08/11/2025
We’re back from Peru. Gracias a Dios! Gracias to everyone who’s helped in any way; everyone who donated, our families, our friends, all our Amigos. You make this possible.
The adventure begins in Lima. We’re greeted at the airport by Pepe and Karina, our beloved nephew and niece, and stay at their home. The family welcomes us with gracious hospitality and serves delicious Peruvian dishes. Karina is the first Peruvian board member of Amigos de San Mañuelito. We have lists from the directors of each of our five partner schools telling their priorities. These are our maps for the journey. We review the lists and plan our shopping.
Shopping in downtown Lima means traffic. Hours and hours of traffic. Karina drives each day through vehicles squeezing into spaces smaller than they are, horns honking, stop signs ignored. She does it well; Francisco and I will never try.
We start with wheelchairs, my favorite purchase. We’ve found that a child who cannot walk and doesn’t have a wheelchair spends hours just lying on a bed or a couch. Once children grow too heavy for their mothers to lift, their life experiences are limited. A wheelchair gives mobility, a healthier, happier life. So anytime we hear of a child who needs a wheelchair, that moves to the top of our list.
We have requests for three wheelchairs, one small, one medium, one neurological (with extra support), and three walkers for toddlers. We buy them all, then also purchase a stander/walker for one of the schools to use in physical therapy.
We spend three more days in a marathon of driving, shopping, and online purchasing. We buy physical therapy equipment, toys and educational materials, a children’s play kitchen, a classroom swing, and other sensory materials for children with autism. We order an outdoor swing set with adaptive seats for one school and two lunchroom tables with attached benches, as well as a classroom table and chairs for another.
We pack – boxes and bags for each school, separated and labeled in Karina’s garage, three to ship by bus, two to take with us.
And then the real fun begins. I’ll write about it next time. Again I want to say, “Muchas gracias, Amigos!”
