived in Hacia el Desarrollo for the past 4 years.

In the beginning years of its existence, Hacia el Desarrollo faced many problems as well as failures in leadership which affected the life of the community and its development process. In 2003, FH-Peru initiated work in the community introducing the Child Development Program (CDP), and the Health and Nutrition Education Project that works to educate families on issues of health through the formation of local community volunteers or health promoters. In the three years that Hacia el Desarrollo has been working with FH, much progress and change can been seen and Miran Puchoc has been a part of this process.

Mirian says that before FH came to her community, there were many problems in the community. The streets were dirt, there were no stairs, nor was there a local community center or other basic community services. In addition, because community leaders were not unified, the community was not able to work to resolve these problems. With the help of FH, the community began to unify itself and work together towards solving the problems facing their community.

During this process, an opportunity for change also presented itself to Miran. Since she was studying nursing at a local technical school, Mirian was elected to be one of the Health Promoters for her community, and so began her training on topics of holistic health and disease prevention. Mirian had always had a heart for service, but with the presence of FH in her community she now had an opportunity to become more involved in her community as she was able to serve using her gifts and talents. Little by little she began to see changes in the community as a result of her service as a health promoter

While the leadership in the community became more unified and was working towards improving the community through projects like organizing a community soup kitchen, constructing a community center, and starting a preschool, Mirian saw another opportunity to serve her community, and joined the board of community leaders as the Health Secretary and the Social Welfare Assistant. In her service as a health promoter, Mirian also began to help in the public health center near her community, and to visit other communities in order to help in the training and organization of other health promoters. Now she works part time for Food for the Hungry, helping to organize activities of the health project that FH-Lima carries out in 18 communities in SJL. Thanks to a scholarship from a sponsor, Mirian is also continuing her studies towards a university degree in nursing. This educational opportunity has holistically improved her quality of life and is giving her an opportunity to continue to develop her capabilities in order to better serve her community.

However, why does she serve – not only her own community but also other communities? When her neighbors ask her this question, Mirian says “because I want to serve, and when I serve I receive more than I give.” She says that during her time of community service, she has learned that this is part of the purpose God has for her life; she has discovered more about herself as she has used her gifts and talents, and has experience more of the love of God.

Mirian explains that her faith in God and the love she has experienced in Christ have convicted her to serve, but that before there was not a way for her to take that conviction and turn it into action. Because of the changes that have happened in her community, Mirian now has an opportunity for God to use her as his instrument. For Mirian, the physical changes in her community (construction of stairs y latrines, the prevention of diseases, and care for the environment) that have occurred since FH initiated its work are important, but not the most influential. For her, the changes that have made the greatest impact are the attitude of service and development of leadership, which FH has brought to her community. We thank God for people like Mirian who desire to serve their neighbors with love, and contribute to the Vision of their Community as the participate in the expansion of the Kingdom of God.

What am doing here in Peru?

(me opening with a devotional - in Spanish- at a meeting held with community health promoters)

The last few weeks I have been asking myself this question - what am I doing here in Peru? This is not to say that I do not still feel as if God has called me to be in this place at this time, but in moving to new home in a different country, living in a different culture, speaking a different language, making new friends, and trying to figure out a new job, I have been a little overwhelmed in figuring out what God's purpose is and will be for me here in Peru. Of course, God's timing in revealing this is a process, and at the same time I am learning to rejoice in this process of trusting in Him to work out all the details.

One area which is becoming clearer to me is in the area of my work with FH-Peru. What does transformational holistic development really look like?, and how is God calling and equipping me to be a part of the transformation process are some of the questions I have had that are beginning to be revealed. Over the last few weeks I have been spending a lot of time in the communities where FH is ministering, getting to know the communities, and in particular the volunteer health promoters in each community. My guide for many of these visits has been Mirian, our health project assistant, who also lives in one of the communities. Mirian is an awesome servant of God, and it has been a blessing to get to know her and learn from her the insights she has about what is important to her about the work of FH.

Recently I was asked to write a "Story of Change," a report that FH uses to depict in a more personal way what transformational/ holistic development looks like. Mirian's story is an excellent example of how the work of FH can impact lives with more than just physical development, but also spiritual development. Hearing and telling Mirian's story has helped me to better understand what FH does here in Peru, and how important relationships and incarnational (living out your faith in all areas of your life) ministry are to the transformational development process. It has also helped me to see that one of the most important things that God has called me to here is the same as it has always been - to be in relationship with the people He puts in my life and to invest in them with the love He shows me.