Cusco Flood Relief

Yesterday we were moved again to remember that the township of Lucre, Peru was devastated in the recent foods some 4 weeks ago. Their houses are full of mud and their belongings are not to be found.

Because Lucre is off the road and out of site of the other camps, it’s bodega is very empty with hardly any supplies of dried goods, clothes and foods.

After receiving some wonderful donations via friends and the internet, I went into town to get some money off of some credit cards.  The bank was very generous and let me pull out more than usual but it was “the no hassle” Capitol One card that gave me the run around for over 2 hours.

Finally we got our money and bought 100 blankets and foam mattresses.  We negotiated for over an hour to get the best prices and the best quality.  I would not let them sleep on 2 1/2 ” foam.  It had to be the 5.5 inch foam as they would probably fit 3 kids on each mattress.

It was nice to be able to pay for it all at once.  Tomorrow they come in a truck to pick up the mattresses and take them back to Lucre where they will distribute them.

I then remembered what the kitchen in Lucre looked like.  No roof and no sides and no tables and chairs. I suggested that we get a roof for the kitchen straight away. We stopped at a ferreteria and bought 16 panels for the roof.

We then went to the big market on the way out of town that had better prices and bought lots of dried goods, veggies and fruits.
There was carnival and I got covered in white foam spray by the locals.
There were parades and dances and everyone wore wonderful costumes.

We finished up shopping and Giovanna and her crew took their truckload back to Lucre and I took a taxi home.  A very full and tiring day but a very happy one.

Over 200 people will soon be able to sleep comfortably.

Our next purchase tomorrow will be more blankets to go on the mattresses to act as sheets…they have no sheets.  We will also buy plastic to go over their tents and under their tents as it is still raining every day and the water is seeping into their tents and soaking them. We will also buy another load of food for Huacarpay and find out how much plastic they will need to cover their tents.  We are making headway with simple comforts.  Want to buy them a lot of vitamin C tomorrow too to hold off colds.

Thank you again for helping these wonderful people.  They are blown away with what we have done in just a few weeks.  Love and Peace, Lisa, Sunday and Pilar