Kids at the Crossroads, how you can help

Two of the sweet children from the program.

This will be my last blog from Ayacucho (well, at least this year). It will also be the most important blog because although I am personally quite bad at asking for help for myself, I am good at asking for help for kids. I have sadly/tearfully said good-bye to the kids and staff.  I hope to come back next year and would seriously be happy to bring any of you who would like to share your love and energy with a group of amazing kids. In this final blog I will describe the program and how you can help it to continue. In 2002 GeGe started spending her vacations here working with kids in crisis while still living and working in Portland. In 2007 she sold her house, car, and most of her belongings and moved permanently to Ayacucho. Kids at the Crossroads started full-time in 2008. The program currently serves around 100 kids each day from ages 5-15. These are kids who might otherwise be on the street during these hours. Their poverty is extreme, some are victims of unspeakable violence,  many live with siblings during the week so they can attend school while their parents remain in the fields working.

A living room in Ayacucho: no furniture, no electricity, dirt floors.

These children are in public school during the morning and come to KATC in the afternoon.  Each day the kids receive extensive homework help, one hour of supplemental instruction (by grade level) from two certified teachers, supervised play time, and a snack consisting of a sandwich and fruit.  More than anything they receive love and a safe place to be surrounded by caring adults. There is no cost to the families and no child is turned away. Children earn points for attendance. Those points get them KATC pretend money that they can spend at the school store.  They can buy school supplies or  things like shampoo, toothbrushes, even shoes.

An Ayacuchan bedroom. The bed is a board placed on rocks, no mattress, no cushion.

GeGe employs a staff of seven including the two teachers, a part-time math/English teacher for the older kids, and four other people who help with cleaning, food prep, homework, and supervision. Her staff work very well together.  Everyone pitches in to do whatever is best for the kids. The public schools frequently recommend KATC to families since the children that come here get higher scores in school. GeGe is a fixture in the neighborhood.  She buys uniforms and school supplies for families who cannot, she feeds many children who are not in the program but are hungry, she has even paid for emergency surgery for a child.  The program costs around $1500 a month which includes the rent on the building, salaries, food, and an internet connection to help children find what they need for their homework.  GeGe does not draw a salary.  KATC is a registered non-profit in the US.  The program depends solely on donations and GeGe's own money which will not last forever. I assumed that there were many people making monthly donations but in fact I am the ONLY one. Other people have made generous one time donations but it's difficult to run a program not knowing month to month where the money will come from.  I am acutely aware of the economic situation in the US.  I live paycheck to paycheck.  I worry about money.  I also know that $10 each month is something that many of us can do to help this program continue.

A fun activity at the school, giving these kids a chance to just be kids.

Not many of us are willing to give up our comfortable lives and move to another country simply because we see a need.  GeGe has done that. I hope you will help her ensure that KATC can continue.  Here is how:  if you pay your bills electronically through your bank it should go to:  Folkways Institute, 14600 SE Aldridge Road, Happy Valley, OR 97086,  503-658-6600, In the memo line put KATC or Kids at the Crossroads-Acuchimay Project.  You can also donate using Face Book.  Search under Causes and then put in Kids at the Crossroads.  It will walk you through the rest.  You can also pull up the program website kids-at-the-crossroads.org and go to their donation page although I do not know if that works for on-going monthly donations. 100% of donations go to the program as GeGe covers all of the administrative costs.  All donations are tax deductible.  If you have questions or problems please, please, contact me and I will help you. Don't worry if you see something that mentions Himalayan Studies under Folkways.  Also if you are seriously interested in visiting Peru and the program just let me know and we will work it out.  I have posted many pictures on my Face Book page.  The albums are open to friends of friends.  If you cannot access them just send me a friend request and let me know you have read the blog.  I know this has been long.  Thank you so much for sticking with me here.  For now I bid you a fond Hasta Luego y Gracias from Ayacucho!!!

Rosa and Javier Orlando get married!

Rosa is a smart, wonderful, and very kind woman who works with the program.  She is responsible each day for getting the food for around 100 kids and helping them with homework (which trust me is not easy).  She is the person who has been overseeing the daily operations of the program while GeGe is away. I'm just the bottom line if decisions need to be made or there is money involved.  Really it's Rosa's show and last night was her wedding.  She and her partner have been together for around 14 years and have three sons.  The youngest two are in the program.  They live close by the school and we can (and have) holler at her from GeGe's yard. When I asked Rosa why they were getting married after all these years living as husband and wife she talked about the bible and God's wishes for marriages.  I couldn't argue with that!
I went up to GeGe's late in the afternoon to meet up with the family that lives there.  Hilda and Alejandro have  a son Jasson (21) who teaches the high school math and co-teaches the high school English.  They also have a daughter (12 0r 13) whose name I should now be able to spell but can't.  They all live on the property that houses the school and GeGe's personal living space. They had said that they were all going to the mass along with two more people that I know from work but in the end only Hilda went. They have a huge yard which Rosa and Javier were using for the wedding festivities.  When I got there people were starting with the decorations and an outdoor kitchen with an open fire had been set up to cook the food.  Hilda told me the people decorating were to have arrived at 10:00 AM and instead showed up at 4:00PM.  She was a bit concerned. We soon got into a cab with Rosa's elderly grandmother dressed in typical dress and speaking only Quechua, Rosa's youngest two sons and her youngest brother. Spanish is a second language for so many people here.  Quechua is the language of the Incas that had endured all of these years. We arrived at the old church only to find another wedding still going on so we waited.  We watched that bride exit and get pelted with much rice and flower petals and then it was our turn to go in.  I am the only non-Peruvian anywhere and much of conversations around me are in Quechua.  I just took it all in.  Eventually Rosa arrives in her beautiful white dress with her hair and make-up professionally done and then the wedding seems much like you would find at any Catholic church.  There are no bridesmaids just the god parents who help the couple with the wedding.  Mass lasts for about an hour and then the happy couple also gets pelted with a large amount of rice and flowers.  Hilda and I walked a bit further into town to catch a bus back up to our neighborhood but the bus does not arrive so we taxi up with three other people from the wedding.
When we arrive the back yard has been transformed.  As you walk in the gate there is an arch of flowers for the couple to walk through.  There is a large canopy covered with gold and silver cloth.  At the front is a long table covered in white for the couple, god-parents and family.  There are white plastic chairs for guests and a band has set up.  Hilda finds me a good spot and gets me settled while she hurries to help with food. At this point I feel like I really stand out, well, because I do.  There are many people dressed in typical dress that seem to be from the countryside.  There are other people in modern dress.  I have been told that people from the coast tend to think of themselves as better than people from the mountains.  Both groups of people are at this wedding as Rosa is from the mountains and Javier from the coast.  At one point four people clearly from the mountains walk around a greet everyone.  I saw the three people next to me literally cringe.  It was an interesting observation of class distinction. Soon the happy couple arrived and the party began.  First, they danced with each other, then with the Padrinos, then the family.  Then two official men arrived and they completed the civil ceremony.  Even if they have a church wedding they must still complete the civil ceremony.  By then it was dark and getting cold and I was thirsty and hungry. Luckily the waiters arrived with pisco sours (in and of itself a good reason to visit Peru).  We all toasted the couple. By this time I had started talking to the three people next to me.  When the waiter came to collect our cups there were extras so we all got another drink (mind you they were small) but I was starting to feel warmer.  Soon Alejandro came and got me and we started dancing quickly joined by Jasson and his mom.  Between the drinks and dancing I was feeling much better.  About then Percy showed up. He had the time wrong and had gone to the church and hour late finding a wedding that he thought was Rosa's but was in fact the wedding after hers.  I think Hilda and family were happy that I now had someone to hang out with since they were very busy taking care of the food and being the hosts.  Percy and I moved to the other side of the yard which was warmer than under the canopy.  There were about 150-200 people there.  We were then sitting on the same benches where the kids do homework each day.  Soon the waiters brought dinner.  It was white rice, a warm beet/pea/something salad, and two potato halves in sauce with a piece of meat on top.  I gave the meat to Percy but happily ate the rest.  After dinner large bottles of beer were passed out.  I asked Percy if the normal bottles were always that size to which he replied, "no, there are bigger bottles."  Everyone was drinking beer.  They poured it in these small plastic cups and then would shake out the cup before passing it to someone else.  I'm not a huge beer fan anymore so passed on that tradition but I was impressed how they could drink. About this time a huge basket is brought out and people pile the presents in.  There are no registries here, people just buy what they think is best.  There were many gifts of pop and beer which I thought was great.  Also many wrapped packages.  Later the couple picked up a basked with a whole, cooked, dead pig.  It was their gift for the Padrinos.  As tradition would have it they danced around the yard with this pig and several other people.  A rather amazing sight.  The pig was elaborately decorated with flowers.  There were also five very pretty wedding cakes.  When I commented on them to Percy he told me that they don't actually serve the cakes at the wedding.  Ok, I'm not one to mess with tradition but seriously, that one needs to change.  We joked about poking the cakes to see if they were good.  Luckily at home I still had a piece of cake from a bakery in town so I did not feel too bad for myself.  Eventually, we found ourselves dancing again this time with the bride and groom and Gloria another co-worker who had arrived.  With the stars out, holding hands with this little group dancing away I was reminded once again how fortunate I feel to be in Peru.
On a side note, my fabulous traveling companion Moyra has now returned home.  She made every day yet that much more fun and kept me laughing during our 'adventures.'  The only good thing I can say about her departure is that I have stolen all the blankets off her bed and am now sleeping much warmer.  I will be forever grateful that she was crazy enough to join me on this trip.  I will miss her as I continue to miss you all!  Besos! Carrie

