Newsletter May 2023

Are there construction phases in Peru without major challenges? We may/must probably get used to them and always learn a lot of new things.

Newletter May 2023 (pdf)

Overview Newsletters

“Los Valientes”, full day program of Estación Esperanza

Luca has missed two weeks of school. This nine-year-old boy receives a financial sponsorship from Estación Esperanza allowing him access to private school education (for the time being our partner school) for a very small amount of money. We contacted the mother Gloria to find out what was going on and discovered that she’d been forced to move and could no longer send her son to school. Extremely upset and full of shame, she told us that her husband had been sent to prison and would not be with her and her two sons for the next six years. With no funds for a good lawyer, he was unable to fight for or prove his innocence. Gloria had to quit her job as a kindergarten teacher, because the minimum wage of about 350 CHF was insufficient to pay for all her expenses, including nursery school for the three-year-old son.

Currently Gloria is buying underwear from a wholesaler and selling it on the streets while accompanied by her three-year-old. She also explained that Luca is currently staying with her sister because she was so upset about the situation and didn’t want him to know that the father was in prison. We were able to help her create a daily schedule, because routine is helpful in such situations. Further, we convinced her that she should tell Luca the truth about his father. Additionally, we found a solution to Luca’s schooling: his uncle will pay the school fees. Luca will come back to our slum and initially live with his aunt and hopefully Gloria will soon be returning to her previous place of residence. For the time being, Luca will be admitted free of charge into our program “Los Valientes” (“the encourages”). In this program, Estación Esperanza offers lunch and an afterschool program (homework help, games, English lessons and individual conversations) for children from particularly challenging family situations. We began this initiative in March and currently have six children at “Los Valientes”.

We are continuing to work with Gloria as she tries to earn extra money to help out her husband. In prison, he needs to pay for everything, even the basics like a mattress. Additionally, her husband would like to participate in a carpentry workshop, but to do so, needs to buy the materials.

EsEs received an official award from the political municipality of Mi Peru for the promotion of reading in the district (photo: occasion April).

Phase Two of the construction of our kindergarten

About two months ago, we started the second phase of the construction on our property. Unfortunately, the political municipality closed the site after a few days. Our local construction company had not submitted the application correctly for the building permit. We also found out that he had continued building, without a permit, during the night. We informed him that we could not take responsibility for his actions and that he personally would have to pay the fines.

The bureaucracy in Peru is very complex and nerve-racking. It would be so much easier succumb to the corruption (paying off the powerful people), but we refuse to do that. We have been praying and asking God for a solution. A month later, the end of May, God provided the answer we wanted. My husband, Carlos, was able to meet with the mayor. This alone was a miracle because it was something we had tried to arrange for a long time. Carlos just felt that he needed to go by the local parish hall and there he saw the mayor. Carlos was able to speak with him and explained the situation. The mayor liked the idea of a new kindergarten/school. As a result, he opened the door for Carlos to meet with the correct people who gave him permission to continue with the project and build the school.

Construction finances

We received the estimate for the construction of the kindergarten from the local construction company in May. Building in Peru, unfortunately, is very expensive. One reason is, that the soil is bad, and a strong foundation is necessary because there are lots of earthquakes here. Additionally, the prices in Peru have increased exponentially. We are still short 170,000 USD to finish the construction of the kindergarten (incl. obligatory teachers’ room, office, first aid room, etc.). Once we build these rooms, they can also be used for the elementary school. Without these, we will not be able to obtain permission from the school secretariat for the 2024 opening of the kindergarten.

It would be such a blessing if you would be willing to financially support or continue your support for the kindergarten construction. Our goal is to be able to welcome three kindergarten classes in March 2024.

Official recognition of the land in Kouri Hanna (1st project house)

Twenty- seven years ago, when Carlos was just six years old, his family moved to Ventanilla to the of slum Kouri Hanna. They had to flee from the guerrillas (Sendero Luminoso) and came from the rainforest to the capital Lima. The Bernales family lived for fifteen years in a small hut without running water, a toilet or shower, in same the location where our Estación Esperanza first project house has been standing for a few years.

In recent decades, these slums, known as “Pueblos Jovenes” have sprung up all around the city of Lima and their inhabitants have grown by the millions. Almost all of them were created by illegal occupation where during the night families erected primitive huts with the hope that the next day, the police would let them stay. Nowadays, the laws are much stricter and this doesn’t happen much anymore. However, Carlos’ family and the 160 other families who founded Kouri Hanna, wanted to acquire the land legally and thus purchased the land. The problem, however, was that it soon became apparent that the seller was a fraud. The seller disappeared and with him the money. During the next fifteen years, various groups tried to chase away the inhabitants of Kouri Hanna. With God’s help and thanks to the clever slum chief (e.g. inviting local television stations to come visit), all attacks were repelled. Little by little, Kouri Hanna has been able to receive some of the basic amenities of life, such running water and sewage systems. The electrical system is very poor. Since the slum is still not officially recognized, electricity is received via long cables from houses on the other side of a six-lane road. It is literally a “tinkering” job. About eight years ago, the inhabitants of Kouri Hanna were finally able to obtain a “Certificado de Domicilio” (certificate of domicile) from the political municipality. With this, they are declared legal owners of their property or house, and they can no longer be taken away from them. Now finally – after 27 years, we will become official owners of our property. Additionally, paved roads and an official electricity network will be installed soon. We and all the other residents are very much looking forward to it.

Highlights

Thanks to a generous donation from KLM (Wings of Support Foundation), EsEs was able to buy a bus for the transportation of materials and groups. EsEs received an award from the political municipality for reading promotion in the district of Mi Peru.

Important data
27 August, 09:40 Uhr:
EsEs service in Bad Ragaz, with aperitif

10 September, 14:30 Uhr:
EsEs annual meeting in Stäfa