Brian Drumm's Photo Gallery
IUPUI sophomore guard
John Ashworth will be checking in nightly as he and members of the men's basketball team embark on a 12-day goodwill trip to Peru. He and other members of the men's basketball team, in conjunction with Samaritan's Feet, made the trip to Peru to take shoes and other items to poverty stricken parts of Peru.
(Saturday, August 2 - 9:17 p.m.)
We have helped a lot of kids in Lima and given hundreds of shoes at our distributions but today was by far the best day of the trip. We went to a church and school that housed young girls that had been sexually or physically abused. The girls ranged from ages 2 to 21, and one 13 year old girl was pregnant. I expected these girls to be timid, scared of the men in our group, and have depressed attitudes. It was the exact opposite. These girls were the most loving kids we have seen this trip. The girls were climbing all over the men, holding hands and hugging everybody, and extremely excited to see us.
We only had about 50 girls at the distribution today so we had a lot more time to spend with each girl. It seemed like everyone in our group got close to at least one little girl and we had an awesome experience spending time with them. They were fascinated by our cameras and loved seeing their faces in pictures we took. Because this was the best day and we got so close to the girls, it made it that much harder to leave.
The girls were standing at the end of the road waving to us, some with tears, telling us goodbye.
Overall this has been an incredible trip and it is unfortunate it is coming to an end. Tomorrow is our last full day and we will spend most of it in church. Im thankful for all the people that have helped IUPUI and Samaritan`s Feet come this far. This is my last blog and I`ve had fun sharing my experiences with you. Adios!
(Friday, August 1 - 6:13 p.m.)
The hardest part of this trip to not being able to help everyone. When we leave places there are people pleading for us to give them shoes. Mothers hold their children and show us feet that are dirty and worn. What helps me is the faces of kids who recieve shoes and how happy and grateful they are.
Today we went to a local playground where there were about 500 kids. It was hard to organize because of the number of people. After some dancing we played some basketball. There was one 11 year old girl in my group was actually really good at basketball. It was surprising to see this in a country that is crazy about soccer. I talked to her a little more and she was an awesome girl and knew some English. She became my "little Amigo". After basketball we started our shoe distribtution. Some volunteers from the Peace Corps also helped wash kids` feet and give shoes. As we got to the end we had to tell a hundred or so kids that they wouldnt be recieving shoes.
In all the madness that insued after breaking the news there was one last kid that was able to get their feet washed and receive shoes. As the kid ran and sat in the chair in front of me I noticed it was my
"little Amigo". Out of all the kids that could`ve been the last one it was her.
As the trip goes on we`ve gotten better and more efficient at our shoe distributions. Today we provided probably 300 to 400 kids with shoes. Tomorrow we giving 100 pairs of shoes to women who have been sexually or physically abused. After that we are going to a town about three hours outside of Lima to help kids who`s town was hit by an earthquake about a year ago.
(Thursday, July 31 - 6:56 p.m.)
As we drove up the sand and dirt hills of a small neighborhood outside Lima, we came to a local basketball court that served as a place for kids' events. There were well over 400 people, mostly kids, waiting for us to arrive. As we arrrived we were cheered for like movie stars.
Everyone wanted our pictures, people threw confetti, and there were kids beating on drums.
My teammates and I first did some basketball demonstrations and then we
did drills with the 300 kids. Basketball is a relatively new concept in Peru where everyone worships soccer but they all seemed excited to see us play and do drills with them.
After basketball we started our shoe distribution. Kid after kid came and was very grateful that we were there and giving them shoes. I saw many kids run and play soccer as soon as they got their shoes. It was an incredible sight to see.
Although today was a really good day and we helped many kids, one thought that will stick out in my mind today is a face of a woman who did not recieve shoes for her kids. As our bus drove away I noticed the look of distgust on her face. I can understand why she felt this way and I felt so bad because we still had some left over that will be going to another area, but it still left a sour taste in my mouth because of the need that there is in a place like Peru.
(Wednesday, July 30 - 9:53 p.m.)
As I learned today, Peru is not all poor and needy. It was somewhat of a sightseeing day for our group. We saw the business districts and a lot nicer areas than we had previously seen on this trip. We went to a pier that was right on the Pacific Ocean and ate at Tony Roma`s. We also went to the shops on the pier and I found out that American clothing is even more expensive here. A pair of basketball shoes were $200. We also went to the beach but it is nothing like beaches in America. Instead of sand there were rocks on the beach and in the rocks were huge amounts of trash. I saw everything from a toothbrush to an animal skeleton.
After we left the beach we went to the Lima mall. At first I thought I did not know what to expect but as I walked in I was surprised. This mall was just like a mall in America. It has two stories, all different types of stores, and a food court and movie theater. There were also department stores connected to the mall. After the mall our group went to a Peruvian McDonald`s. The food there was actually better than American McDonald`s.
The two sides of Peru were hard concepts for me to swallow. At one end there is a very poor area with people who have no shoes, little food, and terrible living conditions. On the other side is a booming business district with clothes more expensive than America. I hope in tomorrow`s shoe distribution we can help the kids who truly need it.
(Tuesday, July 29 - 10:26 p.m.)
Today was incredibly eventful. We accomplished a lot and helped a huge amount of people. We started off the morning by going to another very poor area. The homes in this area were built on steep hills similar to San Francisco but were in terrible condition. A lot of houses were just stacked on top of each other without structure or plan. The homes were made out of mostly wood and metal, and only a few were made out of old brick or concrete.