Saturday Evening in Ayacucho

Hi All-  We are comfy in our apartment for the night.  Today was the first day in a long time that we did not HAVE to be somewhere.  We didn't really sleep in but it still seemed relaxing.  Well, it was relaxing until recluse spider #3 decided to appear.  Of course it showed up here in the living room while Moyra was in the shower leaving me to capture it alone!  Ever since living in Kansas City I have had a healthy respect for recluse spiders.  I put the "spider cup" on top of it and waited for Moyra to help me get it outside.  Our apartment is up a small but treacherous flight of uneven concrete stairs and then we walk through the landlords garage to the locked door outside....it takes two to dispose of spiders.  After breakfast and showers we took the bus into town.  For the first time the bus was not overly crowded.  School children take public buses during the week so they are frequently packed.  The person in charge of the door had two young boys give up their seats for us....also a first.  It was a relaxing ride into town.
Our USB internet connection had run out so our first stop was the Claro (Clear) store.  The first place sent us to a second place (and we didn't even get lost).  Sadly Clear was not too clear on how to help us  even though we had been told earlier that it would be easy.  Our device recharges automatically on the 20th so we only needed 4 days worth of power.  It took over an hour in a rather hot store to get it all sorted out but here we are connected again.  We can always use GeGe's internet connection up at the school but it is nice to have it here as well.
After that was settled we went back to the artisan market for the second time. As usual we found more treasures that we could not live without.  We may need to leave all of our clothes here so the Peru stuff fits. We left the market and happened upon one of Ayacucho's thirty some churches. The door was open so we went in for a look and some holy water.  Church viewing and shopping made us hungry so we went to a hotel that was supposed to have not only good food but also a weaving exhibition featuring the dad of one of the teachers at the school.  We discovered that the food was not so good and the exhibition did not start until this evening.  We did dine in a beautiful plant and art filled courtyard so that made up for the rest.
Next, we hung out in the main plaza for a bit and tried our first sample of the street made ice cream.  Ladies have the concoction in big metal tubs surrounded by chunks of ice.  It reminds me of making ice cream in coffee cans at school.  It tasted like corn (lots of stuff has a corn base here) but was quite good and given that it was a nice sunny (probably mid 70s) day it was perfect.  The plaza and all of the central part of the town is usually so painfully busy.  It is hard to walk because of so many people, and crossing the street is an experience....as in try not to get smashed by a car, bus, truck.  Today is was so quiet that we could walk in the streets.  We joked that we were going to walk around the plaza streets over and over just because we could.  Eventually though we left and went to the grocery store for our staples (wine, chocolate and toilet paper).  Finally, we got on a not-crowded bus and came back up to Carmen Alto. Moyra and I have been taking turns on the internet and reading our books.  A rather wonderful Saturday! Hope all is well with you!

