Global Support Mission

We've Moved!

2008-02-22T09:47:00.000-08:00

We have moved to new digs.

Go here.

Save This Date

2007-09-29T13:25:00.000-07:00

Poverty---Power---Privilege.

How would you like to be able to listen in and be a part of a dialogue around this topic, by people who don’t just think about it but are doing something about it?

Well, you CAN.

Save this date: NOV 2nd Friday evening.

You won’t want to miss an opportunity to join us in hearing and interacting around this important topic on Poverty, Power and Privilege.

Our Forum will consist of Brian McLaren, Social-spiritual activist, movement planter, leader in the emerging church; Richard Twiss, Native American leader, activist and artist, and Claudio Oliver, South American pastor and leader and thinker in post-modern thought; Rose Madrid Swetman, pastor, leader in women's issues, inovative practitioner. Sign up now and make it an event!

Global Support is co-sponsoring this evening for Off The Map. Take a look at their web site. Our good friend, Jim Henderson, co-founder of OTM is hosting their National Conference, Off The Map Live, in Seattle, Nov. 1-3. Jim’s organization advocates that Christians ought to be known for a way of living that is generous and intentionally caring for others. We encourage you to see what Off The Map is up to--you might enjoy visiting this very entertaining and informational conference. You won’t be disappointed.

Global Support cordially invites you to an event
Friday, Nov. 2nd, at 7:30 p.m.
at The Vineyard

17712 – 15th Ave NE, Shoreline 98155),
featuring well known speakers and yourselves
to dialogue on the topic of Poverty, Power and Privilege.

All are welcome---free

No host Bar

Hope to see you there!

Musings on a River

2007-07-31T15:36:00.000-07:00

As I sit beside the river in a secluded part of a wilderness area, I realize my soul is out of breath and that I needed to come here, to a place where God is so obvious so magnificent and yet so peaceful. It is here that I catch my breath. It is here that I can find my center again focusing on something bigger than the daily business of life that gradually shuts me down. I wonder why I don’t do this more often?

But where do other people go to find space to experience the rhythm of time alone, of time for reflection, or to experience stillness? A lot of people in the world will never have the luxury of time. I never really realized it before but, time is a luxury. We in the western culture have that luxury if we want to take it. Time where we can catch our breath.

So where do other cultures catch their breath? Do they need to? Maybe their cultures aren’t as demanding as ours? Or maybe they are more so. In many cultures life and death, survival under unthinkable conditions is demanding all of their time. There is no reflection time or rest for their souls.

I think about the kids in other cultures mostly. The ones that have been lured, kidnapped and stolen into slavery of all kinds and are now trapped in a life with no hope. I want to help give them hope back. I want to see that they have the luxury of time, of peace, of safety. A time to restore their souls. I know I want to be a part of any group that helps these kids catch their breath and decide for themselves what to do with the musings they come away with after their souls have been filled.

Diane

July Update

2007-07-03T11:38:00.000-07:00

Global Support with a Mission
July 2007

A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step. (Chinese Proverb). We are in the single step phase of the infrastructure at Global Support, moving from one stepping stone to another. We are looking further down the stepping stone pathway, and someone is coaching us in where we put our feet.

Hired a Consultant
As promised earlier in the year to our Board, we have hired a consultant to help us look to the future with more clarity and effectiveness, helping us to thrive as we move forward to make a difference in the places we have identified to take our teams. We expect to see our thoughts and ideas that rattle around in our heads and on lots of scratch paper, take more tangible shape. We are bringing our team along in the process as well. Then together we’ll all have more clarity of vision, mission, planning and focus, strategy and more.

First Step

They say ability is like a check, it has no value unless it is cashed. We are hoping to cash in on some of our talents. So, in this first leg we will help identify ability and passions. The idea is that when we focus on our strengths and talents then we are all more effective in what we do. This should translate to being more successful, happy and fulfilled personally and collectively.

We will let you know.

Thank you so much for your continued support and help to Global Support.

Leigh & Diane
Global Support

DVD Global Support

2007-05-11T13:29:00.000-07:00

We have created a DVD that gives a little history of Global Support and shows lots of images of the many people we have come into contact with during our travels. If you are interested in having a copy of that, please contact us at the email account, lbuchan@windermere.com or dellis@windermere.com. We'll be happy to send one your way. Thanks again.

