Marianne & Margaret

I visited Sala Pampa (Sala pampa).

 

It is the village where dormitory friends Raul, Luis, and Edwin live.

It is a village four hours away on foot from the dormitory.

If it takes our friends four hours, it would take me around eight hours at my own pace — our friends walk as fast and nimble as squirrels!

The purpose of the visit was a combination of home visits to the dormitory friends' families and delivering mattresses to single-mother households and families in need.

Six of us — Father, the elderly sister, two dormitory teachers, Mario, and Cecilia — set off for Sala Pampa in a car with mattresses loaded on the roof, and the journey was nothing short of nerve-wracking.

The road was narrow with sheer cliffs on the side, and the car seemed to sway under the weight of the mattresses.

I could only look on with admiration at Fernando, who drove with such ease and composure.

Having only seen Pocopoco before, I had thought, "The drinking water, food, roads, and lives of the poor here are really difficult" — but the deeper into the countryside we went, the more astonished I became.

We crossed rivers that were barely roads and drove along mountain paths before finally arriving at Sala Pampa.

I am moved by the beautiful nature of Sala Pampa.

I am moved by the clear eyes and innocent laughter of the young children.

Seeing the homes of our dormitory friends, I find myself filled with a deep and sincere sense of respect.

Raul and Edwin were in the middle of building a new house.

Apparently, the Bolivian government provides minimal assistance for building new homes, but if the house is not completed within a set period, a heavy fine must be paid.

And so even the young children were helping with the construction.

It is heartbreaking to see our friends building their home through such hard labor, with no special tools.

Raul and Luis's house is a humble home made of earth and stone, like a part of the natural landscape, with hardly any furnishings.

The room held nothing but an old bed, a mattress made by covering cloth and stuffing it with grain leaves, some worn-out clothing, and the staple foods of corn and potatoes.

There is no running water inside the home.

They draw their drinking and household water from a rainwater pool collected across the field.

Poor families tend to have many children.

Raul's mother had given birth not long ago.

She was frail and thin from not eating enough.

With too little milk, the baby was also small and fragile.

The older sibling, who seemed to be around two or three years old, showed no signs of being fussy or childlike.

The other siblings had not gone to school and had left to herd livestock.

When we gave them the mattress as a gift, they went to the field and picked beans to give us in return.

Our friends live surrounded by beautiful nature every day, yet their lives seem so poor and difficult.

Perhaps because they resemble that beautiful nature, our friends are pure, and their eyes hold the sky within them.

The words of Scripture come to me naturally: "Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God." (Matthew 5:8)

These young friends reflect God to me and teach me humility and patience.

After visiting the homes in Sala Pampa, I feel our friends closer to my heart than ever, and I find myself with an even deeper affection for them.