‘Building bricks for a safe haven’

Posted Aug 19, 13:48

© Elyse M Kuriata

‘Good News’ is delighted to be able to publish the following article by Elyse M Kuriata. Elyse is a journalism student from the United States who has been spending her summer months in the UK as part of her studies.

This feature article is rather longer that our usual stories, but I know that readers will find it interesting. Elyse spoke to a number of people from Edinburgh’s Barclay Church prior to a trip to Peru undertaken under the auspices of the Vine Trust (www.vinetrust.org). – Ed.

Playing in the mud might not seem like the best way to protect a child from disease, hunger and violence but for the Barclay Church of Edinburgh, it’s the first step in a line of defense against poverty.

On July 16, a work team of 26 volunteers from the church will travel to Peru to help build a street children’s center. The volunteer team will work with the Vine Trust, a Scottish charity, to mix mud for brick making, strip bamboo, and wheelbarrow other useful materials around a building site that will one day become a safe haven for neglected boys living on the streets.
“It is hoped that this new center can prevent some of the child migrants from reaching the cities where they inevitably end up homeless, hungry, sexually abused, and exploited,” Mairi Fraser, the Barclay Church work team leader said.

Thousands of children, some as young as four, are estimated to live on the streets of Lima, Peru’s capital city. Many of the street children are boys seeking employment who have left their countryside homes because there isn’t enough food or money to support the family, according to the Vine Trust.

“Mothers don’t want to let the daughters go, and they feel like the boys would be more able to fend for themselves – so they get dumped,” Elaine Hogan, a Barclay Church work team volunteer said.

Although they come to the city searching for a better life, many of the street boys find themselves exposed to a variety of dangers including poor health and sexual exploitation. Fraser, who has also participated in previous Vine Trust work team projects, explained the condition of some of the boys she has seen during her past trips.

“When they first arrive at the home, they are hardened from their life on the streets, many of them selling themselves for a plate of food,” Fraser said. “They learn to trust no one.”

In a country where over 20 percent of the population is living in what has been termed “extreme poverty,” street centers provide a multifaceted approach to equipping street boys with the tools they need to survive, according to the Vine Trust. Hogan said that the street centers do more than just remove the boys from the streets.

“There are building workshops for the boys to learn skills so that they can then go on and get proper jobs,” Hogan said. “It takes them off the streets so they aren’t going to get beaten up – or worse.”

In addition to building street centers, the Vine Trust also works to alleviate poverty in Peru through a medical project that aims to provide health care for up to 100,000 people and also through micro enterprise opportunities. Both ventures are made possible through a partnership with Scripture Union Peru, an interdenominational voluntary organization.

Barclay Church was initially introduced to the impoverished condition of life in Peru through William McPherson, a former associate pastor of the church, who worked with Scripture Union Peru. McPherson later went on to work with the Vine Trust and spoke at Barclay Church about the program, Hogan said.
“We’ve known about it for years, but this is the first time that we’ve managed to send a big group,” Hogan said.

Planning for the Barclay Church work team trip began over two years ago and was delayed a year before fully getting underway. The extra time to plan for the trip proved to work in the group’s favor because it gave the team more time to gather additional volunteers and raise more funds, Hogan said.

The work team is made up of volunteers of a variety of ages that range from 16 to 60, said Hogan. This mix of people mostly includes members of the church congregation but also includes three volunteers from the churches after school care facilities.
“It’s a good way of bringing the community and church together,” Hogan said.

To participate in the two and a half week trip, the Barclay Church work team had to raise ₤1,500 per person. This money will go directly toward covering the costs to build the street centers for boys. Hogan explained some of the difficulties the work team initially had in raising funds.

“There’s a problem with having so many people in one area trying to fundraise using the same people,” Hogan said. “You don’t want to keep asking the same people for money, so some people did other things with their work and their colleagues instead.”

Creative fundraisers and church projects helped to cover some of the costs of the trip. Hogan and her daughter, Sarah, helped to plan several ceilidhs to support the work trip. The church also compiled and sold a cook book to raise additional funds. Some work team volunteers even ran marathons and took on weight loss challenges to support to trip. Before departing, the church was able to raise £14,000 to help pay for the trip.

Sarah Hogan, 16 and the youngest on the trip, said that she is most looking forward to seeing how poverty affects different people while in Peru. Although most of the Vine Trust’s work trips do not allow volunteers under the age of 18, Sarah was able to get into the work trip program because her whole family will be going on the trip, as well. While it isn’t her first time outside of the U.K., Sarah said that she is eager to leave.

“I’ve been packing for nearly two weeks,” Sarah said.
Also anxious for the trip is Fraser, who will be able to see the progress that has been made since her last visit to Peru. “I am looking forward to seeing the difference in the kids I have previously met,” said Fraser. “They are walking proof of the good work being done.”

The Barclay Church work team will spend time visiting and working in Lima, Cusco, and Kusi while on their trip and will return August 1.

source-Good News

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