Visiting the Prison in Ayacucho

Here is a guest blog from Moyra that started off as an email.  We though you might find this interesting.


Went to the Prison today - very interesting.
Got 4 stamps on my arm - going thru every door, 
walked right thru the male population - super safe..
and no cat calls even......women's area - they hang
out in a huge courtyard doing laundry, sewing, knitting,
etc.  Every Thur they have conjugal visits so I saw a few
pregnant ladies, also about 4 babies and 3 kids - they
get to live with mom till they are 3. Also, there was a 
cat named Pedro.  Our new friend Amanda has been going to the Women's prison for years now, first as a volunteer and now to teach 
them to make jewelry.. and then she sells them for the
ladies and gives them the $$.   We stayed for over 2
hours - watched them make some cool earrings 
and bracelets -  and even got to go with one of the 
women to see her cell..........9 of them in there - cell
doors wide open (get locked in at 8:30pm for the night) 
They had curtains, tv, clocks, lots of personal items 
they buy with the money they make.  It was a very
eye-opening experience..... they had scissors and knitting
needles, and matches.....lots of freedoms - except for the 
ultimate freedom.  180 women - 80% for "drug trafficking"
But some caught unfairly - others just married to drug dealers
and they get the same sentence - often 8-15 years- no time
off for good behaviour - no parole.


A few more details from me (Carrie), the cells were very small, there were 4 bunks on the bottom, 4 on the top and the most recent arrival sleeps on the floor. There is a toilet of some kind behind a door against the wall of the cell. The women can pay to build wooden bunks or sleep on the concrete ones built in.  They wear their own clothes, must buy and cook their own food, and do their own laundry which hangs dry in the courtyard. The prison is rather cold, not much sun gets in. There is also a shower in the courtyard. Because the men are not far away and because many of the women's partners/husbands are incarcerated as well we heard men yelling a certain name and the woman could go to the gate and talk. It was a very interesting morning. As the guards let us out each of the doors I felt lucky having the ability to leave and go back out into the sun.