April 21st Benefit

2007-05-11T13:13:00.000-07:00

We wanted to give a quick update on the Benefit we hosted April 21st . From our perspective the entire affair was a roaring success. It was a gala affair with the beautiful surroundings at Pt. Edwards Charter Club high on a bluff overlooking the Puget Sound, snow capped mountains as the backdrop and a lovely patio area with a pool, not to mention the well appointed decor.

There were 30 plus auction items for people to mill around and attach their name to. It was entertaining watching people become quite invested in their favorite auction item. Everyone was assigned a name of an international city or area in order to participate. That name was used in the silent auction. Some people were in consternation and said, "Who is Dar fur?! They keep outbidding me!"

We had donations from a week in a resort at Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, to a night at the all star W Hotel in downtown Seattle, to a couple of nights at The Madison Condos high on the 14th floor in downtown Seattle with easy access to clubs, concert halls, Pike Street Market and all. One of the favorite items was a private plane ride overlooking Mt. Rainier and Mt. St. Helen’s. We ended up having that be donated twice, it was in such demand.

We collected over $16,000 for the evening as well as other moneys trickling in by mail. So, we were thrilled and are excited to put the money to good use.

We want to especially thank everyone who came and made this such an outstanding success; as well as big thanks to those of you who sent in donations but did not attend. We appreciate your help and couldn't do what we are doing without your care and your support.

First thing on the docket now is continuing to interview consultants that will help us with our Strategic Planning. We will report back on our Blog site as to how that is progressing. We also have two children in Peru that we help support, and will look at possibly taking a team there late summer or early fall of ’06. During the Strategic Planning process we will look at all aspects of the projects we support now and which ones we might investigate for the future.

Be Well, Be Warmed.
Quote: People are like sticks of dynamite...the power's on the inside. But nothing happens until the fuse gets lit.

2007-04-04T19:06:00.000-07:00

Moving from anger to action.

I am continually appalled at the injustice that is dealt to the innocent victims of war, poverty and greed. My heart aches for the children, who disproportionately suffer in any tragic event. Often the last to eat and the first to work, they are the ones sold into slavery to pay off debts. They are ones stolen from their families to wage war, brainwashed, drugged and tortured, they become the innocent victims. Their hope for the future doesn't exist..

How can I, because of an accident of birth or genetics or economics, stand by and ignore their cry. How do I move from anger and condemnation to directed purposeful action?

Where do I turn?

Should I give my efforts to the aids orphans in Africa, but which country? The orphans are everywhere. In Zambia alone, virtually the entire generation between 20-35 has died from aids. Imagine the chaos that is left behind. Who is caring for the children that are left behind?

Or should I help the children sold into prostitution in southeast Asia. In Phnom Penh hoards of “tourists” come, in groups no less, to take advantage of kids that have no option but to comply or face grim consequences. During the after math of Katrina it was a race to see who got to the orphans first, the rescue organizations or the human traffickers.

Global Support is trying making a difference. We are staging ourselves for our next push forward into a new area of the world. To help more children, not just in Peru but in other parts of the globe. Doors are opening and we are seeing where they are leading. Come hear what we are up to and what we have done over the last year. We are carefully evaluating specific target areas and within each, specific groups that are already there, making a difference in the lives of these children. We are moving ahead and it is a challenge, but with your help we can do it. Compassion can not be complacent.

April 21st 2007 Benefit Fundraiser and silent auction. Point Edwards, Edmonds Wa. For tickets or more information contact Diane Ellis 206-730-0123

2007-03-19T23:30:00.000-07:00

Mark Your Calendar!
Soon invitations will be coming your way…
Announcing the Global Support Annual Benefit.
Saturday, April 21st 7 p.m.
At the Pt. Edwards Charter Club
Lots of FUN, Food, Beverages, Auction Items, Prizes, Jazz, and much more!

Children at Risk--Arms of Love Conference

2007-03-16T09:13:00.000-07:00

Read below some segments taken from our time in Anaheim for a valuable conference. It is amazing information!

Members of the Global Support team visited Anaheim, California on March 9-10 for a conference about “Children at Risk.” It was sponsored by Arms of Love Internattional (www.armsoflove.org) . What a phenomenal conference it was. The quality of the presenters, the workshops, those attendees as well, were probably about as high a caliber of people and organizations as you could ever ask for in the area of being on the ground helping children all over the globe who are the most at risk.

