La Línea de Meta

La Línea de Meta.

The finish line.

Tomorrow, I pack my bags and head for home. This has been a great trip, and it´s been so nice to have been able to tack on a few days at the end in Lima, to see Hillmer, walk around, relax... Lima has developed so much since I was last here.

We arrived in Lima early on Friday morning, after some real haggling with LC Busre airlines about the weight of our luggage. They were trying to tell me that the bags were too heavy, and we´d have to leave half of the luggage behind, to arrive on another flight later that day. Yeah right. It got pretty heated, but in the end, it´s always amazing what a little money will do. In this case, $70 made the problem go away, and all of a sudden, our tiny plane was no longer at risk of crashing into a mountain because of someone´s leaden suitcase.

We went to the WFP Country Office for Peru, which is a beehive of activity; meetings, visitors, calls, crises, crises averted... We gathered in the rear courtyard of the building, under a tree, to run the ¨WFP Behind the Scenes¨call - an educational conference call series I manage, featuring WFP thought leaders from around the world, to educate our supporters about hunger and the work of WFP in the field. This time, the call would feature the group, discussing the experiences and observations of the past week, visiting remote, indigenous villages at 14,000 feet in the Andes (you can listen to the podcast of this call on about 3/30, and all other WFP Behind Scenes calls here).

The call, frankly, went beautifully. I had spent some time with our Communications rep on the trip, in coming up with some questions for the group interview, and then spent another few hours really drafting a script of the 50-minute call, leading the group through a series of questions and prompting conversations about WFP´s work, and the communities we visited, from start to finish. We were fortunate to have had the WFP Country Director, Guy Gauvreau, join us for most of the call, who was so helpful in filling in the gaps with data, to paint a full picture of what´s going on here.

And after the call... we were done!

A number of people immediately hopped on a plane to Cuszo, to visit Macchu Picchu, while the rest of us spent the afternoon, in stark to contrast to where we had been over the last week, at LarcoMar - an outdoor shopping area, built into the side of a cliff in Lima, looking over the Pacific Ocean. We had mocha frappucinos at Starbucks, drank Pisco sours at an outdoor bar, and bought Cuban cigars. I could see that for some on the trip - those who have not spent time in the developing world - it was hard to reconcile the primitive conditions we had stayed in (where people live on less than a dollar a day without running water or electricity), in contrast to a $4 coffee drink next to a crystal fountain. I understand this, and have spent a lot of time grappling with the same. To me, it´s most interesting that we were not in the USA experiencing this, but still in Peru. The discrepancy between the rich and poor (who tend to be the indigenous populations) is staggering... and I´ve seen this in almost every country I´ve visited.

And then, of course, there´s always coming home... and walking into your house, feeling a little overwhelmed at how much we have - even if we don´t have a lot.

But I´d rather struggle with that, than not be aware of that at all. Taking these trips is so humbling, and always reminds me of the clear difference between the words ¨want¨ and ¨need.¨

Climate Change in the Andean Highlands

We boarded the truck at 6:30 this morning, to drive up several hundred meters to visit a reforestation program, which, over time, will literally change the climate of the Andean highlands.

The land is rocky and dry, like a desert in the sky... yet slowly, with a local NGO´s help, WFP has planted almost a quarter-million trees, tall grasses and other mountainous vegatation which catches water, prevents erosion, creates a little micro-climate and develops the water table, bringing more rain, and therefore more agricultural production, to the highlands. This allows these indigenous, mountain communities to return to their land, after being chased away by the Shining Path almost 20 years ago, and live, work and embrace their ancient cultures, together once again.

We had the chance to also visit a lake which was built at 14,000 feet, which catches rainwater, and is then distributed out to local farms through a basic, but very impressive, water irrigation system, to cultivate their crops.

