Where do we start? To use the old cliché – at the very beginning! Following a chance phone call from a gentleman looking for tickets for a cruise I was organising for another charity, it turned out that he worked for BAe Systems and was heavily involved with shipping on the Clyde. As the conversation developed it turned out that Tom Dunn was one of the chief engineers on the Amazon Hope 1 which I recalled to having watched the BBC documentary about her. Tom was also involved with the Seaman's Mission in Greenock and it turned out that we had several other interests in common. Tom also informed me about the Amazon Hope 2's tour of the UK. So after a group of the Sunday School children visited the Amazon Hope 2 medical ship at Troon in September 2005, I said to my wife Jennifer that I would like to help out with one of the work parties the Vine Trust organised to Peru. Some nine months later it was reality. On behalf of David Young and myself, can I thank everyone who gave us donations to help fund our trip. Our target was to raise £3000 but in the end we raised over £5000 which was an excellent result in such a short space of time.

Team meetings attended, innoculations at the doctor’s completed, teddy bears everywhere, suitcases were packed and ready to go on June 27th. Our journey to Peru saw us arriving at Glasgow Aiport at 3.30am in the morning and then on to Amsterdam where we caught the ‘big plane’ to Lima, via Bonaire in the Carribean (for an hour’s refuelling and change of crew) - a total of 19 hours travelling!


After an overnight stay in Lima we headed north for a nine hour bus journey to the main project site at Kusi, which is in the footslopes of Huascaran, the highest mountain in the tropics at 22,500ft. Its snow covered slopes were spectacular. As it turned out, we were to be the first work party to stay at Kusi, and the non-arrival of the beds mant that we had to stay in a small hotel in a nearby village for the first few nights. However, we were straight in to working and the first few days saw us humphing around lots of rocks and boulders of solid granite dug out of the ground. These were eventually to be used in the foundations of what was to become an accommodation block for around 20 streetchildren.

The rest of the time at Kusi included making mud bricks from soil, straw and water. Six days later they were dry and ready to be used after sitting out in the scorching heat of the cloudless skies. Bamboo canes were stripped, ready to be used on the roofs, and some logs were cut and hoisted up to use as roof timbers.

Our days off at Kusi included a trip up the mountain where we witnessed some spectacular scenery. A more sombre trip was down to a memorial at the village of Yungay, which was destroyed in 1970 when a landslide from Huascaran, following an earthquake, thundered down in just 3 minutes and killed over 70,000 people.

There is a school at Kusi which Scripture Union Peru have set up and it is attended by around 90 local children - a testament to the hard work invested at the site. The houseparents on the site, Rosa and Amerigo, also run a bible class on a Wednesday night and they laid on a wonderful evening for us.

Soon it was time to head back to Lima to get an early morning flight to Iquitos, in the heart of the Peruvian Amazon Jungle. By sheer luck and good timing it turned out the the Amazon Hope 2 would also be arriving the same day as us. The planned itinerary was abandoned and we headed for a watersports centre by the river to become part of the welcome party. After hanging around for a couple of hours in the sweltering heat of the jungle AH2 finally arrived, escorted by AH1, and she was greeted by lots of local children. After a short reception we were taken out on to the ship for a look round.

Our accommodation for 2 nights at Iquitos was at SUPeru’s streetchildren’s centre at Puerto Alegria - an hour’s banana boat trip up the Amazon. They have around 40 children staying there and it was great to mix with them. Whilst at Iquitos we also visited the drop-in streetchildren’s centre where some children come to have breakfast and dinner and some schooling, but go home to stay with parents at night. Attached to this centre is the water bottling plant which generates some revenue. Also in Iquitos SUPeru have a fleet of motorised rickshaws - the main mode of transport in the city. They have to be experienced to be believed - great fun!

Without doubt the most moving part of the visit to Iquitos had to be our visit to the local rubbish dump where we witnessed the people, over 100, who live and scavenge through the bags of rubbish just to survive. The sights and smells in the Amazon heat will remain for a long time.

Finally, it was back to Lima for a very rushed trip round the city, again based at the streetchildren’s centre there, where we had our lunch with the kids - some of whom were obviously starving. Some of the children work in a bakery providing bread and rolls for the community, and again generating some much needed revenue. Quite apt given Johnston’s sermons over the last few weeks - even in the poorest of countries, making bread brings folk together and helps them in it’s own small way. But at least, in a small way, they are getting looked after.

And that was basically the theme of the workparty - making a difference - it may not be much, but if the work we contributed to can save the life of just one abandoned child, then we can say that we have been able to make a difference. If you would like to find out more about our trip then drop me an email at stuart@baronystjohns.co.uk and I can give you details of an illustrated talk which can be given to local groups.

Last, but not least, a film crew was onboard the AH2 filming her arrival and the visits we made around Iquitos. All being well there should be a 6-part series about the Vine Trust on STV in the autumn of 2007. I'll keep you informed as to the dates.

AND FINALLY:
Thanks to everyone below who contributed towards our appeal to help fund David and myself participate in the Vine Trust Work Party to Peru.

Mr Eric Coates, Orkney
Jacobs Babtie, Glasgow
Barony St John's Church
Sales of Wordsearches
My Mum's Tablet
Aunt Joan's Ginger Wine
South Beach House & Residents
New Trinity Church Kirk Session
Mima McSwan
Edith Murchie
Alastair Colquhoun
Lex Macdonald
Mrs Robertson
Mrs Dunlop
Mrs Barbour
Mrs Luckhurst
Mrs Callan
Mrs McLarty
Mrs S Dunbar
Susan Brown
Mr & Mrs C Forsyth
Mr & Mrs J Stewart
Mrs P Boyle
Arena Office Supplies, Kilwinning
Neilly's Shoe Shop, Stevenston
Cavani's West End Cafe, Saltcoats
Sports & Rainwear, Saltcoats
Paul Stevenston, Funeral Directors, Saltcoats
James Baillie, Butchers, Saltcoats
NAC - Cleansing Dept
Crawfords Card Shop, Saltcoats
Campbell Leitch Joiners, