Mariana Gledhill from Wellington, N.Z spent 7 months, in 2005, in Peru doing voluntary work. She shares her experiences.

Hola all

Well, you probably know that I have changed families. I am much happier in my present one. Everyone talks to each other and loves each other. They do slightly crazy things like getting up at 4am and having birthday parties… complete with Pisco sours, but no matter. I am really enjoying living here. It seems like I have been here much longer than a few days. There are a few things I have to get used to, like the fact that my new host mum worries about my getting home late. My ex host mum did not really notice it, let alone worry about it!

I have two host sisters. Lorena is 18 and she used to be a law student. But she has decided that she hates law so she is not studying or doing anything at the moment. She spends most of her time sleeping and going on the internet, but she starts an accounting degree in August. Marianella is 16 and she is in her final year of high school studying hard. Both of my sisters are really nice to me. My mother, Rosa is self employed and my grandmother cooks yummy food and generally does housekeeping.

My work is as wonderful as ever. I love the kids I work with and even though physically, I will have to leave in what seems to me so little time, mentally I will never be able to leave the hogar. The kids have left too much of an imprint on my lives. I had better tell you all about them as individuals so that you understand me better.

Yakaline Sulca R. is six years old, but she was severely malnourished in her early years and she looks about 3. Her sister Maria is 4 but looks 2. Both of them are well feed now, but the malnourishment they have recieved in their formative years will affect them for all of their lives. It has stunted their growth and their minds. Both of them are very loving and they are loved by all of the other kids in my workplace. I will never forget the moment when Maria worked out that I did not know many words in Spanish because I spoke another language. She went around telling me the name of everything. I just found it to be incredible. This little person does not have much but she still has so much to give. It just blew me away. Yaki is the same. She is always happy to see me and teach me new words. I love those kids. They have such a positive outlook on life.

Yessica (pronounced like Jessica) is a lovely 7 year old. Her Mother lives in Chincha but never visits her. She is forever trying to escape and sneak off to see her mother. Everytime she sees me she screams Mamita and tries to carry me (rather interesting as she is half of my size). Yolanda is 8 and she tried to escape once too…. her parents live in Pisco (about 1/2 an hour by bus from Chincha) but they cannot earn the 2 sol busfare between Chincha and Pisco and they are thus unable to visit her. When she escaped, she had no money, but that did not stop this determined little person from trying to get home. They found her black doggedly walking along the Panamerica (the road that extends all through the Pacific Ocean side of South America). She’s a tough little person, but she is affectionate as well.

I have to mention Fiorella, who is 16 years old. I have grown very close to her and I am just so proud of her. She is in the hogar because her father went off somewhere (’se fue’´ for those who speak Spanish) and her mother has 6 other kids and no work, enough said. She is just such a wonderful person… so kind to everyone. the problem is that she does not know this. She also has ambitions to be a policewomen… I find that to be special… not many kids in the hogar have ambitions. Gisela, the only chica in tertiary education does. She wants to teach computing. She was a street child and now she is studying it so her future is relatively secure. i am so proud of her.

The people who I work with are also amazing… some of them do 12-14 hour days… When I told my workmates about how and why I had moved houses, about 5 of them said ‘why didnt you tell me. You could have came and stayed with me in my house.’ That is the kind of people I work with.

The hardest thing i am finding with my work is the thought of leaving. As I said, I cannot imagine ever leaving the Hogar. And I know that the Hogar will never leave me. I am just enjoying every aspect of life in Peru right at the moment. There is so much wrong with Peru, but much much more right with it…

I hope that all of you are as content as I am

Love

Mariana

Photographer: Mariana Gledhill
Photo: Maria