Monday, November 9: Health Care and Economics of Peru

Visit to the Hogar San Francisco de Asis

Today our mission in understanding trip was devoted to understanding the health care system in Peru and the state of Peru's economy. After a lengthy bus ride through the traffic congestion to 30 miles in the outskirts of Lima in the town of Chaclacayo in the foothills of the Andes Mountains, we arrived at the Hogar San Francisco de Asís, funded by the Villa la Paz Foundation, a hospice for destitute and sick children.

 Villa la Paz translates into House of Peace. The founder, "Dr. Tony", was in the U.S. on a fund-raising mission for the hospice, so we were met by a lovely young woman from Iowa, named Liberty Wickman, a recent college graduate who is volunteering at the hospice.We were struck by her generosity, compassion, and sense of service as she explained the important work of the hospice and the volunteers who dedicate their time and talents to help the children. Liberty has an interesting blog titled Journey of a Nomad that chronicles her many travels. She has also authored a book, available through Amazon.com titled Feeding Elephants, Friends, and Parasites- The Journey of a Nomad.

Liberty Wickman

Handprints of the children who have stayed at the home

The founder of the Villa Paz Foundation and its hospice, Dr. Anthony Lazzara, is an evangelical pediatrician from Tampa, Florida.  He left an academic position at Emory University in 1983 to serve his church by attending to the poor children of the developing world. The home is called Hogar San Francisco de Asis (St. Francis of Assisi Home) and receives sick children whose parents cannot afford to buy them required medicines or treatments to restore them to health.  Although Peru provides health care, a major expense is the aftercare and many families from the rural areas cannot afford to stay in Lima while their children recuperate and purchase the needed medications. The children live in the home and receive all necessary medications, food, and other needs without charge. Many of the children are there for corrective surgeries such as cleft palate and other facial deformities, severe burns, club foot and other limb deformities as well as illnesses such as chronic diarrhea, malnutrition, tuberculosis and chronic respiratory diseases. There is a full complement of nursing staff to care for the children 24 hours a day as well as cooks, teachers, and other ancillary personnel.

We held babies, played with the toddlers, and made many new friends. What a powerfully moving experience, cuddling with William, playing with Melita, holding Maria. The language barriers disappear when you're looking into the eyes of a child. Please consider visiting their website as you decide on your charitable donations this year - all donations go directly to caring for the children. We were pleased to learn that People to People gave the hospice a $900 donation on behalf of our delegation while we were there. The foundation is a U.S. registered non-profit and donations are tax-deductable.

Holding and playing with the babies

A particularly poignant moment was when this older boy, with severe burns, was following us around as we played with the babies and toddlers. He wanted attention too. The Penas, who spoke fluent Spanish, chatted with this boy and soon they embraced in a big hug! Then Jim Ahern found a ball and they had a great time playing ball in the courtyard!

Some of the children were bed ridden with full leg casts. We went upstairs and read books, colored, and played with them. This little boy with two full leg casts was mesmerized by Joyce's iPhone!

It's unique experiences like this that People to People trips provide that turn us from tourists into travelers with opportunities to interact with sick and healthy, rich and poor, indigenous people and modern urbanites, students and teachers, and all kinds of people in this fascinating, diverse world.
After this heart warming experience and the satisfaction of knowing that our $900 donation will go directly to these children's care, we headed back toward Lima. As we passed through the town of Chaclacayo, we saw many small businesses including this one for the veterinarian in our group- Dr. Stacy Hare!

Lunch at the Jose Antonio Restaurant

After another long bus ride (seems things are really spread out in Lima) we arrived for lunch at the lovely Jose Antonio restaurant, looking forward to sampling more of the wonderful Peruvian cuisine! Not only is the Peruvian cuisine fabulous, we also noticed how Peruvians pay attention to the decor of their restaurants. The Jose Antonio restaurant is in a former hacienda, decorated in the authentic Peruvian colonial style with original artifacts scattered throughout the dining areas.

The Jose Antonio Restaurant

The lunch was delicious. Of course we started with the obligatory pisco sours! The salad was fabulous- it consisted of some type of molded Peruvian mashed potato with spices filled in the center with tuna salad, topped with chopped egg and accompanied with avocado slices. I am definitely going to try and duplicate this on my food blog! This time we got to try the classic Peruvian beef dish, lomo saltado. Lomo saltado is made with marinated strips of beef stir fried with onions, tomatoes, and spices and served with rice containing choclo, the extra large Peruvian corn kernels.

Exploring Seaside Lima on Our Own

After lunch, we had two options: stay and explore the Lima area around the hotel on our own where you could walk to the Inca markets, the park, or stroll along the coastline. Or, visit one of Lima's universities. Walking along the coastline in Lima, one comes upon the Parque del Amor (Lover's Park). Here you see a huge statue of two lovers embracing each other in the center of the park, and from what I heard from those who were there, several Peruvian couples were duplicating the statue in real life! The park is surrounded by lovely walls of mosaic tiles inscribed with romantic quotes. Parasailers flew in the background and one practically collided with David, Stacy, and Kyle when he misjudged his landing spot. Another one of the interesting sites was the "cat park." Kennedy Park, in the heart of the Miraflores district, is home to over 100 stray felines. No one is sure how they started populating the park but their numbers have grown over the years and some are left there as abandoned pets. They are cared for by an anonymous group of "guardian angels." They peacefully laze in the midday sun and seem to be more active at night.

Parque del Amor

Some of the cats in Kennedy Park

More views along the Lima coastline

Visit to Universidad Antonio Ruiz de Montoya

While some of us stayed at the hotel and explored Lima on our own, others went to visit a university in Lima. We arrived at the Universidad Antonio Ruiz de Montoya, a private Jesuit university in Lima with just under 1,000 students. They offer a wide range of graduate and undergraduate programs. As we gathered in the courtyard awaiting our host, we noticed this STEM poster. We also noticed the students looked like they could belong on any campus in the U.S. with their jeans, cell phones, and ear buds plugged in. Several were playing volleyball in a courtyard around the student center.

We were met by the new dean of the school of economics who had the look of a quintessential ultra-cool college professor. With his colleague who teaches sustainable tourism, we were led into a small lecture hall where he presented a powerpoint lecture on Peru's economy. After Brazil and Chile, Peru is the 3rd largest economy in South America and 39th in the world. Peru has made great strides over the last decade, reducing their deficit with conservative economic principles. Their main exports are minerals, textiles, agriculture, and fish meal as well as bringing in a lot of income through tourism. Their main trading partners are the U.S., China, European Union, Brazil, and Chile. They are strongly impacted by economic situations in the U.S and China, clearly part of a global economy.

Notice the Apple Mac Air!

After the lecture we had opportunities for Q&A and then headed back to our hotel for an evening on our own. Many explored the unique and famous gastronomical delights of Peru. Stacy and Kyle had the penultimate gastronomical experience. They went to IK Restaurante, one of the top 5 restaurants in Lima, and had the exquisite 12 course tasting menu which was a combination of gastronomy and art! Others tried different restaurants in the area. David and I enjoyed dinner at the Punta Azul, sharing an appetizer of fish wontons with ginger sauce, grilled octopus, risotto with yellow pepper cream and shrimp, and a seafood paella. One thing we noticed is that Peruvians tend to go to dinner at 8:00 or later. At 8:00, the restaurants fill up quickly; before that they are rather quiet. After dinner it was time to pack up and get ready for an early departure to Cuzco.

Stacy experiences the penultimate Peruvian cuisine!

Dinner at Punta Azul