Playground in Peru

ADRA staffer Annalise Fehlberg (pictured, centre) tells how a trip to South America helped alter her self-centred life view.

As I look at my family’s belongings, I recognise that although we aren’t rich, we do have a very comfortable life. I have a bedroom to myself; it’s filled with a warm bed and toys. Photos and memorabilia of good times surround me. Ours is a house with a room for every occasion. There’s so much food in the pantry and fridge. Whenever I’m the least bit hungry, I can fill myself without making a dent in it. Of course, there’s ample clean water that’s among the best in the world.

I know that I’m well off, because in 2002, I visited places that had none of these things and experienced life in the developing world.

It was an opportunity to make a difference in a place I never thought I’d go. Along with about 40 other young people from Australia, I volunteered to go to Lima, Peru, a place that we discovered was well outside our comfort zone.

I’d seen developing countries on television, and had seen the poverty in our world, but never experienced it. However, in Peru, as in many other countries, there’s a wide range of wealth, and in its outer suburbs, well away from the grandiose cathedrals and mansions, I discovered what it was really like.

The country’s roads were narrow and dark, the only light came from hotels and brothels. Along the roads, rubbish of all sorts filled the gutters and littered the patches of grass and gardens.

Our project, with ADRA, was to build a playground in the poorest suburb, part of a broader program conducted in the local streets, orphanages and schools. The playground site was the town’s former rubbish dump.

In this part of town people lived in one- and two-roomed houses, which included a kitchen, living area and sleeping area. Many of the houses stood with scaffolding on their roofs, a sign of the hope that one day the next generation would have enough money to extend them.

In Lima, it hardly ever rains. The water supply for this town is a once-a-day truck that fills communal tanks adjacent to the dump. Despite this lack of water in the dusty township, their clothes were always clean and bright.

The town’s people were grateful for our visit, and helped in any way they could. At the official opening of the park, the town’s people gave each of our team a small woven bag, a token of their appreciation. Knowing how little they had to give, the gifts were extra special.

But they gave us other gifts as well—learning about a new culture, seeing the grateful and happy faces every day as we arrived at the playground site, and appreciating what we had at home and not taking it for granted.

In my volunteer work at ADRA’s Sydney office, I learn from reports and pictures of other ADRA projects in many parts of the world. It’s a joy to see the smiling faces of others just as grateful for the work done by ADRA in their communities. I also get to see how even a small donation of time or money can make a big difference in a person’s life. It’s an incredible privilege.

More ADRA articles: