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Craig Safranek of Merna, is shown above with some Peruvian boys as they visited a local zoo in Peru. Craig was part of a team from Nebraska that made a trip last month to a remote boys home in the South American country. By ELLEN MORTENSEN
Chief Assistant Editor
Few things on earth warm the heart like the smile of a child. However, for countless children growing up in destitute nations around the world, most days bring little to smile about.
One such nation is the country of Peru, where nearly half of the nation’s 29 million people live below the poverty line. Prostitution is rampant in this land where many will do just about anything to make money.
That high rate of prostitution, in turn, leads to a high rate of unplanned births. Many of these children are abandoned by their mothers when they are quite young, and become victims of the streets themselves.
Since 1927, a group called Scripture Union has been working to make a difference in Peru. The organization’s Website describes it as “an interdenominational evangelical world-wide movement working with local churches to help children, young people and families know God through His Word.”
One of the churches that has worked closely with Scripture Union for several years is Zion Church of Lincoln, home church for Craig Safranek’s brother-in-law, Troy Power. Each year the church sends 15-20 people to Peru on a missions trip to a boy’s home dedicated to helping some of these abandoned boys get off the streets.
After hearing Troy talk about his experience on the trip, Craig decided it sounded like something he wanted to be a part of. He went to work attempting to raise the necessary funds, and thanks to the generous donations of several individuals, on Aug. 6 Craig departed with the group for Iquitos, Peru.
The boys home is located in the jungle, about a 45 minute boat ride from the city of Iquitos. The facility houses 40-50 boys (currently there are 43) who sleep in bunkhouse type buildings. Church groups, like this one from Zion, provide money, labor and materials for building up the camp.
Craig says the boys get excited when an American church group comes, because they know these people will not only help build their camp but also bring them goodies. The boys attend school from 7:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. each day, and that is when the group does most of their building.
There is no electricty at the boys home; the lights are powered by generators. Any perishables have to be brought in from the city that day, so fresh meat is a treat.
Water pumped directly from the river is used for toilets and showers. There is a tower with a make-shift filtering device which “filters” the drinking water.
There are currently only two bunkhouses, each housing more than 20 boys. Craig explains this makes for rather tight quarters.
Scripture Union, along with partner churches, is in the process of building an addition to the complex which will include sleeping quarters and a kitchen. This is what the Zion group worked on last month.
Members of the group each pay to go on the trip. Those fees are used by Scripture Union for day-to-day expenses for the boys; such as food, clothing and school materials. While there, the church group goes to town and purchases all the materials they need for their part of the project - in this case, a kitchen.
Craig says while they were there, another group consisting of scientists and students from Berkley, Calif., was there. This group’s mission was to study the possiblity of adding solar panels to the kitchen which would operate a refrigerator, thus allowing the boys the opportunity to enjoy fresh meat and milk more often.
While the daytime hours are filled with framing up walls and pouring concrete, the evenings are devoted to spending quality time with the boys. Craig says the group takes them swimming, to the zoo, to soccer matches (which they really love), or just plays games with them.
“The trip really serves two purposes,” says Craig. “One is to provide labor and building supplies, and the other is to provide emotional support for these boys.”
Craig says because of the background of these boys, the approach to teaching them about the Bible is a little different. They do, however, have a religion class in their school. With few of the boys speaking English, and few of the churchgroup speaking Spanish, teaching anything is a challenge.
“One of the goals of the trip is to teach the boys by example,” Craig explains. “We want to show them what loving Christians act like on a daily basis. We hope, in turn, that will motivate them to go back and make a difference in their world.” |
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