It was while we were at the lake that WFP, the local NGOs and local villages gathered for a water ritual, to ask the mountain gods for more rain. We dug a hole in the earth next to the lake, and buried fruit, vegetables, flowers and cigarettes (?!), covered the hole, and sprinkled it with some local alcohol. When we were finished, we had formal remarks; the president of the community, the president of the district and me. After my comments, a woman with a round, leathery face, topped off by a bowler hat decorated with dried flowers, approached me and told me (through triple translation from Quechua to Spanish to English and back...) that her daughter´s name was also Margot.

I looked down, to see the most beautiful face of the tiniest 11 year old girl I´ve ever seen. She took my hand, led me up to a pile of rocks, climbed atop the rocks, beckoned an old man with a guitar, and proceeded to sing me a song, about the two Margots. She wrapped her arms around me, and kissed me when she was done. It was the perfect way to end a near-perfect day.

Tomorrow, we fly back to Lima, where we will meet with the Country Director for a debrief, hold an educational conference call for our supporters in the USA, and finally collapse after a long, windy week at the top of the world...

Quechua - Spanish - English - Spanish - Quechua

A long, wonderful day in the villages of Condorpaccha and Liluacuccho...

This morning, we arrived in the village of Condorpaccha, where we climbed over a stone wall, walked down a long slope of green farmland surrounded by green mountains charging up from the earth, to be greeted by about 100 villagers, ambling up the hill, playing a large, indigenous harp, violin, guitar, horns led by about 15 women whose shrill drones carried throughout the mountains, all in a very warm greeting for our arrival.

We are treated like a good omen, as if our foreign strangeness would stir the gods, bringing needed blessings for the earth, the water, the fish, the crops, health, etc.

The president of the village, the president of the district and the president of the region formally welcomed us, and invited me to speak to the village as well, introducing my delegation and WFP. We needed triple translation, from Quechua (the indigenous language) to Spanish to English to Spanish and back to Quechua. They spoke with such heartfelt passion, naming us family, and expressing such gratitude and thanks for our visit. We were the first people from outside of Peru that they had ever met.

And then they fed us. Lunch, another lunch, and yet another lunch - all to honor our visit and the good spirits that we bring to the village.

We watched the men terrace the land, using 30 pound pick axes... groups of three standing at the bottom of the field, one threw his axe into the earth, and then ¨boom boom,¨two others followed, within inches of the first, then pull... they would pull up 40-pound divets of ground, over and over, tilling row after row, of the most black, rich soil I´ve ever seen.

We spent some time in a local artisan cheese factory, watching a 12-year old girl and her father working in their family shop, which, with the help of WFP, turns 1300 liters of milk into cheese which they sell in Ayacucho, with hopes of expanding to Lima.

And the final, and most meaningful visit, was to a local house-blessing ceremony in Liluacuccho. WFP has been working with a local NGO to build village homes more resistant to the harsh conditions prevelant throughout the Andes. When a house is completed, it is often presented to a married couple, who renew their vows before moving into the home. Today we watched this ceremony, which moved me to tears, and then I was asked to present the couple with the deed to their new home.

Today was moving and humbling, touching my heart and moving my spirit.

Altitude Sickness

More than half the group is suffering from fairly bad altitude sickness: dizzy and lightheaded, short of breath, pounding heart, crazy dreams, and in some cases, near fainting spells and dramatically lowered blood pressure.

WFP is traveling with oxygen tanks, which we´ve had to use on three people so far - acting as a miracle drug... when a bout hits, the color drains from their skin in such a dramatic way. And when the oxygen is administered, it´s as though the pigment is being poured back in, drop by drop.

Because the villages that we´ve been visiting are so dramatically hight, only four will be spending the night. We´ve appointed a WFP staffer, and several oxygen tanks to stay up in the villages with them. And because so many are feeling ill, I will be returning with them to Ayacucho this evening. A disappointment, but life is long...

14,000 Feet Up in Chakkicocha

I have jut a few moments before the internet is shut down in my hotel, but I wanted to share some thoughts from today...

