So, the reason I am here, to volunteer! I started a week and a half ago now, but wanted to wait before I wrote a post about it all, as to be honest I wasn't sure where to start. Already there are so many things I can comment on, feel sad about, admire and despair over! The best way to start, I think, is to explain a bit about where we volunteer.
Fundacion Mariposas Amarillas works in two barrios: Fundadores and Oasis. The two neighbourhoods are much the same: dusty, dirt roads lined with brightly coloured houses. When you catch a glimpse inside some of the buildings you see very basic living conditions - sparse, plain rooms. In some areas the road is inexplicably dug up and piles of rubble form obstacles to the carts and anorexic donkeys that are everywhere. There are bony dogs and cats scrummaging in the shade, and rubbish is a standard feature of the landscape. It feels even hotter when we get up to these areas, and people sit on the sides of the road and greet you as you pass. In the streets surrounding the school building everyone is aware of the work of the foundation, so it is relatively safe to walk around. After a certain time, or a certain distance though I think security becomes an issue.
My reaction on the first couple of days was of slight surprise. The areas didn't seem as poor as I was expecting, and the kids looked cleaner than I imagined. There were actual concrete floors in the schools, and the buildings had proper roofs and walls (not just tin!) There is power and water in these barrios too. This is all in comparison to Peru - I am not sure if I have been acclimatized to sights of poverty and was less shocked because of this. Either way, it isn't as simple as just looking and deciding it is not that poor. It is, of course, worse than anything you would find at home, and painful to confront. There is no sewage system, the power and water supplies that surprised me are sporadic at best, nobody comes to collect to rubbish... On top of all of this when the rainy season comes the houses and streets flood. I spoke to one man who told me that he has had water up to his chest in his house, but local government doesn't help, as according to them "there is no flooding."
The people in these areas are unemployed, make a living as cheap domestic help or collect rubbish to bring to recycle. I have also been told that some children come from displaced families. The Sierra Neveda lies on Santa Marta's doorstep, and cocaine production in these areas means that entire families can be stripped of their land and left with nowhere to go, so that more cocaine plants can be grown. Hearing stories like this makes it even more disgusting to see so many of the backpackers who come through South America and rave about how cheap it is to take as many drugs as you could ever dream of.
It is still early days here, and I know there is so much more to learn about these areas and the people in them. I can already feel time starting to speed up and pass me by! Next week sees me take on a class of 10 - 13 year olds in Oasis, and I am nervous! For some reason the children in Fundadores (where I have been based the past week) are a lot better behaved than in Oasis. We have speculated on reasons for this - the area is more religious, the parents stricter - but all it really means right now is that I am in for a bit of a rougher ride next week! Wish me luck...
Good Luck!
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