As we arrived there was only a small gathering in the local church. About 50 people that included adults to young children congregated. Our group sung with them and set up the shoe washing and distribution. As we set up lines for the locals word began to spread throughout the area. In a few minutes the group of 50 people grew to 100. As we continued the distribution the crowd got huge. There were hundreds of people crowding a small block. The line for shoes stretched forever. People started cutting in line and making fake marks on their hands to get shoes. Adults were trying to get shoes before kids who needed them. After giving about 250 shoes we began to pack up and leave
before the crowd got restless. As we were leaving people were pushing ahead to try to get shoes.
After we left we went to a basketball court in a poor area. All the kids there were playing soccer but we brought some basketballs and played with the young ones. After about 30 minutes of basketball our
pastor said a prayer for all of them and talked to them about God. The small group enjoyed that we were there and were very friendly.
Tomorrow we might meet Peru`s president and be honored at a banquet.
(Monday, July 28 - 7:10 p.m.)
Another day, another experience. Because of a national holiday in Peru, almost all businesses are closed so we postponed our show distribution until next week. Instead, we went to a local park that was next to Peru`s national soccer team stadium. There was a huge festival going on across the street and many people were at the park. They had many basketball and soccer courts. The kids were all relatively poor. Many had shoes that were falling apart, old shirts, and worn-down basketballs.
We played basketball with the kids and taught them some drills. We also played some games with the kids. After we had played some games, our pastor on this trip gave a sermon to the kids. A lot of them listened to his message and he seemed to get across to them. Our pastor got their names and addresses and is going to send them all a bible and also contact local churches about helping
these kids get to church every Sunday.
Playing basketball with these kids was great, but helping them to change their lives was more rewarding. After the sermon we talked to the kids more and learned more about them. Also, many of us gave the IUPUI basketball shirts we were wearing to these kids. They were very gracious and loved the fact that we gave them a gift. We took a lot of pictures with them in their new shirts
and played some more basketball.
Tomorrow we are doing another shoe distribution. We are going to another very poor area and leaving at 6:30 a.m. We will have over 300 kids and will do the same thing we did in the first distribution. Hopefully we can help more kids and not only give them shoes but give them hope of a better future.
(Sunday, July 27 - 9:10 p.m.)
Hola! Sunday is a very important day in Lima, so today we went to a local church and worshiped with locals. A Peruvian church service is much like an American church service. There is singing, sermons, and lots of prayer. One difference in the services was Peru services involve a lot more dancing and moving. Because we were guests, our pastors gave several sermons and lead prayers for locals.
After church we went to a Peruvian Chinese restaurant where the food was a little bit different than American Chinese food. Some people ate pigeon eggs and cat meat. After the meal we went to a market to bargain shop. I bought five shirts, an Adidas jacket, a lot of gifts for my family for about 40 dollars.
Since today was Sunday we did not pass out any shoes. We are getting up at 6 a.m. tomorrow morning to take a three-hour bus ride to a town that suffered an earthquake a year ago. This will be our second shoe distribution and we are looking forward to helping these kids.
(Saturday, July 26 - 7:04 p.m.)
Today was a long and hard day but our group accomplished a lot and we helped many poor, young, and needy kids. We traveled to a town outside of Lima, Peru that is built on hills and sand dunes. As we drove through the city we saw some things that made us appreciate America.
First, the houses these people live in are unbelievable. They are all about 10 feet by 10 feet for a whole family. Most houses are made out of old pieces of wood, sheets of metal, trash, paper, or any materials that could be found. These houses lined the hills for miles. There must have been thousands of them.
We stopped at a local church and set-up our stuff there. This small church was the size of most American living rooms. In this church were about 200 kids. Our missionary leaders and pastors did some activities at the beginning and then we started the real work. Each kid was lined up and checked for their shoe size. After this they went to feet-washing stations where we washed their feet, talked to them, and gave them socks and shoes. After several hours, and about 300 kids later, we were done. As we walked out of the church the street was filled with people wanting shoes, candy, food, or anything else we could give them. Some kids were even fighting over bags of chips.
On the hour-long bus ride back to the hotel I was able to reflect and realize how fortunate Americans are and now know that we are helping kids that truly need our help.
(Friday, July 25 - 10:47 p.m.)
This is my first blog of the trip and since leaving Indianapolis I have already experienced a lot. Our flight was delayed out of Atlanta and after a 7-hour, cramped, sweaty, early morning flight we finally arrived in Lima, Peru.
As we went through Customs we received many questions about why we were bringing so many shoes. After ending the confusion we took a Peru-style bus ride to the hotel. Driving in Peru is like nothing I have ever seen. It makes New York or Los Angeles streets look like Wyoming. Stop signs are optional, no one pays attention to lines on the roads, and everyone honks their horn nonstop.
You could literally stick your hand out and touch other buses. On the way to the hotel we saw different parts of Lima. It is very crowded and there are many businesses along the streets. I thought some parts of America were poor until I saw what poverty truly is in a different country. After arriving in the hotel, we got settled and went out to eat. The chicken restaurant we went to had chicken better than anything
I`ve tasted in a long time and their drinks were unbelievable.
After eating, we went to the local market and got bottled water and snacks. Everyone is excited about tomorrow`s plans because we will be out in the poverty-stricken areas, helping the children, and giving shoes.
Tomorrow should be something I`ve never experienced before and I`m looking forward to telling you about it in the next blog.