This issue of Children at Risk both domestically and globally, we are discovering is a Global Crisis, greater than we could ever have imagined. It reaches to the far corners of the earth and every continent is deeply affected by it.

Here are a few quotes from Keynote speakers:
Bryant Myers, Fuller Seminary professor of transformational development and previously Vice President at World Vision.

The well being of children is an indicator of the well being of society…The well being of children is under attack perhaps like no other time in human history. If society is taking care of their children, then everything else will fall into alignment.

Two Hundred and eleven (211) million children are in labor. Half of them are working ten, twelve, and fourteen hour days. Seventy percent are working in hazardous conditions and are expendable. Some of them by twelve years of age are so injured from their job they can no longer work and are left out in the streets. Almost two million (1.8) are in prostitution and pornography. Six million children are slaves. Ten million are refugees and thriteen million are Internally Displaced People and in the IDP camps. One Hundred and fifty million are disabled.

Children by the millions are abused, brutalized, left alone, seduced, deceived, killed, lives and families destroyed.

Os Guinness, world renowned author, speaker and scholar, spoke of how the internet and modern society has fostered the anonymity of people, which has brought on the rise of deviancy such as the world has never seen before. Morality throughout history is often accountability thru visibility. The internet and how we separate ourselves from each other by our modern social structures, has given rise to a tremendous amount of evil against the most vulnerable, children. The largest money maker on the internet is pornography. It out weighs all other trading on that medium. When the tsunami hit Aceh in Indonesia, and the relief workers poured in, the pornographers moved in right with them, finding a vulnerable population on whom to prey.

He said the Human Trafficking makes the mafia look like a kids party.

Olara Otunnu, president of LBL Foundation for Children and the UN Under-Secretary-General and Special Representative for Children and Armed Conflict (1997-2005), said “When adults wage war, children pay the highest price”.

Displaced children from war are the most vulnerable to prey from others. Girls are particularly exposed and taken advantage of. The scourge of war is destroying the present and is destroying the future of entire populations. He said N. Uganda is the worst place on the planet today for children to live.

Wow! We could hardly hold all this information!

As participants to this conference, we were so blown away by the atrocities against children it was difficult to even comprehend and hold in our psyche. I feel like my eyes were opened and my ears were unstopped. I personally, and all of us at Global Support, feel stronger than ever that we have a mandate to do what we can for children who are subject to abject poverty, seduction onto the streets into pornography and slave trade and human trafficking, and to those engulfed and violated by adults who make war.

Leigh Buchan

Oct 20,2006 Iquitos

2006-10-28T09:31:00.003-07:00

Global Support
Update for Oct. 20, 2006
Iquitos, Peru

Fresh rain in the tropics on the deep red, clay-like soil presents a slippery escapade driving the Land Cruiser into the entry of the road to Campos Blancos Children’s Center 43 kilometers out of Iquitos. Ice would be a reasonable facsimile for the experience if there’s been recent precipitation. Not long after I arrived at this luscious tropical area, a trip to the land brought the Land Cruiser slowly and uncontrollably sliding into a ditch. Luckily I was not driving. Glaucio was, and tried to turn on the 4 x 4 equipment, but soon discovered in route to the ditch that the 4-wheel drive wasn’t working. It was only a small ditch, so not a problem since the property had a tractor that pulled us out.

I’d like to say in passing that the tractor looks more like a roto-tiller than a tractor, and operates much the same. The blades are enormous and extend themselves from the wheel like a roto-tiller—with no shocks. We all, including the Peruvians and Royce the driver, have a big laugh as the roto-tiller tractor has to rescue the enormous Land Cruiser out of the ditch. Really comical. It worked great, though!

On the 72 acres of land, Campos Blancos has one worker, handi-man, Royce, that works full time fulfilling whatever the needs are in tending to the property, be it thrashing at the tall grass with a machete, clearing land for the 1 acre farm, or painting the walls of the first home or patching the holes in the corrugated tin roof. He has an easy smile and the typical easy manner seen in many of the Peruvians. He greets us each time we pull into the area, be it from a far field, or from work at the home. We exchange greetings when we come to a stop. Royce and others will unload the materials we brought. Then we get into discussion of the work at hand. He’s become an expert at hand signals as we attempt to communicate regarding the needs of the home. Que falta? Has become a common phrase for me. What is missing? What is lacking?

