Trujillo

Photos:

*Looking over Trujillo as we prepare for landing

*The Cathedral (left) on the Plaza de Armas (main town square). All of the buildings which surround this town square are required to be painted in specific colors.

*This corner shows another color (red) that is required around the Plaza de Armas. On the corner is a metal cannon that was placed in the corner of this building in colonial times to protect the corners from damage by passing carriages.

*We were told that this McDonald's is the only one in the world with a brown "M" because it is along the Plaza de Armas and has to fit with the required colors. No Golden Arches and McDonald's red accents permitted here. 

*Mermaids on the facade of one of the oldest churches in Peru.

*Trujillo sits on the edge of the Pacific Ocean. Our new friends took us to this spot overlooking the beach area. This balcony is in the plaza in front of the second church built in Peru--another one intended for the native inhabitants outside the city wall.

*A unique and most useful power outlet in our hotel.

Trujillo is the second most populous city in Peru with a population of about 1 million persons. Trujillo and its environs have been inhabited for nearly 2,000 years. It is the birthplace of Peruvian independence from Spain, hence it is in the Departamento (State) of La Libertad (Liberty). We were able to see Independence House, the place where their declaration of independence was signed and the the main city plaza, the Plaza de Armas, where it was proclaimed. Our assignment brought us to Trujillo to perform follow-up interviews with wheelchair recipients from projects with two different partners here. We also had an assignment to go to Laredo, a rural area near Trujillo, to visit some schools for potential assistance projects there.

Juana, a volunteer in our office, traveled with us and we split into two teams to be able to conduct more interviews. We were able to develop a friendship during our visit with the regional coordinator for the national disability council who arranged our transportation and appointments. She and her husband, a local architect, were our chauffeurs and also helped us to understand and appreciate the rich history of Trujillo. As we drove from place to place for our interviews, they took us to some of the historic places so we were able to get a "through the back door" perspective to this beautiful city.

Our new friends, Cybelly & Francisco, also took us to see some of the oldest churches in Peru. They were built outside the walls of the old city and were the churches for the native people to attend since many of them were not permitted inside the city. The sea provided much of their sustenance and so it was interesting to see two sirens (mermaids) on the facade of this church above the entrance doorway, calling the people to come and worship.  

We were able to share several meals with them during our stay. Trujillo is well-known for its ceviche (a fish dish chemically "cooked" with lime juice and other wonderful spices) and we were able to try three different varieties during our time here--La Norteña, Corvina (sea bass), and Conchas Negras (black scallops).

Wheelchair interviews

The purpose of our interviews is to assess the individuals to assure that their chair is fitted appropriately to them and that our partner did not charge them anything for either the chair or the evaluation, prescription, fitting, or delivery of the wheelchair. We assess that the chair is working well for the beneficiary, that the partner is in conformity with their agreement with us in all material respects, and that the manufacturer has fabricated the chair without defect. The wheelchair is really their "shoes" as one recipient expressed it, so it needs to function simply and consistently for them.

The homes we visit are very humble. Our partners are required to donate the wheelchairs to people who are in poverty and have no other way to obtain a wheelchair. In order to do the interviews, we were taken around to the various homes and work places of the recipients.

First Day of Interviews

Photos:
* Knocking on the door of a recipient
*With his wheelchair that he received in June, this man now travels many miles each day scavenging recyclable materials.  The wheelchair has made the difference between dependency and independence for him and allows him to live with dignity
*This wonderful lady (double amputee) was unable to leave her home before receiving a wheelchair. We could not interview her at home because she was away working so we asked if we could come to her workplace and perform the interview. She was incredibly grateful for the chair which had given her new "feet" to once again move herself about.
*With a wheelchair, this man was now able to go to the park with his grandchildren.
*Some parks are not easy to enter with a wheelchair! This curb is about 12 inches in height.
*The owner of this wheelchair sewed these beads together and fastened them to the back of his chair to help provide some airflow between his back and the chair during the summer heat.
*At times, Rob had to get down on the floor with a flashlight in order to read the serial number on the chair.

Day 2 in Trujillo

Photos:

*Our guide for part of day 2 in Trujillo. He kept us in the safe places.

*We thought the entryway steps to this house would be an obstacle to the wheelchair user who lives here.

*The man who lives up at the top of these stairs manages to get his chair down (probably with the help of family) and uses his chair to get to work in the mayor's office. Prior to having a wheelchair, he sat on the side of the street selling candy. A donated chair has made a tremendous positive difference in his life.  

Our second day in Trujillo, Cybelly (pictured in red vest below) took us to a place with many wheelchair recipients that she suggested was best to visit only in the morning. In an unfamiliar place we always defer to the judgement of the locals as to where we should and should not go. We met at the Plaza de Armas of a suburb of Trujillo with the man who is a volunteer that knows all the disabled people in his city and he himself uses a wheelchair after leg amputation. He took us to all the places where it was advisable for us to go. We saw about half of the people who received wheelchairs there.

We were able to see many different areas of the city and surrounding parts during our interviews. Though Peru has passed laws requiring disabled access to public buildings and parks, it still has a ways to go to become more accessible to those with mobility disabilities. It is nice to see progress gradually being made and to be part of a process that is providing people with the opportunity to participate more fully in education, work, and community life. It provides them the chance to be more self-reliant and enjoy the gift of mobility.

One house had a particularly long staircase, which surprised us since we were going to the house of one of our wheelchair recipients.

Archeology

Photos:

*Mural of the fish at Chan-Chan

*Awesome fish art along the beach

We took advantage of our time in Trujillo to visit a couple of large ruins there. One of which is a UNESCO World Heritage Site: The Pyramid of the Moon (named after the big one near Mexico City) was a worship center of the Moche people. It and the slightly larger Pyramid of the Sun (140 million adobe bricks) were amazing structures built up in successive layers. Evidence suggests human sacrifice was a regular practice among these people.

When a series of weather disturbances upset the political balance, the site was abandoned and a new city with different rulers (Chimu) was established nearby at Chan Chan, which was still occupied when the Spaniards arrived in Perú.

Chan Chan (derived from the Chimu word meaning "Sun-Sun") was a hot city in its time, and it was hot when we were there. Comprised of ten large walled compounds, each almost a city in itself, Chan-Chan was the largest adobe city in the Americas. Some sites say it was the largest in the world, others say the second largest. It covered nearly five thousand acres (about 8 square miles) and was occupied from the 10th to the 15th centuries. About 40,000-60,000 people are estimated to have lived at Chan-Chan, including 12,000 artisans and their empire was extensive. The Chimu empire extended from Ecuador to present day Lima.