Abriéndose los ojos

Reportaje número 7, el 7-8 de noviembre



My most recent trip to Amantaní was a special one for a couple of reasons. Foremost among those is that I was accompanied by one of my best friends, my mom. Together, we spent two weeks exploring Peru. It was an excellent experience; not only did I get to see a lot more of the country where I've spent the last two and half months, but I was also able to observe the parts I'm more familiar with, Puno and Amantaní, through the eyes of a tourist.
Before Thursday, November 6th, I'd tried to give my whole family an understanding of life on Amantaní and what my work there meant. As much time as I spent explaining and “anecdote-ing”, I truly believe that you can't understand this place until you experience it for yourself. You must see the strength of an 80-year old woman carrying a 40-kilo sack of rice on her back up a rocky path, observe a 5-year old girl learning how to knit to watch traditions being (re)born, try to speak Quechua to appreciate the bilingualism of nearly every local.
My mom's time on Amantaní was extremely eye-opening. Eye-opening in a traditional sense and a more literal one. You see, as part of her work as an optician she distributes and gifts glasses to disenfranchised or impoverished demographics within and outside of the United States. We both thought it would be a great idea for her to bring old frames and lenses on our trip because, as far as ocular health is concerned, the Puno region is quite lacking. Especially on Amantaní, most people go their whole lives without an eye exam, without wearing UV protective lenses, or getting treatment for cataracts or glaucoma. Many of the residents, in fact, lose the ability to read normal-sized text by the age of 45 or 50 and, in my non-professional opinion, I think that many of the literacy problems could be improved with a simple pair of reading glasses. I know that there are children who come to the library who can't read because they just can't see the letters on the page.
That said, the gift of glasses is an impactful one. After the afternoon session I spent reading and playing one of our favorite spelling games with the kids, my mom and I went from house to house in the community of Santa Rosa giving, fitting, and adjusting reading glasses. My favorite moment of all was at the house of the governor and his wife. Both are in their fifties and, while the husband made it to the second grade of elementary school, the wife had never had any formal schooling. Now, a week later, Josefina tells me that her kids are teaching her how to read now that, for the first time in her life, she can see the pages clearly.
Everything on this overnight trip turned out better than hoped. We had over 15 kids and several moms at the library. There was real and true cultural exchange between my family and my hosts. And, best of all, there are at least 25 people in Santa Rosa who can carry out their daily lives with calirty...and without headaches.