A two-day visit in the Cono Sur – Part 1
Friday, January 27
We spent Friday and Saturday in the Cono Sur, the southern region of Lima that, like the area we visited on Friday of last week, saw explosive growth in recent decades from massive influxes of people from other parts of the country. Most residents of Lima live in lower-income areas like this, rather than the more upscale center of the city where we have classes each week. During this 2-day visit we will do some service work as we also get to know some of the residents and their lives.
On Friday our day started at a community center in Villa Maria that serves children for low-income, at-risk families. The director explains how they determine which children in the community have the most need and the activities they offer the children, including daycare, education, and limited healthcare. Like the Fall SST group, we spent the morning painting at the school.
Parts of our visit were hosted by connections GC has with people from this area. Lunch was at the home of Alicia, the housekeeper at Casa Goshen and the cook who prepares our lunches between classes about 2-3 times per week. After lunch we traveled to the home of Corpusa, the sister of Willy, our service assignment coordinator. The area where Corpusa lives, like most areas of Lima, began as a spontaneous mass migration of people looking for land in a city with insufficient urban planning to meet demand. These are commonly referred to as “land invasions.” She described what it was like to be part of a group of 3,000 people who initially settled here and lived under straw mats. Later Corpusa’s family could build a plywood home, and, after more than a decade, were finally given official titles that let them build brick structures and get connected to municipal water and electrical services.
Later we’ll post a blog with pictures of several sport activities that completed our day.
