Still living under plastic

“On a Saturday last month, the church’s pastoral team, along with a group of young people, went to Fondo Colorado: a semi-rural community just ten minutes down the road to lead a kids’ event.

“Our specific task was to run a workshop on basic nutrition for the adults.

“The visit was in aid of this particular settlement’s eighth anniversary of having made home in a few fields on the edge of Chincha after having migrated from the mountains.

Fondo Colorado

“All their houses were completely shattered in the earthquake and they all live under plastic and split-bamboo sheets. We had the opportunity to give out rolls of plastic from our storage of materials in the church to help them with their roofs.

“Both events in Fondo Colorado were a success with the community and as ‘gringos’ (white foreigners) we attracted particular attention.

“One of the main leaders of this community asked whether we could help them with toilets, along with drainage, water and electricity!

“We just smiled and accepted an invitation to return the next day to celebrate their anniversary by coming to view the things they produce on their land: various fruit, veg and honey.

“We happily returned the next day and were treated (very embarrassingly) like celebrities, having our names announced over the loudspeaker and then speaking on stage before the mayor and other important guests.

“Since that visit, we have been offered some land amongst their community to build a church. This is too far away to be useful to our already existing church but we are quite excited about the possibility of developing something in this community in the future, particularly as they don't have a church at the moment.”