I have learned to not be in a hurry. Don’t be expecting that list of supplies needed to be typed out or even scribbled on a napkin. My first couple of trips to the land I accompanied Glaucio, and wondered what the heck took so long and why so much talking? Don’t they already know what needs work? Don’t they have in their mind what supplies are needed? Well, yes, well no.

It didn’t take me a nano-second, though, to adopt an endearing attitude towards the process, and realize you discuss some things, then come at it again from another angle and different information emerges, then go at it again to be sure everything is discussed. Live with the expectation that not all will be covered, but it will be adequate for the moment. They don’t think in terms of a spread sheet and a check-off list. But the process stills moves forward.

The size of the Peruvian men belie their strength. Many of these men are very hard workers, and certainly strong. We are fortunate in the people we have hired. Herbert is another hiree, more skilled in finishing the tile on all the floors and bathroom shower stalls. I am amazed at the diligence and fortitude he and his assistant have in working in extremely hot conditions with almost no ventilation. They could open all the windows in the house while working, but seem to not mind that only a few are open. I would die in 15 minutes. I am almost dying as I drip gallons of perspiration while standing still and discussing things with them in the closed off rooms.

When finished with the workers I always take time for a jaunt around the property, soaking in its atmosphere, circumnavigating the future soccer field, walking through the brush briskly in the hopes to dodge insects—which is always unsuccessful. I imagine what it will look like in the future. Ten houses, more or less, will dot the surrounding field. Over on that knoll maybe we’ll see a school, then a church, maybe a medical clinic that could serve the surrounding community as well as this Children’s Center. Small garden plots near each home could bring fresh vegetation to the table. Businesses would be tended to. Kids will be running around playing, carrying things, accomplishing handi-crafts, doing school work, helping in the field; all the things expected in daily living.

The good news is they will not be on the streets of Iquitos left to the wiles of a dangerous and relentless life, where begging, hitting up the tourists, fighting for every inch becomes the norm, where the better looking ones become engulfed in child prostitution and so entangled they are unable to escape. In time this land will host some of these kids, and offer them a life they could never even dream of. We at Global Support look forward to that day.

Leigh

Next will be the Street Kids….

My Day in Iquitos........

2006-10-11T11:59:00.000-07:00

Update October 8, 2006

Picture with me if you will a 1994 large, old Land Cruiser, weathered white on the exterior and black, soiled material on the interior, but large and in charge. Once I open the driver side door, I take a run and jump attitude to hoist myself into the driver’s seat and begin my excursion to the land an hours’ drive away, but more like three hours by the time I actually arrive.

First we stop at the tienda de mayolica, the tile shop. It’s really your miniature version of the mom and pop hardware store at home and a step up from the smaller shops around here. We make our order after much discussion, pay, and they send a “runner” to pull the supplies off the shelf, and load them into our truck. It’s great! This is really upscale here! They so appreciate our business, they even offered us T-shirts with the store logo for all the business we’ve given them over the last month. I’d wear it if I could, but those Peruvian sizes are just a tad small for this gringo American, I am sorry to say. But, I like the marketing they were demonstrating. That is great.

After about an hour and a half, on a good day, at the tile shop picking up cement, tile, grout, paint thinner, etc. we are then on our way. I maneuver my way through traffic again, taking my time to pull out into the flow of oncoming motor bikes pulling carts! I started to get a little cocky the other day about the drive until someone almost plowed into the side of me as they pulled out of traffic quite suddenly and without noticing the big faded white car. Considering my vehicle was much the greater weight, I would have done much more damage to him. It was a little motorbike with a seat-cart behind them, and a passenger in tow. The thought of them smashing into me was more than I could bare, so my attention heightened, and I was on high alert as I weaved in and out of the cart-traffic again.

I have become accustomed to this drive now to be absolutely in love with the country side. It is lush and beautiful as only tropical vegetation can be! After passing several small Peruvian villages where the people are either busily working on some project, or on the other spectrum, napping beside a roadside tienda (shop) that consists of a few palm leaves roof being supported by some lanky poles, where they sell warm pop and fruit. I can only imagine what they think of this gringo woman driving a large truck. Surely they are as accustomed to me as I am of them by this time.

