stories
Peru: Summer Mission 2009
by Chris Kipp
There we stood at the entrance of Belen, dropped off by a crazed caravan of ‘moto-taxis’. Belen translates to ‘Bethlehem’. It is the poorest area of the not-so-thriving city of Iquitos, Peru. The people of Belen are squatters; their homes constructed on stilts or on massive log rafts and built in the Amazon River bed. Yes, you read that right, in the riverbed. The reason is simple: it’s free land that is flooded for two months out of the year.
The poverty was immediately apparent as we descended the stairs into the riverbed village. No grass on the ground, just dark brown Amazon mud. Trash was literally everywhere; under every step. We could clearly see into most of the palm leaf covered huts as families and friends were gathered in the simple dwellings. As we worked our way to the river, we passed a game of soccer on a make-shift soccer field. People were literally everywhere.
We were stunned as our guides, Noe and Willie Malpartida, explained to us that Belen contains about 65% of the entire population of Iquitos. Currently 30% of the children do not attend school of any kind. Parents don’t understand the value of education because they don’t see immediate monetary returns. They opt to put the children to work instead.
It was about this time that a deep appreciation for Kairos Ministries began to fill my heart. Kairos Ministries is meeting needs head-on. They have invested themselves in enormous ways to bring about long-term change. You see, the vast majority of the children that attend Kairos Christian School are from Belen. They are able to receive a quality Christian education because of money raised through Kairos Ministries.
Our trip was filled with many adventures and many great moments. It will probably take years to process all that happened while we were there. My big take-away was an overwhelming sense of gratitude for who God has partnered us with in Iquitos. The Malpartida family and Kairos Ministries are ‘fleshing out’ the gospel of Jesus Christ. |