Pisco Sin Fronteras

I went to Pisco Sin Fronteras just a couple of weeks into my trip to volunteer with the organisation. I’ve wanted volunteering to be a part of my trip for a few reasons. Firstly, I don’t just want to have the standard Lonely Planet tour whereby I mindlessly follow the tick list of a book and feel bound by their recommendations and timelines. I have my own values, like and dislikes and want those to drive the contents of this trip. Secondly, I think that volunteering with different types of organisations will really help me to get a deeper understanding of the countries that I visit and give me an opportunity to better know the people, rather than just spending time with travellers in different hostels having the same conversations about where they’re from, where they’ve been and where they’re going.

Check out Pisco Sin Frontera’s creds here http://www.piscosinfronteras.org/. Briefly, the organisation is committed to supporting the town of Pisco in it's fight to rebuild itself after at 8.0 earthquake in 2007. There isn't any government support and PSF are the only organisation who remain and continue to help where they can. I don't think I can express sufficiently the value of this organisation nor how impressive it's achievements. It is run by volunteers, most of whom are travelling themselves and have come to PSF and been inspired and stayed to help as much as they can. The impact that this transient group has is incredible; they have amazing ideas which they put into action quickly. Each volunteer works hard and gives their most to the organisation and the people of Pisco. 

At the time that I was there they had run out of money to fully fund projects and so were only able to offer the labour of volunteers, but no materials. I saw a number of volunteers raise the money themselves to get projects running. Within a week one volunteer raised £500 from back home and they quickly started building a new modular house for a family (see an example http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-AbpQ6Byn4Q) It really was inspiring to see how this group was making a real impact quickly. I have worked for large companies with all the resources they could want and they don’t get things off the ground so quickly. Remove bureaucracy and office politics and in its place put a group of people who want to make a difference and really great things happen.

A modular home in Pisco

Being part of PSF was a humbling experience, the people there are so grateful for your help. You are recognised as a volunteer walking round the market and people wave to you and are happy to see you. One afternoon I met Delia (see her story http://vimeo.com/23397356) and before we had even been introduced she had hugged and kissed me ... despite me being covered in plaster dust and god only knows what else ... just because I was part of PSF. It was moments like these which continued to highlight to me how important PSF is to this community.

A classic street in Pisco -
hard to believe the earthquake was 4 years ago and not 4 months ago.

First job of the day ... start the truck.

The new hospital wing in progress.

I stayed in Pisco for a month and mostly worked on a construction project to add a new wing to a hospital.I sanded, I plastered, I painted, I laid concrete … it was physical work for 5 and a half days a week.Days started at 8.15am after breakfast when we’d have a morning meeting to discuss projects and allocate volunteers and then we’d be off in crazy taxis to our site. We would work a full day and return to the house tired and very dirty. Despite all this hard work, it was still great fun to turn your hand to something completely different to your normal 9-5 and to work with a team who just want to get stuck in.

PSF accommodation was far from luxurious, but that’s to be expected from an organisation which can house up to 90 volunteers in a small space. Alongside working all day everyone is on a cleaning and cooking rota. PSF is seriously productive!! But also Pisco is a very poor area and some of the basics can’t be guaranteed …running water and sewage for example! So, not only were we all working very full weeks we were also trying to avoid contracting typhoid and parasites (on this occasion I'm not being over dramatic!)


The PSF nerve centre! 
This yard contained the tool shed, the kitchen, the eating area, the bio diesel shed,
the office and the eating area ...  everything you need for this organisation to work miracles.



And equally important the PSF dog - Gringo!

Now this isn't meant to be a post about what a self less, do gooder I am (I am not, they are still at PSF devoted to making a difference and I have the deepest of respect for them) and I had anticipated to be writing a light hearted blog ... so for some lighter entertainment the next bits are all about humiliating myself ...

You can’t be somewhere like PSF and not have stories to tell afterwards... So, there was the day that I burned my hands chopping chillies… yes, chopping chillies… and burned as in I thought my hands were going to blister the pain was so intense! It was our turn to cook dinner and for a group of 60 people and only one small kitchen you want simple dishes, like curry for example. We knew it would be tricky to get all the spices from the local market but we thought that as long as we had chilli peppers we’d be heading in the right direction. We came back with about 40 chillies and I set to work… 10 in I could feel the tingle… 15 in and I was scrubbing my hands for dear life! Before long everyone knew and the Peruvians were killing themselves laughing at the crazy gringa who was chopping chillies that normally they wouldn’t even eat because of the heat of them. And every one of them had a remedy! Scrubbing with salt, soaking in yogurt, soaking in milk, rubbing with toothpaste … and jockstrap itch spray! I don’t even want to know why the last one gave the best relief! For the next 6 hours and while everyone else continued to cook curry (only using half of the number of chillies we initial planned!) I rotated remedies trying to get the chilli oil out of my hands. By about 6.30pm I was able to cope without my hands being submerged in dairy products. But the struggle against the loss of dignity took longer to get rid of!

My next episode of drawing attention to myself was more dramatic again … On my final day working at the hospital I was trying to take lots of pictures for posterity ( and to bulk up my blog ;) ) and decided that the best picture to capture all the hard work should be of a group of us on top of the roof of the new hospital wing (where else?!) The very mention of the word roof should have been enough for me to realise this was not one of my brightest ideas! I’m sure you’ve guessed what’s next and yes it involves me and a very undignified/dangerous dismount from said roof! Once our posing was done, it was time to finish clearing away and head home. I said I would get down first (using the broken ladder which had already fallen over several times and concussed one person … like I said not one of my better decisions!) Being the health and safety conscious person that I am, someone was in place holding the ladder. As I made my dismount, showing to everyone how safe this was, the ladder began to give way and before I knew it, it had gone entirely and I was left hanging! Actually hanging with legs spinning like crazy in hope of the ladder magically reappearing! My carefully placed ladder holder … despite not holding the ladder! … was still there and had to help/ carry/ lift me off the roof! It was all a bit shocking… and most of all embarrassing! Apparently there are still patches of blood remaining on the roof where I left parts of my skin in an attempt to hold on … nice.

 Extreme posing - pre dramatic dismount! 

It was an amazing month and I was sad to leave … although I was a little bit relieved … not being there means I can avoid more humiliation and the risk of contracting typhoid! Seriously, being at PSF allowed me those important moments in life where you not only reflect on how fortunate you are but more importantly, how as an individual you can have a positive impact on other people's lives. I am so pleased to have been a part of PSF and to have met such a passionate group of people dedicated to making the lives of people struggling in Pisco better.

If you've read this and feel compelled to help, please go here: http://www.piscosinfronteras.org/donate.html. As I write this, I have found out that PSF has been burgled and all of the power tools have been stolen, without these the modular houses and other construction projects cannot continue and those in desperate need of accommodation more permanent than the tents that they've been living in since 2007 will not be helped.