Program Visits – Day 1 continued...

We next drove into Sanocc and here we met with the Deputy Mayor. She said she is very happy to have a World Neighbors presence here. She also said many of the farmers’ initial projects could be a great place for agricultural students to do some volunteer work while they are studying.

During our meeting with the Deputy Mayor, a farmer named Antonio told us his story: He got a loan of 100 soles. With this he bought chickens. He paid back the loan within the 6 months timeframe and got another loan. With this, he bought some pigs. After that, he was able to buy some land near the river where he could grow avocadoes, papayas, mangoes and oranges. Later, he added corn and beans. Antonio is an example of how micro credit loans can work in improving the livelihood of these farmers. Not only do they have some income, but they also have a good source of nutrition for their families.

The last farmer we visited today was a very enterprising man. He started with a small loan and bought some chickens. He then did a small business at the local September festival selling his chicken soup. He now does this every year. But he also sells eggs from the chickens. He grasped the potential of small credit loans quickly and now he has had (and paid back) 5 loans. He has progressed with a beautiful farm with only one set back: At one time, he invested in 65 guinea pigs (“cuy” – a delicacy in Peru), but he said the cat got most of them!

He was so happy with what World Neighbors had done for him that he wanted to give us a celebration. So he invited most of the village in after we had toured his farm, and almost immediately, the traditional harp, violin and a singer appeared and before we knew it, we were asked to dance and were then served a traditional meal of roasted cuy and potatoes. The whole village joined in, even the children! The farmers also told us that they have chosen to use the extra money from the interest from all the loans to fund occasional village festivals and community activities. Most likely a great morale boost after years of extreme poverty and brutalization by the Senderos! A very enlightening day altogether.

The only unhappy event of the day: David contracted food poisoning and was quite ill during the days activities. It was very difficult for him to travel from location to location. His malady did become the topic of conversation between the World Neighbors local staff, however, as everyone has had the experience before themselves and were trying to determine what exactly poisoned him. Bets were on the papaya juice at breakfast (perhaps the hotel watered it down with tap water) or the coco mate tea (perhaps the hotel did not completely boil the water first.) David had a rough day, but we did have some very potent natural remedies. Our first aid kit which he dosed himself with once we got back to the hotel and he was pretty much all better by the next morning. Memo to self: next time: carry the remedies with us when we are visiting farms and don’t just leave them in the hotel!

We drove back to the hotel in the late afternoon and of course, the broken down truck was still here and of course, we had to get out of the truck and walk past the obstacle while Uri masterfully negotiated passing it with the thousand foot drop now on his right. All went well and we proceeded back to the hotel.

David did not attend dinner but instead dowsed himself with the remedy and went to sleep. I suggested he also visualize the remedy molecules killing and chewing up the bad critters like little Pac men, but this was met with silence. He had already fallen asleep.

I went to dinner and after, had a chance to talk to Julio and Chris, with Chris translating Julio’s comments for me. Julio explained the psychological ramifications of this kind of work. People living in extreme poverty have very low confidence and very low self esteem. Any aid program must address this and include in its model as a way to help build self confidence. This reality is an internal reality and solutions must be found from within. Small personal wins really help to build self confidence and the World Neighbors approach is to say: “If you’ll agree to work, we’ll work with you.” Julio likened it to a three-legged race: “You can only cross the finish line if you figure out a way to work together.”

Julio (pictured left) is an absolutely brilliant teacher: He compares the human condition to the condition of the land and this analogy the farmers really do understand. Because soil conservation is a big part of this program, Julio tells the farmers that the soil is not asking them for more and more planting like the landowners would, but instead it is asking to be cared for. He tells them that if they abuse the soil, it will resist and not produce again until they agree to take care of it. He then compares Mother Earth to human mothers and tells the farmers just as they care for Mother Earth, they also need to care for the mothers of their children so they can have healthy happy children. He is asking them to embrace the idea that growing healthy crops in healthy soil will also provide them with a healthy family. In a Machismo society, Julio has even been able to use this analogy to successfully convince the male farmers that family planning is a good idea!

So, in addition to appreciating how well the micro credit and savings programs work, I am also conscious of how important it is to have a really competent and capable staff implementing these programs. Watching the interaction between Julio and Angel with the farmers and how much they trust in these men and then seeing how Chris manages the overall work of World Neighbors international programs – I cannot imagine these programs working as well as they do without such professionals. And, at the end of the day, once a program is up and running well and is deemed to be self-reliant, the goal of World Neighbors is to pull out and move on to a new one. I am very impressed.