Venezuelan Refugee Crisis, Fundet Training, and Street Dance Celebration

18 March 2018

Venezuelan Refugees

Peru has recently experienced a flood of refugees coming into the country from Venezuela. We have all felt the affects here as Peru extends the hand of friendship to their neighbors to the north by welcoming those most in need. More than 300,000 Venezuelan refugees have come into Peru, half of which have come in over the past 4 months.

Venezuela should be the richest country in South America. It has the world's largest reserves of petroleum (more than Saudi Arabia). It has mining and forests and other resources that give it advantages over almost every other place on the globe. But, political mismanagement, corruption, and dictators have turned this country into a sad place from which millions are fleeing.

Starvation and astronomical inflation are leading to a collapse of the entire country. Unfortunately, the dictatorial government will not allow most aid into the country because doing so would admit there are problems. A doctor in a Venezuelan hospital accepted some foreign aid (they were completely out of medicine). When the government found out, the doctor was fired. He was lucky he didn't end up in jail.

Refugees fleeing Venezuela are moving in record numbers to Colombia, Brazil, Ecuador, and Peru. It takes 6 days by bus to reach Peru from Venezuela, for those with enough funds to buy the bus ticket.

Food and medicines are scarce in Venezuela. (Surgeries are being performed without anesthesia.) We have met Venezuelans arriving in Peru who look half starved - and these are the ones who were lucky enough to make it out. One man that came for help into our office was so thin his belt wrapped all the way around him to the middle of his back.

Venezuelans that make their way to Peru are given visas that allow them to work. Countless Venezuelans are now driving taxis and working in stores, and all are incredibly grateful to be here.

Photo of the lines of Venezuelans that form outside government offices to get entry visas. It took us 5-1/2 months to get our own visas when we got here due to the incredible number of Venezuelans ahead of us in the process. The number of refugees has only increased since we came.

LDS Charities is helping in all legal ways possible. The government does allow limited help from the Red Cross, so humanitarian funds are being channeled in that direction. Also, small amounts of medicine can be legally carried across the border, so church members in neighboring countries have volunteered to help transport what we ship to them. This is critical in saving lives in cases where people would die without medications (example - insulin dependent diabetes).

Each Sunday in our church meetings, they introduce a handful of new refugees (members of our church) who arrived that week from Venezuela.

There are no refugee camps here - Venezuelans arrive and go to work. But they arrive with just the clothes on their backs and little else. Many of the senior missionaries here have helped out with food donations to feed the recent arrivals until their first paycheck arrives.

This is a very sad situation that promises to end poorly in Venezuela. All we can do is lend a hand to those who make it out of the country and into Peru.

Fundet - Changing Lives through Education

This week we spent time at Fundet, a career center that changes lives by providing free training to help young adults move forward with better jobs to support their lives and families.

Students attend completely for free at Fundet campuses in 6 Latin American countries. Over 15,000 students have graduated from their programs over the past 10 years (most of the students are members of our church or returned missionaries, although that is not a firm requirement for entry). About 150 students are at the Peru campus at any given time. Right now, 50 are from Venezuela.

Several students told of their lives before Fundet. One sold fruit out of a cart on the street, others were unemployed with no education. Many have families who will now benefit once they graduate and have a decent job.

In our humanitarian office, we have helped Fundet with donations of computers and other items that assist in their training programs.

Computer class at Fundet using computers we donated. These students will graduate and get better jobs to support their families. All education is free at Fundet.

Certificate programs are offered in accounting, logistics, appliance repair, auto-CAD, and other subjects. More than 90 percent of the students are placed in jobs within the first 3 months after graduating.

Students demonstrating their training in refrigeration and air conditioning.

Microwave oven repair is a key component in the appliance technician course.

Fundet is one of the most inspiring NGOs we have ever encountered. They are a private foundation completely funded by anonymous donors. Their goal is to reduce poverty and lift lives through education.

This world would be a very different place if everyone extended their hand in the same way as the founders of Fundet. Not all of us have financial resources to help like Fundet, but we can all help in some way. Needs exist all around us to help lift those in need.

Photo of one of last year's graduating classes from Fundet's Lima campus.

