On 23rd September 2024, Pisco Sin Fronteras helped a massive 95 families by giving away free wood donated to the organisation by the steel company Aceros Arequipa. The wood given away was wood unsuitable for making modular houses and furniture with, as they were too short, had too many cracks in them or were not the right shape. All in all nearly one thousand pieces of wood, collected from Aceros Arequipa the previous day and also from a reorganisation of the PSF wood yard, were given away in just two short hours. This is how it went down:

At 9am, after the morning meeting our team of seven headed to the vacant corner lot that we had arranged to host the event, to clear out the bits of rubbish, rocks and sadly for me, dog poo! We then headed to the wood yard with TBC, PSF's director and the truck to start loading up wood. we also had our trusty trike, that could also transport about forty pieces of wood at a time. After loading the truck up we headed back to the lot, where people had already started queueing up. We unloaded the truck and started sorting the wood into roughly equal piles of ten pieces. We then took another two trips before the truck was needed at other projects. We had roughly thirty piles ready by 10 o'clock, when we were ready to start.

We brought the "Madera gratis" sign to the lot, where it could be seen by passing traffic and set up a table and chair where Martin, our 18 year old Peruvian volunteer could sit and take down the peoples' name, I.D number and the purpose of their wood collection. We brought out three wheelbarrows with which the volunteers helped the pisqueñans deliver wood to their houses and got started. At first we got off to a flying start, however about fifteen minutes in it appeared we started a little too fast and confusion started to set in as a dozen or so Peruvians were all reorganising their wood, taking it to the waiting moto-taxis or loading it onto the wheelbarrows, making it difficult to tell which wood was taken and which not. Because of this we took a quick break and started to ferry more wood over to the lot using the trike. When we returned the chaos had ended, all of the wood had been safely delivered and we were ready to start again.

The next half hour or so was a little stop-start as we kept running out of wood and had to keep re-stocking, until about 11 o'clock when Amy, the accounts manager got the truck and drove it over to the yard to pick up more wood. After this the wood was flying off the shelves and the big pile of 400 or so pieces of wood quickly vanished in three or four truck and trike journeys. Sadly, as could be expected with this kind of thing, we ran out of wood with a few people left in the queue, which was unfortunate, but we counted ourselves lucky that more weren't left dissapointed. 


The free wood day was an overwhelming success, with nearly a hundred people of this poor and under-priviledged community benefitting from wood that wood that would otherwise have been burned by Aceros Arequipa. The results of the survey were equally encouraging, with the use of wood breaking down as:

Tables- 25

Doors and door frames- 15

Repairs- 15

Chairs- 12

Beds- 8

Garden Enclosures- 5

Animal Enclosures- 7

Other- 6

 I was suprised how many people were using this wood to make furniture. For me this hit home the importance of this project and encapsulated the very purpose of PSF; to help Pisqueñans help themselves. My hope for the future is that the free wood day can become a monthly or even bi-monthly event that will help thousands of Pisqueñans and strengthen Pisco Sin Fronteras' reputation as the caring, resourceful and dynamic organisation that we are. 

Add Comment
 
 
On Sunday a group of PSF volunteers took a day trip to a nearby beach, within the Paracas National Reserve. A day at the beach with friends turned out to be the perfect short vacation from the volunteer work in Pisco. It was back to work as usual on Monday. I was brought to PSF to be the organization's grant writer, and at the moment I am working on a proposal that is aimed to bring funding in for the Ludoteca child care center. Aside from working on this proposal, I participated in a few technical site assessments-this involves taking a look at projects we are planning to work on (from pouring concrete to replace a dirt floor in a living room to constructing an entire house to replace a family's shack). All volunteers are welcome to participate in these assessments, which give a first hand look at the troubling living conditions in which many Pisquenos are living. Although it can emotionally difficult at times, it is a truly rewarding experience to know that you are working towards improving the situation. Working towards this crucial cause for the last 6 weeks has given me a great sense of satisfaction, and a realization of the potential of dedicated bodies & minds.

Picture
Add Comment
 
 
Here at PSF we are always having breakout groups for anything in which we want to move forward on but want a collective opinion about. This week Bryan organized a breakout session after dinner to brainstorm about ideas for PSF’s vision and mission. After being announced at several morning meetings, the breakout session took place with great success. At seven o’clock Thursday night about twenty-five volunteers made their way to the communal area and instantly you could feel the energy in the room.
 Before we broke off into groups Bryan explained the difference between vision and mission. Vision is what we want the final result of PSF to be. It’s the goal that all of our projects should be working towards, and also be in sync with the values and goals of the people who we are helping. Mission describes the steps that we’re going to take in able to reach our vision. Deciding these two very important items wasn’t as easy as it seemed.
I found this breakout session to be amazingly productive and creative for several reasons. First, I think it reflects the way in which PSF operates. One thing that is so incredible about this organization is that every person that walks through our doors has the opportunity to have their voice heard, and see change be made. Here at PSF it isn’t just a few admin people who call the shots in regards to where this organization in heading, it’s the everyday volunteer was well. The group that went to this week’s meeting represented what PSF is. PSF is made up of volunteers that have been here for a year, 5months, 4weeks, a few days, and any length of time in between who are all here to help the people of Pisco and help PSF move forward.