Adventures in Ayacucho

We have been here for over a week now and are starting to settle into a routine.  We have experienced a lot in the last week.  I will try and hit the highlights.  We are loving having the market close by.  The ladies there recognize us now.  We buy all our vegetables there and fresh eggs, olives, some spices, fruits, lentils, potatoes and fresh cheese made daily.  Food is so cheap.  A pound of potatoes costs us about .15.  We buy our bread from a little old lady who has a store on the corner.  The most common bread looks like a type of little pita and costs .03 for each one.  We continue to cook in our kitchen.  We have made quinoa soup, lentil stew, pasta, scrambled eggs with peppers and onions.  We eat lots of cucumber, tomatoes, avocado, carrots, oranges, apples, and today we found pears.  We also stay stocked on wine and chocolate.  We work from 2:00 -6:15.  In the mornings we shop, go into town sometimes, read and check in with all of you on email and FB.  Getting into town is an interesting experience.  So far we have taken the bus and a few taxis.  The buses are packed and they just put more people on. Just when you think they could not possibly fit anyone else on....they do.  There is a person who stands on the bus steps and tells you to hurry up and get on (or off).  When you want to get off you have to work your way to the front.  No time for personal space issues, just push and hope you don't touch anything you don't want to touch.  The upside is the bus costs about .15.  It takes 12 min to get into town.  When you get there you just hope that there are no strikes or protests (or at least no tear gas).  That actually has not happened to us but did to GeGe recently.  We have experienced a few great restaurants in town and we found a place where Moyra can get here coffee fix.  On Sundays there are ladies on the plaza selling all sorts of cookies so of course we have to buy some of each to try them all.  We have found the main tourist shopping places.  I have a bit of a textile fetish so this is heaven for me (and one of the reasons I have always wanted to visit Peru).  This weekend we went with much of program staff on a field trip to some beautiful Inca ruins. We left at 7:00 AM. Our first stop was a little detour to see  a waterfall.  Well, this 10 min walk (actually 90 min of us sucking serious high altitude air) humbled us a bit.  We stopped at two different ruins locations.  In one town we wanted to visit the church that had ruins in front and happened upon a traditional wedding.  We were standing at the church doors as the bridal party came out.  I didn't know that they lit firecrackers until one went off against my leg (very glad for the jeans and no need to shave that part of my leg any time soon). They also throw candy and it was all rather wonderful to watch.  People talked us and asked what we thought of the wedding and if we wanted to come to the party. It was an exciting day which became even more exciting when we decided to take a "new" road back, we did not know for a long time if we were on the correct road.  Keep in mind it is pitch black except for our headlights.  This is a road with many rocks and cracks, and we are up in the mountains.  There is room for one vehicle, no shoulder, and nothing to keep you from going over.  We had driven for about 10 hours or more on one tank of gas.  This "new" road had no towns, no gas, no cell phone service.  I was sitting in the second row in the van and noticed when we were on 1/8 tank of gas.  Soon we were flagging down every passing vehicle and police trying to buy gas as we had several hours to go.  They all said no.  After about 2 hours of stress we stopped a police truck again and they agreed to take Alejandro to town to buy some gas and return to us.  Luckily Ayacucho was downhill at that point and we coasted for the last 45 min.  We were all very happy to get home at 10:30.  We had a glass of wine, took showers and thanked God for our rock hard beds.
Yesterday we met Amanda (who works with women at the prison here) and Katie (a US med student here shadowing doctors) so they could show us the artisan market.  After the market we all me GeGe for a good-bye pizza dinner.  GeGe leaves for her vacation tonight.  We will miss her but she has shown us how to do things and she has an amazing staff.
My next blog will be all about the program and the incredible work being done here with kids.
A few random details about our life here.  The water is not safe to drink so we boil it for 10 min.  We even brush our teeth with boiled water.  As in many countries you do not flush anything down the toilet unless it came out of you.  Some places have holes instead of toilets.  I'm still not so good at those.  There are scorpions and recluse spiders here...don't play with them.  Don't get in the way of buses....they don't necessarily stop.  Red lights are a suggestion only. People continue to be wonderful to us here and we are thankful for the adventure. Tomorrow morning we are going with Amanda to the prison.  There are 180 inmates, many there on drug charges.  Amanda told us about one woman whose husband was involved in drugs and because she knew about it she received the same sentence. The sentence could be between 8-15 years with no time off for good behavior.  Amanda says the women there are getting younger and younger...very sad. It reminds us to be so thankful for all that we have. We miss you!     Until next time, ciao!!!!

