Newsletter April 2022

Grüezi together!

While spring has really arrived here, we in the southern hemisphere are getting ready for the more unpleasant season. In Lima, which is located on the Pacific, there are never such low temperatures as in the Alps. The constant fog, combined with smog, makes you shiver again and again. In addition, we do not know of any heating here and the buildings are not insulated.

But we'd rather report on our work than on the weather. First of all: We as a family and also our team are fine. Little Mael is a pot of gold and is developing splendidly.

Newsletter april 2022 (German) (pdf)

Overview newsletters (German)

Property

At the beginning of the year we were allowed to complete the first construction phase. Of course we hope that we will soon have enough finances to continue building. Nevertheless, we are already using the property. With 30 members of our youth groups we cleaned the property and removed stones, pieces of wood and rubbish. The young people knew the meaning of this work: prepare the “construction site” so that the children’s program can start. Such and similar aid missions help the young people to focus on others and other things.

These are steps towards self-responsibility in your own area of life. The following example is typical: Yego is 18 years old. A year ago he graduated from secondary school. He spent the last two coronavirus years mainly at home. For financial reasons he has not yet been able to start an apprenticeship. This situation caused him stress and his self-esteem suffered. This caused him to stutter. Since the beginning of this year he has been part of an EsEs youth group and is motivated to take part in floorball. The volunteer work on the property gave him pleasure. He had the good idea of transporting stones on a board (photo p. 1). The leaders praised him for it in the presence of everyone else. That worked like medicine. Two weeks later, the mother came to see us. She was simply thankful that her son had stopped stuttering. Now Yego also participates in the services in the project house every Sunday morning and enthusiastically helps everywhere.

In mid-April we held the first children’s afternoon on the construction site. We would like to get to know the children of the neighboring lums. We started with a program that promotes reading pleasure: Lectura en tu barrio (= reading in your neighborhood).

But this is not just a dream of the future: in the Pachacutec project house we are now allowed to run a small kindergarten with 14 children. Larger units are not allowed in this building. Two of our employees run it.

Young people in action: tidying up and cleaning the property

Work with perpetrators is the best protection for victims

Domestic violence against women is a huge problem in Peru. Although the law protects women, the spiral of violence is rarely broken. There are women’s shelters, but women often end up going back to their husbands. Many women report their husbands to the police. But as soon as the man is sweet again, they withdraw the ads. And this is repeated again and again. Separating from a violent partner seems hopeless to many women. They are financially dependent, feel responsible for family life, and often blame themselves for problems.

There is no perpetrator work in Peru. During our last stay in Switzerland we visited the Mannebüro Züri. We were impressed with the results of the work there. After a few talks, the following idea came up: Together we want to develop ways to sensitize the local population in Ventanilla to the issue of domestic violence and take the first steps in working with perpetrators.

Daniela (a specialist in domestic violence and work with offenders in Germany) is currently visiting us for three weeks. A visit from an experienced counselor on men and violence is planned for next year. Daniela passes on her knowledge of working with violent men to some of the EsEs team and other interested parties. We also try to find other ways to combat domestic violence: building and strengthening networks and public relations.

uprisings in Peru

Our new President, Pedro Castillo, has so far failed to deliver on any of his many promises. Before the elections, he promised to help the poor. Until now, this has been limited to his own family.

Anti-government protests began in early April. It was also reported in Switzerland. There were violent demonstrations with long-lasting road blockades. A great many people, probably the majority in the country, want to depose Castillo. In his fear, Castillo reacted with an unexpected 21-hour curfew and declared a state of emergency: no one was allowed to leave the apartment building. So this time, schools, shops, etc. were not closed because of the corona virus. However, this step triggered even greater unrest among the population. At noon even more people took to the streets and protested. The more anxious people did not leave the house, but protested by banging on pots and pans. This noise was heard in Lima for many hours. Castillo had to lift the curfew after a few hours. The demonstrations continue, accompanied by vandalism that has also resulted in fatalities. What will become of all this?

family

My sister Linda, Maels Gotti, visited us in Lima along with her partner, Ramon. During those ten days Mael’s first tooth came, he learned to sit and ate his first porridge. We will probably not fully follow the advice of the pediatrician. She suggested that we should add chicken offal or sangrecito (blood) to the porridge daily. This is very good for preventing anemia (low blood count).

It’s so nice to see how Mael is developing. He is very social and already loves the programs of Estación Esperanza.