Email: Lynn Hasselbarth

Dear Friends in Faith,

Below I have included a few entries from my online blog. Thank you for your prayers and support for the YAV program!

September: Introduction

I have come to really enjoy my work in Peru with Paz y Esperanza (Peace and Hope) and the new friendships that are developing. On my first day in the office of Paz y Esperanza, I sat among new faces and participated in the Monday morning devotional. I am grateful to have a seat at the table, where we sing songs, reflect on a short Bible verse, and share joys and concerns from each area in the office.

The Justice Program includes five lawyers who prosecute aggressors in the community, guilty of rape and sexual abuse. At a workshop on HIV/AIDS that I attended at a local church, I was shocked to learn that in the province of Huánuco, every three hours a young girl is sexually abused.

Victims’ Rehabilitation includes four psychologists who work with young girls who have survived sexual assault. When pregnancy is the result of rape, the young girl is especially vulnerable and is often disowned by her family. Three girls and their young babies have been placed in a protective setting called the Casa Del Buen Trato (House of Good Treatment), located on a dairy farm that financially supports the rehabilitation program. I will be spending one weekend a month with the girls, helping with their academic studies and discussing self-care, nutrition, and maybe even an introduction to yoga. Although this will be a challenge, I continually remind myself not to indentify these young women solely by the trauma they have experienced.

Women and Children’s Rights includes three social workers who lead workshops that educate local women on how to prevent and respond to abuse and sexual violence in their communities. The training program, titled “Mujeres sin Violencia, Mujeres en Desarrollo” (Women Without Violence, Women in Development), also empowers women to be involved in local decision-making in order to change power structures. The overall goal is to empower women to redefine relationships in their communities and reclaim their dignity.

While this program is directed mostly to women who live in poverty in isolated mountain regions, the concepts presented in the curriculum are universal and do not just apply to the needs of women and their families in Peru. I am already imagining ways in which this program could be used in communities closer to home.

The church program includes three pastors who encourage local churches to be community advocates in the areas of human rights, peace and reconciliation, safety and protection of youth, and the building of sustainable families.

The Peace Program includes two psychologists who continue the work of the Commission on Truth and Reconciliation, responding to the widespread affects of the civil war that occurred between 1980 and 2000. The Program works in Huánuco for the restoration of families and communities that continue to suffer psychologically, physically, financially, and spiritually from the violence.

October/November: Integration

“Señorita! Señorita! Where are you from? Señorita, what color are your eyes? Do you speak English? Señorita! I can say ‘puuuurrple! Are you Evangelical Señorita?” I fielded similar questions for an entire afternoon, enjoying the curiosity and interest of a group of local children and noting that I’ve never felt so popular.

The group of 15 children is part of “Colectivo Tamar,” the support group developed by Paz y Esperanza for children who have experienced sexual abuse. The children, along with seven chaperones, including myself, participated in an outdoor retreat Saturday afternoon. We piled into a van to drive to the rural town of Limon Pampa, where we spread out on an open field in a valley set deep in the mountains.

We played get-to-know-you games and volleyball, competed in jump-rope competitions and relay races. To escape the intense sun, we took several breaks under the one existing tree to share soda, candy, budin (pudding cake) and empanadas. The children appeared to be well-adjusted and carefree. I nearly forgot about the circumstances they are accustomed to—poverty, violence, neglect.

I suddenly remembered the reality of their lives when I caught a glimpse of one of the girls devouring her piece of cake as if it was her last meal. The others patiently ate while chatting with friends, although when offered more food, they too packed away extra helpings for their siblings and parents. The hungry little girl later found an orange and stuffed giant slices, three at a time, into her mouth. I later wondered if the volunteers had brought extra fruit for her.

When no one came to pick her up at the office, my co-worker and I accompanied her in a taxi to her neighborhood, the streets unpaved and full of boulders. We dropped her off at the base of a steep cliff, with an endless stone staircase. It was then that I realized she was the girl whose house I visited last week. This was the girl who lives on small helpings of rice and potatoes, whose parents abandoned her and whose grandfather seems incapable of caring for her.

My co-worker and I watched her climb the stairs, her little backpack bouncing up and down as she clutched the stuffed teddy bear she and the others received during the retreat. I felt like the mother who stands at the street corner, waving at the giant school bus taking her little one off to her first day of kindergarten. But this farewell lacked any assurance and sense of pride.

This little girl had stuck by my side most of the afternoon, searching for my hand to hold, someone to lean on. I was unsure how to handle her neediness. I was somehow frightened by her. As I watched her motions, I was stunned and unable to give her the affection I so easily give other children.

I now realize that my fear was a reaction to the overwhelming presence of G-d, sitting under the tree with her shoulders embedded into my side, waiting in the office and sharing the back seat of a taxi. I can appreciate the presence of G-d in nature, in music, in friendship. But when G-d visits me in the form of a fiercely quiet child, I am shaken to the core...blinded by what is real.

When I meet this little girl again, during another afternoon of fun and games at Christmas time, I will recognize the presence of G-d and will not run away. Instead I will embrace her, 10-years old, hungry but full of laughter and quite possibly unaware of any other way of living.

Lynn