Kawai was a big change form Kimo. It was back to being jolly freezing again (still no hot water), the buildings were whitewashed, almost mediterranean in style and the grounds lovely and neat with manicured lawns and tidy garden beds. Again, this centre doubled as a house for the boys, who had their own corner of the large compound, and several cabins and beach houses for rental in summer along with a large dining room. the property backed onto the beach - the Pacific ocean. The first couple of days we spent travelling further south to help with some of SU's acitivity in one of the areas hit hard by the earthquake. We had another day in Lima and the rest was spent helping around Kawai and spending time with the boys, playing games, and having flatering conversations in our beginner's spanish. Some of the kids were very good teachers and it was great to spend some time just sharing some love with them. Most were from very rough backgrounds, many turned out by parents who couldn't afford to raise them or abused and outcast. Their hope and often shy friendship was very touching.
the day in Lima was spent doing a little bit of sight seeing, including the changing of the guard at the Presidential Palace, the huge Cathedral built by Spaniards in the 1400s, and also an impromtu invitation to a 'St Rosa's day' Celebration. she is the Patron Saint of the Police Force and also of Lima itself. we were passing by a gate and could hear some music and when one of the team put her head around the door, we were promtly invited in to watch some traditional music and dancing by the Policemen and their families!
We had lunch at the Centre in Lima and the boys performed in a choreography to music about a boy's story struggling on the street then conversion and new hope in Jesus. It was a very touching show, and the boys involved were very serious about how it was portrayed. It was amazing to see how their lives had changed and to see such a great bunch of kids who had come from such painful backgrounds.
Back at the Kawai centre, we were involved in more painting, weeding and cleaning, and also organised a couple of days of activities to do with the boys living there. the last afternoon we prepared a 'mini olympics' with lots of games for teams, the last of which was the messiest, but by far the favourite!! (see below).