Wheelchairs, Our Neighborhood, and More Great Food

19 February 2017

Wheelchair Donations & Training Courses

Next week we receive a shipment of about 1,000 wheelchairs, which will be donated to the poor.  We work with a local partner - the INR (Instituto Nacional de Rehabilitacion) - to screen recipients, evaluate their needs, and fit the chairs to them.  This partnership has worked well for several years. We have donated more than 3,500 wheelchairs through INR over the past 5 years, previous to this current shipment.

Here is a shot of the main INR facility we visited this week. We went to INR to coordinate several evaluator and maintainer courses we will be presenting with INR as part of the wheelchair donation. These courses will be taught high in the Andes, out in the Amazon jungle, and along the coast. 

Instituto Nacional de Rehabilitacion (INR) - Our key partner for Wheelchair Donations. 

Thousands of disabled persons come to this facility every day for assistance. Unfortunately, 2/3 of Peruvians live outside of Lima and don't have access to these facilities.  Therefore, we are working with INR to take our wheelchair donations to remote regions outside of Lima where many of those with the most needs will now be able to leave their homes.

Meeting with INR this week was a huge accomplishment because we confirmed commitments that 8 INR evaluators and 45 participants in three cities would be ready in time for the training courses.  In addition, we spent time this week out in the city putting together tool kit quotes to purchase the 45 tool kits for the course participants. More to come on this next month.

This is one of the three models of wheelchairs we provide.  Of the other two, one is suitable for use in an office, and the other, the 'rough rider', is for use on dirt roads found throughout the countryside.

Our Neighborhood

We finally got settled this week into our new apartment (we were in temporary housing at our temple apartments until this week). Our new apartment is on the 3rd floor and has three bedrooms, a nice kitchen, and a large common area. We are living in the La Molina suburb of Lima, a nice and and fairly secure neighborhood.

Here is a shot across the street from our front entry.  Note the similar house designs in this suburb. They each have tiny gated parking areas and a main floor (where the owner usually lives), along with upper floors for the apartments (each apartment consumes the entire floor). Entry to all of these is through locked gates. Most places have electric wires or barricades above the entry to keep out burglars.

View from our Apartment in La Molina suburb

This second shot is from our entry also, but shows a few other interesting things. Note the dog living on the neighbor's roof.  This is quite common in South America.  It is strange to be walking down the street and have a dog barking at you from overhead.

Our neighborhood in La Molina - note the dog on the roof, the guard shack, and the 'Pare' sign (which somehow doesn't mean 'stop')

Also, note the little guard shack near the intersection.  Most streets in this neighborhood have guards 24-hours/day that watch over the homes in the street.  They are called 'vigilantes' here in Peru, and they serve as eyes and ears to keep the area safe.  They collect about $5/month from each apartment dweller.

Finally, note the stop sign (called 'Pare'). Throughout Peru we have been amused to note that 'Pare' must mean something like 'slow down just a little'.  We NEVER cross a street with a Pare sign if there is a car coming because they always breeze right on through.

Chinese Restaurants in Peru? ('Chifas')

Due to the huge number of Chinese immigrants who came here over the past century, Chinese food has become part of Peruvian cuisine. In Peru, they call Chinese restaurants 'Chifas', and they are found everywhere.  There are over 6,000 Chifas in Lima alone. Within a 5-minute walk of our apartment are about 10 Chifas.

Chinese 'Chifa' restaurant near our apartment - one of about 10 nearby.

The food in the Chifas is superb and is an interesting fusion of Chinese and Peruvian flavors. Best of all, Chifas offer a good restaurant meal at super-cheap prices.  Shown below is a typical Chifa menu. Main items are chaufa (fried rice), plus beef, chicken, and noodle dishes. Divide the prices shown here by 3 (which is the exchange rate) and you will see that you can get a nice sitdown restaurant meal (including soup and a drink) for $3 to $4. Incredible!

Great food and super-cheap prices at the local Chifa restaurant (divide the prices by 3 to get the equivalent cost in US dollars). This is one of about 10 in our neighborhood out of the estimated 6,000 total in Lima.

Peruvian Stuffed Potatoes - 'Papas Rellenas'

One of our favorite foods here is the Peruvian stuffed potato - called 'Papas Rellenas'. One small restaurant down the street sells only papas rellenas and nothing else. They start with any number of tasty meat fillings, wrap mashed potatoes round the filling, then deep-fat fry the whole thing. They are soooo tasty, we could eat them every day!

Papas Rellenas (stuffed potatoes) - spicy chicken (L) and beef (R)

Chicha Morada - Drink of Peru

The national drink of Peru is called 'Chicha Morada' and is available almost everywhere. It is made with the purple corn (maiz morada) that is available, again, almost everywhere.  Giant supermarkets to little corner stores, everyplace sells the purple corn that is the main ingredient in the drink.

Purple corn available at any store to make Chicha Morada

Making the drink is an easy process.  You just throw some ears of purple corn into a pot, along with some pineapple rinds, apples, cinnamon stick, and cloves, then boil it for 10 minutes, and you have a very tasty and healthy drink.

Chicha Morada. Just throw in purple corn, pineapple rinds, apples, cinnamon, and cloves, then boil for 10 minutes.

The actual Chicha Morada drink is a very dark purple, very fruity tasting, and is available in most restaurants, shops, and convenient stores all around Peru.  Here is a photo showing what the final dark-purple product looks like. Delicious and so refreshing!

Chicha Morada - Purple corn drink found all over Peru

So it is back to the Area office for us tomorrow as we make a mad rush to finish all the many tasks required to complete the wheelchair project.  This is an exciting but sometimes exhausting experience!