This is the first of several “School Builder’s Newsletters” that will update you on the school project we are all helping to build near Iquitos, Peru.
As a contributor to the school building project you need to know the donations received have been beyond expectations. We are three months ahead of schedule with the fund raising plan. Your support has been tremendous! A full report is listed later in this newsletter.
We have delayed the first edition of this newsletter because things have been moving so fast. It seems every few days something new happens we would like to include. We couldnąt wait any longer, so we wanted to bring you up to speed on what has happened so far. At this rate we will have plenty of material for the next issue.
Lon has traveled to various parts of Peru nine times in the past five years. He got to know many people in different regions of the country. When his local Christ Lutheran Church was looking for a mission project, the idea of helping in Peru was discussed. Lon asked several of his friends in Peru about possible projects. Many ideas were submitted. One of the best ideas was by Fredy Rodriguez who is a school administrator in Iquitos Peru. Lon knows Fredy because his daughter Vioricka was a guide last year for the PAC Tour boat and bicycle tour across Peru. Fredy met the PAC Tour group and helped organize some of the transportation for the cyclists. He was an efficient and hard worker. Fredy and Lon became friends during the days they worked together.
Fredy has many contacts with the government and area school districts. He had an idea to build a school on the outskirts of the city of Iquitos in an area that is not serviced by any schools. Iquitos is an old rubber plantation town that has seen extreme wealth and poverty in the past 100 years. The city has grown from 50,000 people to 400,000 people in recent years. Most of these people live in the sprawl of huts and simple homes at the edges of town. The city expanded into the jungle and riverbanks that surround the area. Iquitos is enclosed on three sides by the rivers; Amazon, Nanay and Itaya. There is only one side of town open for expansions and that is where the recent growth is happening.
The area that Fredy suggested for a school is in the District of San Juan. It is known as the Village of Dolphins located nine kilometers from the center of Iquitos. For perspective, the modern airport is five kilometers from downtown. Everything beyond the airport is very rural and without public services like fresh water or much electricity. The Village of Dolphins (also known at Kilometer #9) is a settlement of houses with palm leaf roofs and wood plank walls. There are 350 children in this settlement of maybe 1,500 people. They are too far away to commute to the schools in Iquitos. A few can afford to take the commuter bus into town to schools but most of the children do not go to formal school.
During January of 2004 Fredy contacted the government for the Village of the Dolphins. Before any school project could occur we needed the cooperation of the village. The people were excited about the possibilities of the schools. They designated a parcel of land for the school. Government architects were consulted and they made plans for the building. Local teams of craftsmen and workers were formed to build the school. The cost for the school was originally estimated at $10,000. After the architect submitted the final school plans the cost was calculated at $11,300. If there was any extra money the plan was to dig a fresh water well for the school. The cost for the well and generator would be about $3,000.
The region does not have much of a tax base for schools. The children pay $5-$7 tuition per month. A teacher is paid $100 - $200 per month. The new school in the Village of the Dolphins will support six or eight teachers. Any extra money is used for building maintenance and supplies.
In less than ten weeks from March 1st to May 10th over $12,000 had been raised from donations to the school fund.
Can you believe it!
$12,000 has been raised!
We were overwhelmed by the response from people across the country who contributed to the project. That means we have exceeded our goal of $11,300 needed to build the school.
Now that we are sure the school can be build we have begun to finalized plans for the ‘School Builder’s Tour”. A meeting for interested people was held at Lon’s house on May 6th. Travel plans, work duties and cost for the tour were discussed. It looks like the price for the tour will be $500 per person not including airfare to Lima, Peru. See the enclosed budget sheet and travel dates on the attached pages. So far there are 10-15 people who plan to attend this tour. This tour is open to people from across the country if you know of someone who would like to join.
Plans for any extra money beyond the school building were going to be put toward a water well being dug for the school and town. We thought this was a reasonable project to take on for next year 2005.
Recently this project became more urgent when Fredy sent me the following message about a catastrophe in the Village of the Dolphins. Evidently many children became sick when they bathed in contaminated water infected with LEPTOSPIROSIS. The disease was contacted by swimming in water near the pens of infected hogs. Five of the children died and thirty others are critically ill. Many houses rely on rainwater collected near open sewer ditches. Obtaining fresh water is a problem. We hope to be able to dig the new well this year so the village has a clean source of water.
HELLO DEAR LON: MAY 9, 2004
THE SCHOOL IS IMPORTANT AND THE HEALTH OF THE CHILDREN IS IMPORTANT TOO. THE CHILDREN ARE INFECTED WITH A PARASITE OF THE HOG WHICH CAUSES THE FEVER. THE PARASITE GOES TO THE STOMACH AND CAUSES A FEVER AND THEN GOES TO THE BRAIN. THIS IS WHEN PERSON PASSES AWAY (DIES).
THE FIVE CHILDREN THAT DIED WAS FROM THIS PARASITE. THE PIPE FOR THE CLEAN RAIN WATER WAS BROKEN AND CONTAMINATED. THE CHILDREN TOOK A BATH IN WATER THAT SPILLED FROM THE PIPE THAT CAME FROM THE DRAIN OF THE EXCREMENT OF THE HOGS. THE CHILDREN WENT THERE TO BE BATHED. NOW THIS AREA IS CLOSED TO PREVENT MORE CHILDREN FROM GOING THERE.
I HOPE LON YOU CAN SEND ME WHAT YOU CAN FOR THE HELP WITH THE MEDICINE. THIS IS A SERIOUS PROBLEM AND THEY NEED AID FOR THEM, WHAT EVER YOU CAN GIVE.
GRACIAS FREDY
We are trying to find out what is needed for medicine and treatment for the parasite. Hopefully the infected children will survive with the proper medicine.
We will proceed in trying to dig a new well for the village. Fredy is sending us some photos of the village and water supply problems for the next newsletter.
The people in the Village of the Dolphins are very thankful about a school being built in the town. They will be providing much of the labor needed and they are ready to start working. Thank you again for helping making so much progress with this project. We will keep you posted about more developments in the next School Builderąs Newsletter this summer.