In an hour we pull up to the location of the Children’s Center. It is an absolutely beautiful setting and devoid of all the city noises of motorbikes and the like, but full of the peacefulness of the country. I know I am there when I see the sign of the last village, called 10 de Octubre. No joke! That is the name of the village right before the Children’s Center. Apparently, some large massacre happened on that day years ago, and to commemorate it, they named the village for it. The village before that one is the 13th de Noviembre. They both have a calendar-kind of ring to them, don’t you think? I’ve been looking for September and December ever since!

Next I will send info on what we are doing at the construction site.

Hasta Luego.
Leigh (Senora, Leigh, that is)

Iquitos update.

2006-09-25T10:20:00.000-07:00

24 September
Global Support Update
Leigh Buchan in Iquitos, Peru

Imagine yourself to be in Iquitos, Peru, driving a small motorcycle or vespa along with one hundred of your closest friends, and a large, old 1994 Land Cruiser comes along side you with a gringo-- woman, no less, pulling up along side. Sweat is dripping down her forehead and back, okay everywhere, face red from the heat, and inside are 50 square meters of bathroom tile, 9 square meters of kitchen tile, and grout to match, 15 meters of accent tile, 35 bags of primer paint, three large bags of concrete and some miscellaneous paint supplies. You guessed it. That is me. Also in tow are two children and Shanon Guimares.

The head honcho of Campos Blancos, Glaucio, has returned to the states and Shanon, his wife and I are commandeering the work here in order to complete construction on the first home for the street children to move into.

Global Support raised $2000 for this van I am driving, from a kickball tournament in mid June. Then challenged other supporters of Campos Blancos around the States to chip in. Diane Ellis and her team brought enough money with them in mid August to purchase this car, drive it over the Andes, and ship it on the Amazon to arrive in Iquitos.

Global Support then donated another $2000 to complete the work on the Children’s Home. I have to say, timing is everything! That is where I have come into the picture. My being here enabled Glaucio to return to the States and raise money yet still have the construction continue here. I cannot imagine obtaining all these supplies and then having to arrange transportation to the Children’s home which is a good hour away. Monetarily it would be a challenge, not to mention the logistics. I personally am so grateful to have the Land Cruiser. Its hauling ability is more than adequate to do the job! Thank you to all who contributed to this cause! And thank you to all who contributed to my support so I could be here.

I am continually reminded of why I am here. The kids who live on the street will seek us out whenever possible. Sometimes if I am riding on the back of Glaucio’s motorcycle I will hear the kids yell out, “Glaucio!” They know he is their friend. They followed us to a restaurant today. It was a simple, open air restaurant. Sitting alongside the perimeters of the restaurant, they wait for us to finish, but making sure they are within our purview. Their hands go up to their mouth and say, “tengo hambre”, I am hungry. We bought them a meal and handed it to them upon leaving. They grabbed it and ran up the street at lightning speed to devour their lunch.

They are kids—just kids-- living on the streets of Iquitos, Peru. Que lastima. What a pity—how sad.

Leigh's first squeeze play....

2006-09-14T19:53:00.000-07:00

As many of you know Leigh Buchan, co founder of Global Support has decided to take a leave of absence from real estate and invest her time working with Campos Blancos and the children's Center in Iquitos Peru for a couple of months. IT is our belief that a thorough understanding of the projects that we decide to co labor with can only be achieved by this concentrated time and effort.

Leigh will be keeping us up to date with weekly blogs. In the meantime this is her first one, sent shortly after she arrived.

ALL IS GOOD! I'm in Iquitos, Peru, experiencing my second full day! Yesterday, my first full day, I spent most of it on the back of a motorcycle heading out to the Children's Center (orphanage) construction site and about 100 stops before and after getting there, okay, an exaggeration, but there were a few errands to do along the way, like changing the oil in the motorcycle, purchasing two large machete knives for the workers at the land, getting more water for me as I wasn't sure I had enough.

Weaving our way through traffic in the city I kept my eyes open most the time, but found it necessary to close them on occasion rather than notice if we made the squeeze play or not. We were successful on all counts, so that was a good notch on the belt. Out in the country the road was fairly clear and paved. There were no impending issues.

