Outings

Well this weekend has been full of outings. Yesterday I took 4 girls (Karina, Diana, Candy, and Julissa) out of the PPA for lunch, bowling, and a movie. These girls never get to leave the orphanage, their parents do not have custody for reasons of violence and jail, and they are at the orphanage all days of the year. I got secret permission from the sister in charge of the girls area to take them out for the afternoon (the real way to do it is to petition to the state, which can take years, literally) so on saturday morning the nun gave us permission to sneak the girls out. I took them first to the mall Larcomar in Miraflores, where they were schocked by the escalators, and so riding it turned into the first activity of the day.


Escalator riding was followed by bowling, a game they had never played, and were surprisingly good at for kids. (this is Candy, bowling a strike)

We had Pollo a la Brasa (Peruvian rotisserie chicken) with coke for lunch and then headed over to see a movie, but of course, there was an ice cream stop first

After the movie (Meteoro, or Speed Racer in English, which was surprisingly great) I hauled 4 sleepy, sugar filled children back to the PPA for their dinner. The day was so much fun, the the look on their faces when we stepped out of the gates of the orphanage was priceless. They were full of that beautiful childhood innocence, and I was thrilled to be able to give them some experiences that I got to have when I was also their age. It wasn't all easy. Leaving the orphanage brought haunting memories for these children. Spurts of joy were often followed by tears and silence, but overall they all got to experience parts of their city of Lima that had been hidden by the veils of poverty and the incarcerating Baroque gates of the orphanage.

Equally important was having 3 of the girls, Karina, Diana, and Candy together. These girls are sisters, but their mother is pitting the younger 2 (Diana and Candy) against the 12 year old (Karina). These girls belong to the state, but their mother has limited visitation rights. Over Christmas, they were allowed to go home for one week to be with their mother. Karina had to call the police of the shantytown where they live to be escorted back to the orphanage because her stepfather was beating her. This girl is in 6th grade. She has the scar of a knife wound on her leg. Her mother was furious at her for denouncing the step father and now when she visits the orphanage on Sundays (she no longer is allowed to take them home) she refuses to see Karina and tells Candy and Diana that it is Karina's fault that they can no longer go home. It is outings like this with the sisters that reinforces their sibling bond and allows them to see Lima outside of the violent home where they were born. The 3 girls were talking, playing, and supporting each other all day, and it was very emotional for everyone involved.

Julissa is also a hard case. Being outside the orphanage reminded her of when she used to live with her family, all of whom are drug traffickers. She was also allowed to go home over Christmas with her aunt. During a surprise visit, the social worker of the PPA found her in a house full of drugs. Her mother, grandmother, great-grandmother, and all of her aunts are in jail. Her father is long gone. She is now no longer allowed to leave the orphanage with any of her family. She didn't even have a sign-out card like the other girls when I took them out, and the nun wrote her permission on a post-it. The day was the biggest struggle for her I think, and the activities were interrupted by her long stares out of the Taxi windows as we drove around Lima.

Being with these girls reminds me why I am here and why the PPA is a huge part of my life. These children are so special but the ghosts of the past are robbing them of their innocence. My days are busy, exhausting and emotionally draining, but every once in a while, my spirit is lifted by a smile, a hug, or a laugh



Yesterday was also my first Latin American soccer (fútbol) experience. The Latin American countries are going through elimination rounds for the World Cup in South Africa in 2010. Last night was a game between Peru and Colombia at the Estadio Monumental in Lima, and the whole atmosphere was crazy.

The streets were jammed, and we ended up walking the last 30 blocks to the stadium because the cars were all gridlocked. These blocks were packed with vendors selling jerseys, hats, scarfs, facepaint, and anything else imaginable. Ticket scalpers were yelling out their seats and prices in the face of the police. We finally arrived to a packed stadium. The game was filled with cheering booing, and explicit commentary about the Colombians. It was amazing. In the end the teams tied, but I didnt really care, I was too wrapped up in the experience.
so thats the synopsis of one very long, activity packed day in my Peruvian life. More photos of my outing with the kids, the soccer game, and some PPA photos are here:

Kids and Peru-Colombia

More soon to come!!!

xx Molly