Patience and maracuya

Just when I think I’ve had it, something happens to change my perspective into “you can do this”. Today I had a quiet conversation with my host mom during breakfast. I’ve been frustrated and angry with her over the pace of fixing up my new living space but I also have a lot of respect for her. She is a smart, strong woman with a long history of community activism. Today was her turn to prepare food for Vaso de Leche (glass of milk). My host mom is raising her 18 month old grandson and 3 granddaughters. She’s been aggravated because Vaso de Leche hasn’t worked for several days when someone shirked their duties and didn’t find a replacement.

Vaso de Leche is a government sponsored nutrition program for small children organized neighborhood by neighborhood. The program serves children years old and younger. Every day, one of the mothers on my street prepares a huge pot of Quacker (oatmeal porridge) with milk and sugar. Families with small children come with their pots to receive one cup for every small child in their house. The government gives supplies for oatmeal with water one day and a cup of milk on the alternative day. Since most people don’t like Quacker with water (really nasty) the mothers purchase milk to add if they have the money (about 80 cents US) but a can of evaporated milk is very expensive for most families. This is often the only milk a child gets in a day especially now in the season when fish are scarce and the fishermen only have work a day or two per week. Today, the big pot of Quacker was on my front porch.

Then I went to the health clinic for a long conversation with one of the male midwives about the possibilities for my work here. He talked about the steadily growing change in women’s awareness of their rights and their ability to seek work outside the home. This guy clearly loves his work, moonlights for extra income and is studying accounting so he can change to a field where he can better support his family. He also delighted me by recognizing what a massive life change it is for me to live here, awareness rarely expressed. And I was pleased to realize that this was a fluid conversation while a month ago I barely understood him.
Inevitably the discussion led to the talk about foreign (US) companies extracting petroleum from the ocean here but employing and training only a handful of local people. The oil company currently preparing to drill here has been holding town meetings that are well attended and boisterous. They give things to the community and fund some good works as part of a public relations effort however that has not diminished concerns.

I returned home midday to see that the carpenter and cement guy were busy working on the repairs for the tiny house I’ll be moving into when it’s ready (on Peruvian time). In the front yard of my house, the littlest boys were comparing their penises (some things are universal). Lunch was waiting with my favorite fresh juice, maracuya. I napped in the midday heat and bathed in about 2 quarts of water.
Later in the evening I went to a big community meeting with representatives of the oil company, representatives of the government department of mining and petroleum department, the oil company manager doing his PR job with about 200 people from the community.

The discussions were lengthy and intense as the fishermen expressed fear for their industry through disruption of the currents, damage to the fishing beds and the potential for an oil spill. The over 1000 fishermen are the town’s economic base as well as bringing in the main protein source for the area. The local construction workers are trying to get an agreement that will bring more employment. And a young woman mayor of a nearby town spoke passionately about the threat to the fishing industry in her area as well as the potential damage to a major ecological area, Manglares. The Manglares is a unique mangrove forest in a lagoon that is home to many migrating birds as well as shellfish.

In the midst of this meeting I had the sense of watching the David’s of La Cruz face off with the Goliath of the oil company while my role is to be a US representative of peace and friendship.