Blog July 7th-13th
Well, it’s been a while, and it has come to our attention that we don’t really talk much about the work that we do at the Hogar! In fact, since we got here three weeks ago, we have settled into our routine. Most days, we are busy washing patients, changing diapers, changing catheters and dressings. We are developing some serious muscles since we always have to lift patients into wheelchairs (even if we always have to call Robin over to help), pushing them up the hill to the cafeteria and getting them into taxis! Some of our most exhausting days are spent in the pediatrics building. Even if there are only four active children, they have more energy than a bomb. At the end of the day, we clearly know which one of us was in pediatrics (they usually look like zombies). The children are: Julio (5 years old but looks a lot younger), David (5 years old), Guadalupe (7) and Milagros (12). A normal day in pediatrics consists of the usual morning workout (washing them, feeding them breakfast, washing them again) and playing with the boys outside when the girls are at school. Each of the kids has his own personality and we have to learn to adapt to them, which seems to be really challenging for some of us (IT IS HILARIOUS TO SEE THE DESPERATION IN THEIR FACES). In the pediatrics in the afternoon, the first role of the volunteer is to help the older girls with their homework. Seriously, this moment of the day makes us want to go and congratulate our parents for the effort and the ENERGY they took to make us study when we was young. Like almost all the children, they HATE doing homework and they can give us a hard time sometimes. However, once they get to it, they really know how to be efficient (with a little push in the back). Usually, when they have time, other volunteers come to help, which is SUPER useful because there are four kids to take care of. What is funny is that when they start fighting, all it takes is one word from Karol for them to get scared and stop.
When you read the blog, you tend to think we really are the perfect volunteers. However, we are young and still have our crazy moments. Usually, when we are in the pharmacy, we count very methodically the pills and NEVER make mistakes. But, the other day, Eloisa, the pharmacist, left the room. SUPER BIG MISTAKE - especially when Sophie, Karol and Robin are alone inside. Do not let your minds go too far. We only had a dance party featuring the best old songs (Las Ketchup, Lejos de Ti, blablabla). Of course, we still counted the pills perfectly.
The kids on the playground
Wednesday, we went to Cashahuacra to give out pamphlets for Saturday’s medical campaign. The ride there was a bit scary, since it’s high in the mountains, and we were EXTREMELY close to the edge of the road. Still, the view was amazing with the all the surrounding mountains. The village is very different from Chosica, people live in very small houses with walls made of aluminum siding, and there are tons of dogs. We are all very scared of the dogs, especially Stefanie, Sophie and Laura. We would avoid the houses that had a dog guarding them… Although the village was very empty when we went, since it was early in the morning, we were glad to have a preview of the campaign. On Friday afternoon, Karol, Stefanie and Sophie went back to give the remaining of the pamphlets and start bringing some material. The village had a totally different vibe! There were kids everywhere, some playing soccer and others playing in the streets. We even decided to be adventurous and climb up to the houses higher in the hill. All the people that we talked to seemed really happy about the campaign and were thankful.
On Friday night, Felicitas and Robin, our German roommates, organized a goodbye supper with the staff of the Hogar, since they are leaving on Monday. Surprisingly, Chinese restaurants (aka Chifa) are very popular in Peru! We were glad to have different kind of food for supper.
-Sophie, Karol and Melanie
The scary ride to Cashahuacra
Supper with the Germans!
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