JULY 2009

As we reach the middle of the year we take the opportunity once again to make contact with all our supporters of The Shared Table. We hope these blogspots are a way of both informing you and enabling us to express our gratitude for the ongoing generosity of so many people.

In this blogspot we have included a bit of news on the Valley of Jicamarca, enabling you to gain some idea of this expansive settlement in which the Parish has fourteen communities, with others beginning to develop. Recently we opened a new Children's Kitchen in Pedregal Alto, the sector which Marion and Luke Guthrie and friends from Mildura have supported so well. We are in the process of establishing another Kitchen in the community of Santa Rosa - like most, a settlement with a large number of very young families beginning to establish their lives there.

For the past 12 months, I have been living up in Jicamarca, away from the parish house. As more and more roads are paved, more public transport is entering the area, thus enabling people to take up permanent residence. The arrival of electricity has also had its impact. This area which is now home to about 40,000 people will probably be three times that amount in the next five to ten years. The people feel very happy to know that they are supported in their struggle to begin a new life. On their behalf, once again, I say thank you.

Michael McKinnon
3rd of July 2009

Pedregal Alto

Officially opening the Children's Kitchen in Pedregal Alto, Monday 20th of April 2009.

Lunch time in full swing.

Washing hands before lunch - a very basic rule of the Children's Kitchen.

VEGETABLE GARDEN - CANGALLO

The Vegetable Garden, or Biohuerto as it is referred to here, continues to produce copious amounts of vegetables which supply a number of our Children's Kitchen. Andrés, who worked so hard in 2006 and 2007 to construct the terraces, continues to work a couple of days a week in the garden, watering and replenishing soil and fertilizer when necessary. His consistent presence acts as an incentive for the women of Cangallo.

A reminder of earlier days, when the area which is now the Vegetable Garden (Biohuerto) was no more than rocks and rubbish.

A great transformation, and a haven for the women who come to work here.

Señora Trinidad, the coordinator of the community of Cangallo, is a very dedicated and loyal worker in the Vegetable Garden.

Preparing the ground for transplanting tomato seedlings. Tomatoes grow all year round in Lima.

Carting bags of soil to replenish some of the terraces.

Andrés, who is responsible for the construction of the terraces, proudly checks a very successful crop of basil.

THE NUTRITION WORKSHOP

As part of the Baking Workshop, now almost one year in operation, the Parish Pastoral Team recently organised a four week nutrition workshop for coordinators of the various Children's Kitchens. An important focus was on the use of traditional Andean produce - grains and cereals high in minerals, vitamins and proteins. Meat, and now even chicken, are quite expensive, so alternative ways of producing balanced diets is an important challenge for the women of the Kitchens.

Nancy, with her child on her back in typical Peruvian style, prepare their food for display.

Señora Maria, the coordinator of the Workshop, displays a variety of grains and cereals from the Andes and other part of Peru that provide a wonderful basis for healthy eating and drinking, as evidenced in some of the produce which accompanies the display.

Catherin proudly displays her cooking along with the others of her team. Their particular focus has been on the use of quinua in food preparation. Quinua is an Andean cereal extremely high in protein, possessing other properties as well. It proves a very important ingredient in the Kitchens, ensuring extremely nutritious meals for the children.

Meanwhile, back in the Baking Workshop, Pies de Manzana (Apple Pies) and Empanadas (Meat Pasties) are left to cool before being packed and taken to the local market to sell. The quality of production is improving as the women continue to take part in the Workshop, increasing their talents and skills. We would like to once again thank the Terang Branch of the Knights of the Southern Cross for their assistance in launching this project.

THE VALLEY OF JICAMARCA

In the past two years the Valley of Jicamarca has seen enormous development. Many of the main roads have now been paved, and electric power is beginning to reach more and more areas. This has meant an ever increasing influx of people either moving onto their properties to live full time, or buying blocks of land to begin the long process of establishing a home. We now have fourteen chapel communities established, eight of which have only begun in the last three years. The Shared Table project operates in four of these communities, with a fifth in the early stages of been organised.

A recently paved road stretches high up into the foothills of the Andes, opening the way for many new families in search for a better life.

One of many groups of women who participate in workshops organised through the Parish Social Outreach Team. These workshops offer, especially to the women of the valley, a chance to interact socially and to improve their skills, producing items that they can sell in the local markets.
A view of part of the Valley of Jicamarca which extends for around 10 kilometers and is home to some 40,000 families, with more on the way.

Simple prefabricated houses, 3mts by 6mts or 3 by 3, line the road up the valley at different points, indicating the numbers of families beginning to move into the area.

The first stage of building is with asteras (reed matting). Many families spend their first couple of years in such humble abodes, whilst some erect them so as to take possession of their land, living in them on weekends whilst saving money to move onto the next stage of building.


The second stage of building is sometimes a prefab house, or more often something put together from the wood of packing cases (above), using the same nails from the original case itself.

Moving into the final stage of building, normally after a number of years. It will also be a number of years before this house is ever completed - maybe twenty or more. Interestingly, nobody ever seems to steal the bricks from others' building sites.

Thanks you to all our friends who support us through The Shared Table.