The construction at the first house of the orphanage is near complete. A few more items are needed before the first family and street kids can be moved in. Concurrent with the construction is the selection process for this family. A few have agreed to go through the process, so hopefully before too long, the first group will be moved in.

On the return trip we stopped at a restaurant area that also had a lake for swimming. I was a little suspicious as the color was quite black. I was beckoned in and didn't want to appear too chicken, so took the plunge. The water looked like oil, but wasn't oil. To view my arms under the water, they were a dark brown while only submerged a couple of inches. It is a very acidic water that the vegetation creates and is well known in the Peruvian jungle area. The high content of acid keeps the bacteria count very low, so it was really quite safe to swim in. That was reassuring to me, as I've seen a lot of contaminated water in these parts. There were no alligators in it, that was also reassuring.

Monday I will begin Spanish classes, which I'm anxious to do, then also see what kind of organizing I can help with at Campos Blancos here in Peru. Talk to you soon. Thanks for all your prayers and support! Hasta luego!

Leigh
Global Support

Week two

2006-09-11T11:20:00.000-07:00

The Medical Clinics

As the last of my bug bites fade the memory of the second half of our trip does not… It is here that we were able to see and feel and touch the pulse of the people, both literally and figuratively…

Because of our fundraising efforts we were able to purchase and fill 5-50# bags of medicines and medical supplies. As “luck” would have it, even in the midst of the crazy terrorist alert day that we took off on, our bags made it all the way thru and we picked them up in Lima transporting them to Iquitos without a hitch…It was the contents of those bags along with another $600.00 worth of medicines that we purchase locally that enabled us to do the clinics in three villages over the course of the next five days.

The three villages were selected because of their proximity to the Children’s Center. It is our desire to build bridges with these people as well. Their needs are just as great as the street children that we are ultimately seeking to help. We joined with Peruvian Dr.’s Nurses and Dentists to assess, treat and document over 600 people the majority of which were children. Peruvian dentistry at this level primarily consists of pulling teeth, probably well over a hundred during two of the three days.…There is no preventative dentistry here, no tooth paste, no tooth brushes, no fluoride.. Lumps of sugar cane are sold everywhere for chewing and the resulting decay is evident even in the younger ones.

People lined up outside in the hot sun and waited, for the most part patiently to be triaged, documenting names, basic health information and the nature of their problems. We ran into many cultural myths, about how to break fevers, heal wounds, or cure something, most of which were clearly illogical and primitive and sometimes even dangerous. But some methods of treatment made sense and the process was fascinating.

The Dr’s offices were not private but consisted of a corner desk in a room at the local school. We had a make shift pharmacy set up where prescriptions were filled and directions were written down and gone over again. Needless to say that provided some challenges. We had interpreters, generous people that spent hours and hours volunteering to work with us to help us translate the process .

The air is stifling hot, and the crowds of people constantly pushed forward to make sure they or their child are one of the ones to be seen by the Dr or Dentist... Occasionally you can see people step aside or bring someone to the head of the line who needs immediate attention or who is clearly sicker. These are the good moments, when you see someone putting their own needs aside so that others more desperate than themselves can be helped. Regardless of the country, the culture, the differences, these are the Godly moments where kindred spirits act as bridges between cultures and people... One village we visited has never had a Dr. visit them before and were in the midst of a Malaria outbreak, so we stayed long hours attempting to see all that we could.

I find it ironic, that here in the Amazon jungle where plants are such an integral part of their culture, their healthcare and their religion, that these people are so desperate to get any medicine we have to offer. In many cases they will come back two and three times with different aliments each time until one is treatable with ”western” medicine. And yet, in the midst of this very same jungle, western medicine is seeking desperately to cull the secrets of the healing properties from these plants before they are destroyed in the name of progress.. It shows me once again we do not live in a black and white world, where one way is completely right and the other way wrong, our medicine is not necessarily the only right way and theirs wrong. We must remind ourselves, especially when we do these trips, that it is not an “either /or” but a “both/and” world that we live in.

We have many things to learn as well as to teach and it is in these moments that the gap between our cultures narrows. It is our hope, the hope of Global Support, that we are able to build bridges, or at least the beginnings of one, through outreaches such as these. And as we fly home and they go back to their lives hopefully each one of us has been touched and changed by our meeting.

