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07247 April 26, 2007
Crossing barriers
A PC(USA) mission letter from Peru
by Emily Fletcher PC(USA) young adult volunteer
HUANUCO, Peru - I spent a recent week in La Oroya, one of the ten most polluted cities in the world, an unlikely place to have seen the inspiring and beautiful things that I did.
I had the opportunity to accompany a youth group from Michigan who came to Peru for their spring break mission trip. They joined forces with two groups of Peruvian youth to call attention to the dire contamination present in the community as well as to their dreams for a healthier and cleaner La Oroya.
La Oroya is home to one of the world's biggest smelters. It's owned by Missouri-based Doe Run Corporation. La Oroya depends upon the industry and suffers the contamination that comes from the smelter.
While Doe Run provides over 3,000 jobs in La Oroya, almost 100 percent of pre-school age children living in La Oroya suffer from lead poisoning, and 20 percent should be hospitalized as a result. The rocky hills surrounding this mountain town are an unnatural white, bleached from the acid rain that is formed from the smelter's sulfur dioxide emissions, which exceed World Health Organization standards tenfold. Overall, the Doe Run smelter pumps 1,000 tons of toxic pollution into the community every day.
The purpose of the week was to draw attention to the issues that the community of La Oroya faces and encourage the community to pursue their dreams of a healthier, cleaner La Oroya. During the course of the week, the youth from both the United States and Peru painted a mural together expressing their dreams for their community, wrote one of the most beautiful songs I've ever heard about the power of unity in the struggle to protect the environment, and wrote and performed a small theater presentation on the topic of living in a clean, healthy environment.
They were interviewed on the radio numerous times, graciously expressing their hopes for a cleaner La Oroya, and were invited to sing the song they had written during a prime- time morning slot.
Additionally, the presence of this group working in La Oroya opened the doors for a groundbreaking meeting between the city's officials and the people of the town on the topic of health and the environment, in which the people's questions were taken and the mayor expressed commitment to the health and environmental concerns of the community.
Not only did we see progress in terms of the struggle to improve conditions for the community of La Oroya, but cultural, religious, and language barriers were crossed as the youth interacted, helped one another, and learned from one another.
Leaving La Oroya to go back to Huánuco, as I passed through the bleached-white valley into greener, healthier hills, I realized that I was actually leaving that bleakly contaminated place healthier, a little more hopeful, and a little more a believer in the power of solidarity and the possibility of change. In one of the most damaged places on earth, I saw God's kingdom in the perseverance and commitment of those who have long struggled to see change in La Oroya, and in the unity, hope, and enthusiasm of the inspiring youth I was so blessed to be with.
For information about and letters from Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) mission workers around the world, visit the Mission Connections Web site.
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