Celebration - Plaza Mayor in Central Lima

On Saturday, our day off, we returned to central Lima. It seems there are often cultural events taking place, and we were pleasantly surprised by a dance celebration around Plaza Mayor. Teams of dancers performed typical regional dances found throughout Peru.

It's always a joy to watch young Peruvians celebrating their rich cultural heritage.

Regional costumes are part of every dance festival here in Peru.

The 'Marinera' is the most traditional dance from northern Peru.

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Kids learn the 'Marinera' from a very young age.

Celebrating the many jungle cultures from the Amazon region.

Traditional dance with bells and ribbons from the Andes Mountain region of Huanuco.

Beautiful costumes from the dances of Arequipa.

The crowd and the dancers alike - caught up in the celebration.

Countless hours of practice go into these performances.

As we travel around Lima, we often see groups of youths and young adults practicing dances in parks and parking lots for these regional cultural celebrations. These are events celebrated first and foremost by and for Peruvians (rather than for tourists). Maintaining their culture is extremely important to Peruvians.

Central Lima Sites - Lima Cathedral, Palace of the Archbishop, and more 

After the dance celebration, we visited other buildings in central Lima. The Lima Cathedral, located on the Plaza Mayor, is a massive church, rivaling any that we have visited in Spain. Right next door is the Palace of the Archbishop, now a museum.

Lima Cathedral (right) and Palace of the Archbishop (left), centerpieces of downtown Lima architecture.

Massive interior of the Lima Cathedral, largest Catholic church in Peru.

Ornate side chapel inside the Lima Cathedral.

The greatest craftsmen from throughout Spain were brought to Lima for this project. Construction continued over several centuries.

Crypts under the Lima Cathedral contain the remains of many thousands who were buried under the church in the days before cemeteries. These skulls are displayed in one section of the crypt. The remains of Francisco Pizarro, conquistador of Peru, were also recently found in the crypt and have now been moved upstairs to a special chapel.

The Palace of the Archbishop next to the cathedral has been a museum for almost 90 years (the archbishop of Lima moved into a more modern home long ago). The palace is a beautiful place with remarkable flowing staircases - truly a gem of architectural design.

Entry stairs to the Palace of the Archbishop.

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Truly an impressive building, but not the most practical home for modern living. It makes a good museum showing life in a bygone era.

Not far from Plaza Mayor are other amazing buildings. Walking around central Lima is always an adventure in discovering what treasures lie behind gated entryways. Guards seem to always let us in to satisfy our curiosity.

Our latest discovery downtown - the former home of a Marquis, built in 1739. Today it is used by the Peruvian government External Affairs department.

Former home of a wealthy Lima resident - now a restaurant.

Every time we come to central Lima, we discover something new.

We always feel safe in downtown Lima, given the significant police presence. Most of the police are equipped with riot gear, just in case.

Police with riot gear at Plaza Mayor - a common sight in the downtown.

The local Lima police seem friendly enough, even with their riot gear.

Strange Lima

Street performers abound in central Lima on pedestrian thoroughfares. This week we saw something very unusual - a man with his performing rats. They were trained to lay still or climb on him or return to the black mat. Spectators were a little horrified to see these rats, but they were well trained, and the man received lots of coins from onlookers.

Trained rats and the street performer - one of the strangest acts I have ever seen.

Letting the rats crawl over him or lay on their backs and then return to position was part of the routine.

Ah, anything is possible in Lima!

Tasty treat - Tres Leches Cake

A favorite desert in Lima is 'Tres Leches' cake (three milks: cream, condensed milk, and evaporated milk). Sometimes we find it in the stores with a passion fruit (maracuya) glaze - that is the best. We usually buy just slices of the cake because, although it is delicious, it is very calorie dense. This time, however, we bought the whole cake, and it took 2 weeks to finish. It was so delicious, but our sides are still hurting just thinking about how rich this was to eat. Here is a shot of this yummy cake.

Tres Leches Cake with Maracuya (passion fruit) Glaze - our favorite Peruvian desert.

So we prepare for another big week of travel, this time by bus to the cities of Chincha and Ica on the southern coast for wheelchair deliveries and user interviews. This is our first long-distance bus travel in Peru (no airport service into these areas), so this will be a new adventure for us. We hope all goes well.