Sweat for Smiles: rebuilding a home

From left to right: Melisa, her daughter Luz, and her daughter Nacha standing in the back of the house area where we have dug up her old pipes and built the new pipe trenches.

By: Tierra entre de los Ojos

The first thing you need to understand is just how hard it is to get in on a construction project here. Volunteers at Pisco Sin Fronteras (PSF) are amazing. Every person is looking for hard work. Every individual wants to make a difference. And everybody sweats buckets just to see the smiles left on the faces of the people with whom we work.

Two weeks ago I was finally able to edge my way onto a project called, “Melisa’s Pipes.” Melisa is a woman living in Pisco with her husband and four children. A few years ago she inherited a small plot of land and a modest home from her mother, though modest doesn’t do justice to the bamboo walls and tarp-roof under which the family lives. In the 2007 earthquake, the pipes running below Melisa’s home burst. For three years the family lived over open sewage; and toilet water and waste seeped to the surface of the dirt floor on which her children sleep. Over the last three years, each of Melisa’s children have suffered from typhoid fever, which is a disease caused by the ingestion of fecal matter.

When I arrived at Melisa´s home for the first time, I looked at what lay before me and my heart sank. The dirt floor upon which they lived and slept had three huge puddles filled with trash and sewage that had seeped up from below.

Her children sat in the back yard playing and laughing, and Melisa greeted us with a smile. When we began to dig the trench for the new pipes, I felt as though I was digging into a landfill. With every shovel full of dirt, came candy wrappers, chicken bones, and old clothing. As we uncovered the old pipe system, we were overwhelmed by the stench of rotting feces and urine. With the hard work of 14 volunteers, we were able to dig the trenches and replace the pipes in a week and a half. What is most amazing though, is that every volunteer helping Melisa for the last two weeks has done so, every day, with excitement and without a single complaint. The first day digging the trenches, I don’t think I put my shovel down for 3 hours straight.

When I finally looked up, I saw a line of volunteers covered in dirt, dripping with sweat, and laughing. One boy had taken a break to put on a dance show while three others backed him up with a song in cock-eyed harmony. Another had gone to get us all cold, sweet, delicious orange soda (my favorite!). We were having a great time, and all the while Melisa dug hard, raked evenly, and sweat by our side.

As volunteers we are here to help. We are enthusiastic because we know it makes a difference. When I leave Melisa´s house at the end of the day she smiles so wide she can barely open her eyes. She kisses me on the cheek and I can just barely see the hint of a tear in the corner of her eye.

We finished Melisa’s pipes last Thursday. When we were in the process of leveling the floor, PSF’s director, TBC, came to give Melisa news. PSF volunteers had raised enough money, including a large donation from two volunteers who started the project, for Melisa to also have a concrete floor and a new modular home built for her. Shortly after TBC left, Melisa came to me, thanking me, the rest of the volunteers, and PSF for helping her and her family. I could tell she was fighting back tears as she gave me a hug and said, “gracias, son mis angeles” (thank you, you are my angels).

Last week I had a skype conversation with the Edge Academy students. One student asked me if I believe in Karma and if I believe that the work we do helps people to be happier and, in turn, they pass on their joy to others. My answer was yes, and Melisa helps reinforce this belief everyday. Since our work started two weeks ago, more of Melisa’s friends and family have shown up to help everyday. Her neighbors offered us their bathrooms while we were fixing Melisa’s pipes, her sister cooked lunch for us, and her father-in-law helped us fill buckets of water for concrete today.

When we walk through Pisco, everyone recognizes us as PSFers. We are pretty much the only gringos in the city and we are always covered in dirt from head to toe. They stare because we are dirty, sweaty, and different, but they always smile and say hello because I believe they appreciate the help we offer in rebuilding their city.