I have been very busy travelling and wrapping up my project so my The Jungle Book series has fallen behind. Reminder: I visited the jungle with org Minga Peru (see previous Jungle Book posts) from July 22 to 25 to learn more about their work empowering indigenous women living in rural communities.
On July 25th (last day in Iquitos), Emira, Cesar, and I visited the market and community of Belén, an extremely poor district on the shores of the city's eastern river. Unfortunately, I did not get any pictures of the market; although, its sights and smells will be forever imprinted in my brain. The market is immense! It stretches on forever...stand after stand of meat, potatoes, fruit, vegetables, pots and pans, artisanry, and lots and lots of fish. Every shape, color, and smell of fish could be found in that market, guarded from the flies and vultures by swatting children. The streets of the market (and the barrio) were covered in trash...rotten vegetables, the insides of animals, bottles, rags, paper, shoes...everything. Vultures preyed on the piles weaving through the hundreds and hundreds of people perusing (ha!) the merchandise.
Emira and Cesar were particularly excited to show me a specific alley way in the market where vendors sold natural medicines from the jungle. Bottles of unknown liquids, baskets of bark and fish fins, bags of ground powders, and big piles of (what I hoped were) odd looking mushrooms covered every square inch of the wooden tables. Upon approaching a table, someone would immediately ask "What ails you?"
The actual residential area of Belén was a mess. The barrio is on the shore of a large river that floods the street for three months every year. The waters wash in tons and tons of trash. Mountains of trash. During the dry season trash fills every spare corner. Children kick mounds away to make room for their games.
Because the river rises so high every year, the homes are build very high off the ground. Those immediately next to the water are built to float. As the water rises, so do the homes. Families can float their homes down river if they wish to.
We visited the community to meet and talk with Jose, a coorespondent for Minga's radio programs. We sat with him underneath his house and taked about the social projects and the needs of Belén. Jose emphasized the issue of alcoholism specifically among young men. He also mentioned several failed attempts by other orgs to rid the neighborhood of its unsanitary man made mountains.
He praised Minga's work in the community especially the radio programs' focus on alcohol and drug abuse. He expressed that Minga's particular "intercultural" approach to the issue reached the young people in a unique and effective way.
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