AIM provided assistance to a Peruvian non-governmental organization (NGO), Centro Mi Pequeño Belen, which serves about 30 children up to 10 years old from families in need.
The support of the association, which in the Azores promotes social solidarity for the benefit of the most unprotected children, young people and the elderly, consisted on sending goods to satisfy the most basic needs, such as food - enough, at least, to ensure a snack - and a toilet.
This was made possible because one of AIM members - Rodrigo Bettencourt, accompanied by Bárbara Nunes - is a volunteer in Peru, under the Global Volunteer initiative. They are working on the implementation of a project aimed at assuring all children have access to quality early childhood development.
The goal of this one-month volunteering experience was to teach English to children; however, these two Azoreans ended up doing much more than that at Mi Pequeño Belen. In fact, a little bit of everything. “We started, from the very first days, by painting the center (inside and out), helping to take care of the children, cooking, helping to rebuild and taking care of the community garden, among other things. The needs of this center were evident, whether considering the facilities themselves or the lack of meals. This reality for us, as Europeans, was a huge shock”, recall Rodrigo Bettencourt and Bárbara Nunes to Açoriano Oriental.
It was from understanding the different difficulties and needs faced by the Peruvian NGO, and from realizing that AIM could help meet basic needs, that contact with this association was born. And then there was a 'bridge' of solidarity.
AIM quickly made itself available to send food, toys and clothes, but came across very large and demanding logistics to deliver the goods to their destination.
The idea of a toilet arises from a conversation with the person in charge of the center, who stated that the most pressing need for Mi Pequeño Belen was sanitary equipment. The one they had was broken and in no proper conditions.
“When we had information that what they really wanted was to have a toilet and other absolutely basic needs, we made it possible by sending a monetary amount, which would enable that community to have a toilet”, says Ricardo Pacheco, responsible for AIM, emphasizing that this was “one of the projects that gave us greater joy”. Because of the simple fact of fulfilling "a wish" with such an important meaning for some Peruvian children, although basic and insignificant for many, considering the real needs of the center that hosts them.
The difficult and deprived reality in which those children live was the touchstone that mobilized the help of the Azorean solidarity organization. “Initially we intended to provide a meal for this group of children, but we ended up providing the construction of a toilet. Many people will certainly find this initiative surreal, but it really was a great joy for the community to have this wish come true”, stresses Ricardo Pacheco. The joy was so great that the Peruvian boys and caregivers of Mi Pequeño Belen wore their best clothes to thank AIM for its gift.
Unforgettable was also the volunteering experience in Lima, as one of “great learning and growth”, recall Rodrigo Bettencourt and Bárbara Nunes. They highlight: “The contact with cultures and living standards so different from the European. This experience opens our eyes to the disparity of what is the life of a child in Portugal and the life of a child in Peru”.
They also mention that one of the most present memories they have is, upon returning from their mission, when arriving in Madrid and in a Europe they were so used to, having the feeling of being in a “strange, unreal, parallel reality, after only 6 weeks”. And then they came to this conclusion: “how privileged we are."
