REPORT OF ACTIVITY - NUMBER ONE - MAY 1970 through JUNE 2016
return 2008, part II:
re-connection with old and new friends
The site of the 1970 school in la Victoria with the columns still in place.
On their visits to la Victoria and Huambacho el Arenal they just showed up. At la Victoria the school has been located some distance from the village which itself was about two hours inland from Casma. When they arrived at the site all they found were the remnants of the angle iron columns sticking up out of the ground. Not to be discouraged they went to the village to look around and found the new school with pieces of the angle irons supporting the entrance in the perimeter wall and a pile of the angle irons and roofing panels behind the school. They met and introduced themselves to the teacher and students and promised to return. Everyone was happy and animated during this reunion.
The entrance of the new school in la Victoria, inside the village proper, with the old angle irons used as supports for the jambs of the entrance gate.
In Huambacho el Arenal the experience was similar. While John and Bob were exploring the village and John noticed angle irons protruding above the perimeter wall of the school compound from a structure within. They knocked on the entrance door to the school compound, were admitted and given a warm welcome from the director, teachers and students. The students were excused from their classes and were running around the school yard in greeting, attended by the teachers. A luncheon was given to them afterwards, by one of the families, of which a teacher and two students were members.
Above - The 1970 school semi-recycled, partially demolished and a book case made from the steel angle irons.
To the left - the 1970 school, partially demolished to make way for the new school.
Below - John and Bob at lunch and children greeting them in the school yard with the old school, ready to be recycled in front of the new school, now open and functioning.
A new two storey school had been built, and part of the old school had been partially demolished to make way, with the remaining part serving as a provisional school during construction. The old school had been literally recycled. The roofing and structural steel from the part that had been demolished was recycled and reconstructed for use as outdoor assembly and bookcases were built for the classrooms and administration areas with the steel angle irons. They contributed recreational and school supplies to the school in the Huambacho el Arenal.
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