We left Ayacucho at 7am, and drove up. Up. Up. Up. The first hour was on paved roads, but the last 2-1/2 were on bone-crushing, pock-marked, gutted and gullied pathways. We first arrived in Union Portrero, to the ABA Headquarters (an NGO partner of WFP), where we were greeted by round, leather-faced women, with braids down to their waist, wearing colorful, petticoated skirts, and mini bowler hats topped off with plumes of fresh flowers. Their children were slung on their backs, wrapped in colorful, hand-woven blankets.

After learning about ABA´s work through this region of the Andes, they held a formal welcoming ceremony for us, including corn, queso and potatoes, a gathering of musicians to play some music, and all of us taking to the floor to do the Andean two-step. And finally, we were presented with handmade bowler hats, also topped with flowers, which we were invited to wear for the rest of day, as we visited the communitites.

We arrived in Chakkicocha about 2 hours later, heads spinning from the altitude. A woman approached me, and said that the mountain gods play tricks on strangers to the mountains, which is why I wasn´t feeling well. She licked her finger, scraped the earth, and then ate the dirt, inviting me to do the same, so I would become friends with the mountain gods. What´s a girl to do? Peruvian dirt is rich and quite tasty.

Upon arriving in the village, a man smoking a ciggarette, who know I wasn´t feeling well, approached me, lifted up my hat, and blew smoke on my head, before replacing the bowler. ¨He is a friend of the mountain gods,¨ a woman told me ¨and he is giving you his energy so the mountain gods will recognize you.¨

The rest of the day was spent helping farm land, hoeing the dirt, and building terraces (there was no agriculture at this high altitude until about 8 years ago, with the help of ABA and WFP) and participating in agricultural rituals, asking the mountain gods for a fruitful season.

The skies literally opened upon us, drenching us with rain, and pelting us with hail. There was a sense of magic in the air...

Nine Thousand Feet Up and Counting...

Greeting from Ayacucho. I'm at about 9,000 feet in the Andes, surrounded by green, craggy mountains, topped with snow and clouds. It's like being on top of the world.

We took an early morning flight, delayed because of fog and rain in the Andes, finally arriving at about 8:30am. The plane was a two-propeller, small jet, holding about 15 people. I love flying in small aircraft. When we finally left the ground, it felt as though we were yanked up by a string, climbing higher and higher, bouncing around the clouds, weaving amidst the mountains.

Upon arrival, we were retrieved by WFP staff, who advised us that, for security reasons, we must go straight to the hotel, and stay there, until told otherwise - as there were strong protests in the center square (across from our hotel) by the transportation unions, which were expected to turn violent. So we slept...

The afternoon was spent at WFP's offices in Ayacucho, meeting the staff, and local partners, who run the programs we'll be visiting over the next few days. Most of the programs center around rebuilding communities which were displaced and/or destroyed during the civil war in the 80s; Ayacucho was the founding city for the Shining Path, who terrorized inidigenous villages throughout the region. WFP is now helping them come back to their land, combinig ancient cultural rituals with contemporary know-how, to help cultivate their land, build houses, and provide nutritional education for mothers, throughout their pregnancies and then through child-rearing.

Tomorrow we'll visit a series of tiny villages at 14,000 feet.

I've been drinking matte de coca, and have just broken down to purchase some altitude sickness meds from the local farmacia.

Onward ho!

Andes Mountains, Peru

On Sunday morning, I will be leaving for a 9-day trip to Peru; 6 days of which will be for work, 3 days of which will be for fun (not that work isn't fun!).

The work part includes leading a delegation of Friends of the World Food Program staff, and a group of key volunteers, from around the United States, to observe United Nations World Food Program (WFP) operations in the field.

We will be spending most of our time at 14,000 feet in the Ayacucho region of the Andes mountains, visiting programs which build capacity and self-sufficiency, and, quite simply, feed, communities who are living on less than a dollar a day.

For me, the highlight of the trip will be spending the night in the homes of the families we serve. I believe the name of the village that I'll be staying in is Chakiccocha. Thanks to Ted for lending me his sleeping bag!

Stay tuned for postings and photos of my trip to Peru!