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Serving God's People
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Arequipa is the second largest city in Peru. It was approximately 15 minutes travel time to Alto Cayma. Alto Cayma is a community located at the base of the mountains. The desert region, while highly populated, has dirt roads, no toilets, and no hot water; yet, it continues to attract people coming down from the mountains which has a more harsh climate with terrain very difficult to farm.
The Alto Cayma mission is run by Father Alex, a Catholic priest who has been there twelve years. When he first arrived and asked the people what their greatest needs were, he was told that a church, daycare and help with employment were most needed. Since then, a building has been constructed for the church. They have four rooms for children who receive hot meals each day and are taught beginning at pre-school age. Prior to this, if parents were fortunate enough to have work, children and infants were left alone for the day, resulting in an alarmingly high mortality rate.
While less than 1% of the population was employed when the priest first arrived, he has a goal of a 60% employment rate. One of the largest struggles is in working to keep children in schools. Currently, to attend a public school, children must have a basic uniform and book supply. The parents must already be employed to have the money to keep their children in school. While this cost is a hardship for many of the families, the government is considering abandoning public schooling in favor of private schooling which would result in no education for the large poor population.
A mission trip of this type is truly a great commitment. "You pay your own way for accommodations that are half-class and you work...but it's well worth it," said one volunteer. "We have been given an incredible life and we are able to help." While there, they treated hundreds of people who were very sick, brought a six-month food supply to cover the weekend which the mission cannot provide, and provided many long-term money saving items, such as the stove. But this is just the beginning for one volunteer family. "It has been a long-term goal of ours to go on one trip every year". "This was our first one."