San Juan

Went back to Villa Maria and met some of the kids again this week. Great to see them all again and they seemed happy to see me. They are such a friendly lot, and got lots of hugs from them.

I will be going there twice a week this time round but I will be going out with Pedro to work in a new location in San Juan. However will still be able to spend a short time with the kids of Villa Maria.

INABIF have started a new project in San Juan, which is another poor district near to Villa Maria. Poverty you learn is relative. The kids here seem poorer. They are smaller and less physically developed, at least the ones I've met so far. We will work in a place called Ciudad de Dios.

A lot of children have to work with their parents, usually their mothers, who work in the market in San Juan. It's mostly an open air market where everyting imaginable is for sale. Fruit, vegetables, meat, cds, dvds, clothes, clothes, shoes, household stuff, tvs, phones, carbon (coal) and lots more.

It's not the kind of place that I would be able to visit were it not for being with Pedro. Not really safe for a foreigner like myself to be there all alone. Of course I never see any such. But funnily enough I feel quite safe, and enjoy the adrenalin rush. It's quite bracing, though not in the same way as Skegness is bracing. For those of you who may be reading this and were with me in the 80s at all these SWP Easter rallies we used to enjoy. There's at least one or two of you around still.

INABIF have managed to find a room in a school in San Juan, which we have for our use with the kids. I've only been out the once so far but will be going every Tuesday and Thursday afternoon for 4 hours.

The work involves walking round the market with Pedro and looking for the kids. Pedro has worked here for a while so knows quite a few of them. Not all of them come everytime. They have lots of distractions and work to do.

On my first visit we ended up with 5 kids to take back to the centre. It's a bit odd walking around there with a bunch of kids in tow, but I'm welcomed by all the mums I've met so far. They seem to appreciate what Pedro and co are trying to do. And the kids are great, but more on that another time.