Life at 12,500 feet above sea level is very different from where I live in South Florida. It is cold, there’s less oxygen to breath and your skin knows it is closer to the sun. At this altitude we find one of the most
intriguing cultures of the world-The Uros indians. The Uros indians live on Lake Titicaca on islands made of a plant they call “La Totora”. The place survives because of the curiosity of tourists that travel from the around the world to visit this area. However, what many tourists don’t see is the actual condition in which these Indians live. Children walk around without proper clothing. They do not have shoes so they walk around barefoot, stepping on man-made islands that are very cold and humid. We immediately started putting the project together especially wanting to help the children. The Dress A Child (DAC) program was going to be crucial in this location but a few changes had to be made. We knew had a challenge in our hands. They live surrounded by water therefore the clothing and shoes needed to be different from what we normally collect. We were fortunate to find a local company in Peru that could make the clothing and the shoes for all 350 children that live on the islands of Lake Titicaca. The DAC coloring book was also going to be essential since there is a lack of resources for children to learn about Christ. This book offers a fun and interactive way for families and church schoolteachers to learn and teach about
Christ and His love. We asked for your help and many responded. I cannot thank you enough for your donations. We were able to dress 350 children. With the cost of $24 provided socks, underwear, a jacket, pants, gloves, the Dress AChild coloring book with crayons, and beautiful scarves that were donated by Needles of Love. We also provided medical attention to over 650 people, and distributed over 9,400 Dress A Child coloring books. A total of four trainings were given to over 700 church schoolteachers teaching them how to best utilizethese books. Some came from a distance of more than six hours by bus in order to take the training; eager to take the materials back to their children. What did I and the 21 other volunteers take from this trip?
The children’s faces full of joy and gratitude.
Like JoseCarlos, a 4 year old boy who started jumping, immediately wanting to see all the contents that were inside the Dress a Child bag and eager to put on his new boots and discover what it would be like to wear shoes for the first time. My eyes get watery as I write this, and I just want to say thank you for your donation to Prints of Hope International – you donation does impact lives.
