Plenary, 27 Apr 2005

Meeting date: Wednesday, April 27, 2005

Official Report 434KB pdf

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Time for Reflection

Good afternoon. The first item of business is time for reflection. Our time for reflection leader today is Miss Eilidh Letham, a sixth-year pupil of Airdrie Academy.

Good afternoon. Last year, I was given the opportunity to travel to Peru with a team from my school. My teacher had been there the previous year and had come across a little school high up in the Andes near the city of Arequipa. Knowing that she was a teacher, her guide introduced her to the village elder, who showed her around.

The school there consisted of two classrooms and little else. The desks were broken and the school had to close for most of the year because the windows were smashed and it was too cold for the pupils to work. The school had very few resources: it had no electricity or running water and barely enough pencils and paper for the children to write. The building itself was drab and in desperate need of a paint. My teacher promised the elder that she would return with a group from her school who would refurbish the little school.

So, our quest and adventure began. With the help of the Airdrie community—our school, parents, friends and family—our team raised enough money to go to Peru and completely refurbish the school. We had to buy our materials in the main city of Arequipa and transport them to the village, first by truck and then by donkey. The journey took two days.

We replaced all the windows, painted the school inside and out, dug a trench to bring running water into the village and put in the first toilet. The people of the village came in from the fields to help us; all of us worked together. The schoolchildren were our constant companions and followed us everywhere. Because the village was so isolated, the children were fascinated by our digital cameras, CD players and torches—in fact, they were fascinated by anything electronic.

We lived in tents at the side of the school and endured temperatures of -20( at night and searing heat during the day. We lived on beans, okra and guinea pig, which the villagers kindly cooked for us. We also had to battle constant fatigue, as we struggled to get used to the high altitude.

As I reflect on my experiences, I have realised that, when you enter a community where the people have so few possessions, you become aware of how spoiled and pampered you are. We were carrying huge rucksacks full of things that we felt we could not possibly live a month without, whereas the children lived in shabby little houses and were amazed by a simple packet of crayons. We saw that even the simplest things made the children happy. When we left, we gave them the small gifts that we had brought with us: paper, pens, toys and so on.

It was great to see them trying to work out how to use a yoyo or practising with skipping ropes—although blowing bubbles was definitely the favourite. It was then that the difference in cultures became clear. Kids in this country are not happy unless they are given an iPod or a mobile phone, but the kids in the village were so appreciative of the simple things that we had brought. We knew that they would get endless hours of fun from their new gifts.

Working on the project brought us closer together as a team. Each of us felt that we had achieved something that would change those people's lives for ever. Working as a team also meant that we could motivate one another. Even on the days when our energy levels were low, we got out of bed to find half a dozen or so little helpers who were ready to start the day's work. When we finished the project, it was great to see the children return to their new improved school with their best clothes on and their faces washed, eager to learn.

The people in the village saw education as a valuable opportunity, yet in this country we take education for granted. If the children could not go to school, they would be out in the fields, earning a living through hard labour. However, they knew that, with a little education, they could get a better job with better wages.

Our sense of pride was overwhelming: we had worked hard for nearly a year and half on our fundraising and, now that we could see the fruits of our labour, we knew that it had all been worth while. My future life will always be touched by those people: the simplicity of their lives, their lack of material goods, their contentment, generosity and kindness and, most of all, their humility. The adventure has inspired me to do more: I want to make a difference and to help to make the world a community of mutual respect.