The team Returns recap week 1

2006-09-08T18:39:00.000-07:00
Global Support’s trip to Peru.

And so it comes to be that I have returned from another foray into the lives of the marginalized and poverty stricken in Peru. It is an unjust world in which injustice is a way of life. It is inflicted upon so many and they in turn perpetuate it by inflicting it on others, unthinking, unknowing that there is a different way, a better way to live.

On August 24th 5 of us returned from a two week trip to Peru. This is the first in a two part series of an accounting of that trip.

From the onset this trip looked very different from the ones in the past. On the heals of a fundraising campaign launched late last spring in which Global Support raised funds to buy a large van so that the children, volunteer teams and building materials could be delivered to the Children’s Center just outside Iquitos, we left on August 10th. It had become clear to us that the transportation issue had become a hurdle to the forward progress of the development of that center.

The $2,000 that we raised soon became the $10,000 that was needed and so it was that the first week of our two week trip involved the purchase and delivery of that vehicle. The challenging part of this seemingly easy task is that there are no decent vehicles worth buying in Iquitos because there are no roads through the Amazon jungle there requiring all new vehicles to the area to be brought in by barge up the Amazon river.. So, with that said, the adventure of buying the truck in Lima, driving it over the Andes to the end of the road in Pucalpa and on to Iquitos begins.

The trip itself took three days and three nights passing through four climate zones. From Lima the road looked like a beautiful new two lane highway giving us a sense that is wouldn’t be much different than traveling in the states…We quickly learned differently… Within several hours of leaving Lima we had reach altitudes of over 15,000 feet with snow capped peaks and barren landscape indicating we were far above the point in which any vegetation could exist. As it began to grow dark we realized we needed to stop, far short of our projected destination at a lower altitude, but in the wonderful village of Junin, located at a mere 13,800 feet above sea level. With our heads swelling from the altitude and the temperatures dipping into the low 30’s we found a small hotel for the night. All suffering from altitude sickness and the freezing cold we welcomed the warmth of the heavy Alpaca wool blankets on us and tried to sleep.

Waking to stunning blue skies and even colder temperatures the truck wouldn’t start giving us ample time to explore the market and town. In retrospect and despite the altitude sickness and temperatures we had a wonderful time here experiencing a beautiful and colorful aspect of Peruvian culture that seemed relatively untouched by the outside world.

Getting a late start we raced down the mountain to try and get below 10,000 feet in order to reduce the effects of the altitude on all of us. Passing countless shacks along the narrow edge of what now was a deteriorating dusty, pot hole ridden road I wondered what life was like for these families. With little more than a few feet between the back of their houses and the edge of the mountain they sat on their front porches, with their children, dogs and chickens, watching, as huge clouds of dust billowed by with each passing truck. Words can not describe the dirt, filth and poverty that we witnessed , but neither can it describe the beauty of the high mountain jungle nor the friendly helpful people we met along the way. As the weather grew hotter and more humid it became obvious we were coming down into the Amazon River basin and sea level. The headaches were gone and we could once again breathe deep. A dip into a river along the way was the ultimate payoff for an arduous journey that was more like the Indiana Jones ride at Disneyland than we could have ever imagined.

We arrived late one night risking the constant threat of banditos and police blockades rather than spending another night on the road.. The road just ended in the city of Pucalpa, a port city like so many others in the world filled with the hustle and bustle of a transient commerce. The port resembled an ant colony, filled with ants busy loading up barges by hand, each of them carrying loads that seemingly far exceeded their own body weight. No fancy cranes, no loading docks here, just a couple of planks of wood and the Land Cruiser was driven onto the barge for it’s journey up the Amazon to Iquitos. We took a taxi back to our hotel, packed up and headed to the airport for our one hour flight. As it turns out we beat the truck to Iquitos by 7 days.

Children of the Amazon Update

2006-01-24T15:51:00.000-08:00
January 2006

Greetings Supporters of Children of the Amazon:

The air is thick with humidity as they land onto the ground at Iquitos after 3 months absence in the States, criss-crossing the continent multiple times, sharing the message of the street children of Peru.

