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Location: MySmallHelp Peru, Ollantaytambo
Today started with an early breakfast and then a long bus ride to Paru Paru community. On the way, we picked up a man named Andres, who we would be building a house for later. Ever since he was little, after having a rough start to his life, he had always wanted a house of his own. Once we arrived in Paru Paru we had an introduction about the work we would be doing today. Then we took a short walk to where we would be building the house. We broke up into three different stations. One group was digging up dirt, another was cutting hay to be thrown into a mud pile, and another group was walking in (barefoot) mixing in the hay with the cold mud. Finally, the mixed mud would be made into bricks. The mud was FREEZING COLD, but we made the best out of it. We put music on and danced around mixing the mud. After everyone got cleaned up, we went back to have lunch where we had some time to walk around the area by the amazing view of the mountains and lake. Some people played with a football with some kids that lived in the community. Our last mission for the day was to hand out donations to some people living in the community. We gave clothes and food to the people, and seeing their smiles on everyone’s faces was something that none of us will forget! Lastly, we came back to a meeting where we all let our hearts out about everything we’ve done on the trip so far and shared some things about our personal lives. I can’t wait to work somewhere new tomorrow!