Good Morning from Ayacucho

We finally arrived in Ayacucho on Sunday after a 7 hour weather delay in Lima.  GeGe had already been to the airport once so we agreed that we would take a taxi to her house.  The Carmen Alto neighborhood where she lives is high up on the edge of town with beautiful views of the city.  Once we arrived GeGe got in the taxi with us and took us to our apartment.  It is attached to a house owned by a woman from Scotland.  We have a little living room and kitchen area with two couches, a small fridge, stove, sink and all the essentials for cooking.  We have one bedroom.  GeGe was nice enough to buy another bed so there are two.  In the bedroom is a very large shower (with hot water) and then a seperate room with a toilet and sink. The city was without power when we arrived.  They shut down power every few months for maintenance.  GeGe helped us shop for some water, bread, cheese, fruit, and candles.  After getting up at 3:00AM in Lima we were exhausted.  We ate a bit and were asleep by 7:30.  We slept for 10 hours and woke up feeling much better and to electricity.  We met GeGe down at her place at 10:00.  She rents out two floors of a house.  The bottom floor is all for the school.  The second floor has her bedroom, kitchen, and bathroom, along with 2 classrooms.  The owners of the house seem very kind and are in integral part of GeGe's life here.  After spending a few hours there (no students yet), we left to go to the main market in the neighborhood.  There were many different stalls with produce, cheese and eggs.  We bought eggs, cheese, olives, cucumber, tomatoes, and lemons for around $2.  We stopped by another little store for bread and water.  We came home and used the gas stove for the first time.  We made scrambled eggs and then a salad of tomato and cucumber which we stuffed in the pita type bread.  It was delicious.  We are happy to have more control over what we eat.
We went back to the school at 2:00 to meet the teachers and staff.  GeGe has the program down to an art. The children each receive 1 hour of instruction, then time for homework help, and some playtime.  They each leave with a sandwich and piece of fruit.  The younger kids are there from 2:15- 5:15 or so.  Then the older kids arrive until 6:20.  They receive English and math instruction.  Yesterday we read a story to the different groups, helped with homework and observed in some of the classes.  We will use this week to better understand the program and work with GeGe to find how we can be most useful.  GeGe will leave on Monday and be gone until early August.
The kids are adorable and just like kids anywhere.  We recieved a lot of hugs and kisses yesterday and already know that it will be sad saying good-bye.  GeGe is a fixture in the neighborhood and everyone seems to know here.  We have seen very few (no) tourists here.  GeGe said that there are other Europeans here but only one couple from the US.
After work yesterday we got on a bus with GeGe and went into town.  We had a wonderful dinner at a second floor restaurant overlooking the main plaza.  It was beautiful.  A very large dinner cost us each about $8 including popcorn on the table, our actual dinner and 2 drinks.
After dinner went went to two grocery stores to get some basics.  We bought pasta, brown rice, sliced bread, jam, a big bottle of guanabana yogurt drink, toilet paper, quinoa, tea, coffee, pepper, mustard, and granola.  Most of our produce, cheese and fresh bread we will buy here in Carmen Alto.  We took the last bus home which was stuffed with people in every available space.  We were carrying some heavy groceries so that was a bit painful since we were standing and you have to use one hand to hold on.  We were happy to get back to our place and again we slept for 10 hours which really surprised us.
We got up and used the frying pan to fry some toast.  We had toast and cheese, some oranges and apples and a glass of the yogurt drink.  We are still in our pajamas at almost noon.  We can tell that we are still adjusting because we are tired.  Lucky for us we don't have to be at the school until 2:00.  I have not been taking pictures here yet since we know we will have time.  Eventually I will post some I promise.
We hope for those of you at home that the 4th of July was wonderful.  We miss you all.  Besitos!

Back in Lima

We got to sleep in a little bit this morning as the taxi did not arrive until 8:30.  We had a nice breakfast at the airport.  We sat on an outside patio with the mountains  all around. It occurred to us that with TSA that would not have happened at home. Arequipa is so beautiful.  We arrived here in Lima about 12:00 and had our taxi driver Eduardo waiting for us.  (and here I lost most of the blog so this will now be short....sorry). We went to lunch at the vegetarian cafe that we had found last time we were here.  We had a big lunch for around $3.  Then we hit up the big grocery store for some snacks for tonight.  Finally, we stopped at the bubble tea place.  They don't blend them here and you get to select from 5 types of tea. A bit different from home.  We are now back at the hostal.  Our flight to Ayacucho is at 5:30 AM so Eduardo will pick us up at 3:30.  Hopefully he will be more awake than he was today.  He dozed off at a red light.  We picked up our suitcases here at the hostal that we had left almost 2 weeks ago.  Here many hostals let you leave luggage that you don't need while you are traveling.  We left the things that we had packed for Ayacucho.  Tomorrow we will finally arrive at our home away from home.  We are excited to get to know that place and the progam that GeGe has established.  Time to go, it is getting dark and I am sitting on an outside terrace as the internet strength is not  strong enough in the room.  Love to you all from Peru! I need a shower!  Yippee for the hot water here!!!