A Very Important Wall by Libby Gendall

The plight of street children around the world is a desperate one. Street children are widely recognized as those most at risk of violence, neglect and abuse. UNICEF’s annual State of the World’s Children reports have repeatedly called attention to the extremely challenging conditions in which children work and live in the streets. Sadly this is an ongoing problem that shows little sign of being resolved.

Thankfully, there is something that can be done… and our volunteers are helping to do it! Never one to be discouraged, Laura Van Waas, is one such volunteer. She realised that despite overwhelming odds, it is possible to make a difference in the lives of some of society’s most neglected children.

Laura volunteered with GVN at a construction project in the rural village of Oropesa, located just outside of Cusco, Peru. She worked at an orphanage which houses boys ranging in age from 6-18 years old. These boys were street children and this orphanage aims to provide them with a safe home and better quality of life. One of the future goals of this orphanage, known as Azul Wasi, is to develop training workshops to provide the boys with employable skills when they leave the orphanage at the state mandated age of 18.

In a journal entry, Laura writes:

‘On site at Azul Wasi, we have had a good week. We have nearly completed the reinforcing wall all the way along the back of the buildings. There has been more digging in the mud, more shovelling and moving gravel, more mixing and carrying cement and more magical moments sharing a sugary drink or standing back to admire our work with the kids.

Apparently, the police (including the man who founded and heads the orphanage) are often involved in "plain clothes" round-up efforts in the main plaza of Cusco. At around 10pm, after the kids are meant to have gone home, they move through the plaza to see who is still there trying to sell goods or services to tourists. They bundle them all into a bus and take them back to the police station. Then, within half an hour, word has somehow managed to get back to anyone who has parents in Cusco and the mothers come in to collect their children.

Often there are one or two children left, no parents to pick them up. These are street children for whom another solution needs to be sought. They may be brought to one of the several orphanages in Cusco or, if they are lucky it seems, they will be brought out to Azul Wasi.

Not all of the kids are necessarily orphans, per definition. One boy that was staying at Azul Wasi was thrown out by his mother when he was eight, because he was the oldest of many (probably eight or more) children and she could no longer cope with them all. At first he was brought to an uncle's place where he was forced to do hard labour on a farm and not given any opportunity to go to school - modern slavery in one of its most complicated forms. When he was 12, he ran away and went to live on the streets. Then he was brought to Azul Wasi, where he had the chance to get an education and he has since returned to live with his mother, but with the help of the orphanage he has been set up with the knowledge and equipment needed to have a small guinea-pig "farm", so he is able to make a small living for himself and his family.

How many of the kids stories are like this one and how many of the children no longer have parents is unclear. What is certain is that they come to Cusco from all around the country, drawn to the city by the promise of tourist's money, and they are very, very lucky if they are taken in at Azul Wasi. The conditions there are far better than in the orphanages in the city and many of the children are happy to stay there and cooperate with the attempts to secure an education for them and the chance to behave like brothers. It feels good to be helping the kids, even if it is only for a month and only by building them a not very exciting - but incredibly important - wall.’

There are several factors which contribute to the high numbers of street children in Cusco, as well as the other cities in Peru. Increasing poverty in rural Peru has caused a shift in population, with many families moving into urban areas in the hopes of finding employment and a better life. Without traditional means of income and extended family support, the new pressures of living in the city often become too much for families to cope with and children are drawn to the freedom and potential of the streets. Luckily, volunteers like Laura, are helping to make the lives of such children in Cusco a little better and with one ‘incredibly important’ wall, their future is looking brighter.

If you would like to follow Laura’s adventures in Peru, please check out her blog: http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog/lauravanwaas/2/tpod.html

Thanks Laura and all our volunteers for your hard work!

If you would like to find out more about volunteer opportunities in Peru please visit our website: http://www.volunteer.org.nz/peru/