Children of the Amazon with Glaucio & Shannon Guimaraes and family, returned to Peru the first of December 2005, to continue the work began last year with the orphanage project. The next several months will entail overall land planning for the infrastructure at the 72 acres granted by the Peruvian University. They must determine where the buildings are to be located, where the next transitional home is, the clinic, the church, the soccer field?

Concurrent with the building plan is the preparation for the businesses. One farm is in place on one acre of land, with another in the planning. Then there’s the chicken coup; not to mention setting up purchasers of the product and the workers for each endeavor. Never an end of things to do! But, that is a good problem to have.

Everyone is quite busy in these early stages of developing the village for the street children. We at Global Support will keep you informed at the various stages. We are looking forward to the progression of accomplishments. Several building teams are already scheduled to arrive throughout Jan-April 2006.

Global Support is sending a “Give Back” team to Peru in August. Let us know if you or anyone you know is interested, and contact us. Information regarding this trip will be forthcoming.

Children of the Amazon

2005-10-31T21:05:00.000-08:00
In the city of Iquitos, Peru, there are over 4,000 children at risk of living on the streets. They are between the ages of 5-15 years old. Nearly 800 of them are considered "Working Children", meaning that the extreme poverty they find themselves in forces them to work on the streets either to help support their families economically or to survive on their own. You will find them out shining shoes, cleaning motorcycles, selling trinkets by day and drugs and prostitution by night.

Iquitos is now considered by many as the largest Child Prostitution center in the world.

It is shocking to realize that it is the tourist trade that perpetuates the sex trade for these street children. "...It is Western culture that drives this nefarious economic force. Without the West, the child sex tourism industry would not flourish." (Fighting Child Prostitution, Sojourners Magazine, Sept/Oct 2005).

We have recently linked arms with Children of the Amazon, an organization in Iquitos, Peru that is the only organization in Iquitos and possibly in all of Peru that is working with this particular populous, the street children. They are listed with the government as the number one agency working with the street children of Peru.

The aim of Children of the Amazon is to remove these children off the streets of Iquitos.

Global Support has been there to witness their work first hand. A team of 11 people left Shoreline, Washington, from Vineyard Community Church in the Spring of 2005 to visit the organization. We were so captivated by the work they were doing and convinced that their cause was worth championing, that we came back with that purpose in mind. Since that time, we have had two major fund raising events and have collected over $25,000.

We continue to make Children of the Amazon our number one priority in the next few years with fund raising, trips to their location and grant writing.

"...we are called to care for these children. Although we cannot easily remedy the systemic evils of the global economy in a broken world, we can fight for those in need, aware that people who are in desperate poverty will sell even their children. Such an economic force is not easily swayed--it's violent, pervasive, and treacherous--but we must both name the systems we participate in and actively subvert them by loving the victims." (Sojourners Magazine, Fighting Child Prostitution, Sept/Oct 2005).

Benefit Success

2005-10-31T20:55:00.000-08:00
October 15th Benefit at the Red Twig Cafe in downtown Edmonds was a roaring success by exceeding our expectations and raising over $20,000 for plight of the street children of Iquitos, Peru through Children of the Amazon! We were thrilled with the outcome and are excited for the next event! If anyone is interested in hosting an evening at their home please let us know. Email dellis@windermere.com and we'll be right on it!

Global Support Benefit

2005-09-28T11:49:00.000-07:00

You are invited to attend a fundraiser sponsored by Global Support for the benefit of the homeless children of Iquitos, Peru.
Meet Glaucio & Shanon Guimaraes Founders/Directors
of the “Children of the Amazon” in Iquitos.
Saturday, October 15th
7:30—10:30 p.m.

Red Twig Café, 117—5th Ave. S., Edmonds

H’dourves and beverages
R.S.V.P. to cindyannept@yahoo.com

Global Support

2005-09-21T22:36:00.000-07:00
This is Global Support with a mission, a non-profit organization that comes alongs side those organizations that have self sustaining programs serving the poor and whose recipient is the marginalized chilcren of the world. We look for programs that are designed to give not just a hand out, but a hand up, where the local populace is empowed to work their way out of poverty with help and oversite but which doesn't compromise their sovereignty as a people. This ultimately brings justice and gives a voice where there may have been none. These programs are to bring hope to the children; hope for a future that is better than their reality today. Global Support is designed to bridge the gap between the resources available to us and those elsewhere who have much less.