 The second reason why I found this meeting to be efficient was because it allows the opportunity for further development. By breaking off into smaller groups, everyone’s thoughts and opinions were heard. Then once each group had come up with their own vision and mission, we all came together and to share and improve. The next day at the morning meeting we told those who didn’t attend the breakout session what had happened and left copies of all of the proposed visions and missions along with space for suggestions. That night we once again called another breakout session to order with some fresh new opinions and input.
My third reason for claiming this session to be productive is because I think all the volunteers feel what our vision and mission is. It’s what has brought us here, and has kept us here. When we work, we know what we’re working towards, and what our goals for this organization are, we just needed to put into in to the perfect words so that we can send that message and spirit out to other people
1 Comment
 
 
At the end of May 2024 I began volunteering with PSF.  I was planning on only staying for four to five days…I stayed for six weeks. The experience was life changing. And if you were to ask any volunteer for one piece of advice before beginning, they’ll say, “Plan on staying longer.”
After about a month of traveling around Brazil, I once again find myself in good ol’ Pisco. This place is simply magical. Even though the number of volunteers is about half from when I left dropping from 110 to 40, everyone that is here now has just as much energy and passion to help out and give it their all.
I’ve been back at PSF for about a week now, and am enjoying feeling this sense of happiness and productivity once again. Being back with old friends and meeting loads of new people is one of the best things about this place. Since I’ve been back I’ve jumped on quite a few projects led by my friends, taking down modular schools to move them to another location, and pouring concrete floors. One other task that I have partaken in whilst being back has been site assessing.

Here at PSF we have loads of projects on a wait list. Each project has a site assessment form. The actual site assessment is done in two parts: an initial assessment and a technical assessment. The first step allows us to get to know the family and their story. (How the earthquake affected them, how many people live in the home, income situation, if they have any materials for construction, and if they have a labor engineer hired to be out on site everyday to lead the volunteers.) The second part is where we send out a few volunteers onto the worksite who are already experienced with construction who know all the right questions to ask to make sure that everything is in order to get the project started before we send out any volunteers to begin the work. Questions such as, Will we have access to water? Access to electricity? Where are the marked property limits to begin digging trenches? Etc.
When I was at PSF before I did quite a few site assessments. I love going out and meeting the families and interacting the people that we’re going to help. I don’t know how to describe the feeling of energy that is created seconds after you tell someone that you’re going to rebuild their house…rebuild their lives. It’s absolutely magical. Then it’s only a matter of time before those projects are up on the project board day after day until the project is though. When our director TBC goes over the projects in the morning and enthusiastically says that “___ is a really nice family that we’re going to help,” I know how sincerely good they are because I’ve already met them, and other volunteers will never understand that feeling until they get the chance to meet them their selves.
Earlier this week I had the opportunity to do some site assessing. It was great to go out into a very poverty-stricken community in a nearby town and share their enthusiasm to get this project going. The project is going to be called Percy’s House. Percy is a young teenager with a serious blood disease that has lost a leg due to his misfortune. He has been living in rough housing conditions long before the earthquake. He shares a home with his mother and younger sister. They sleep in beds with torn mattresses with no sheets or blankets. A tarp filled with holes covers the little space that they have, letting in the cold and rain. He lives in a home with no kitchen or bathroom.
It’s difficult to visit places like these and see people living in very inhumane conditions. But at the same time I believe it’s very important to see things such as this because it makes us realize how lucky we are, and how we don’t live in such a perfect world. Percy and his family were not there when we went out for the assessment due to a health emergency where he had to be taken to Lima to be treated. But loads of people from his community along with the municipality came out to greet us and thank us. Everyone there was sooo kind to us. They were so sincere in everything that they said. And you could see it in their eyes that they were happy for our help.

I’m excited to see Percy’s House up on the project board next week. Hopefully I’ll get the chance to jump on the project myself and see it from start to finish. I also look forward to getting the chance to meet the family myself sometime in the near future and watch how their new home will help them on their way to a new healthier life.


Add Comment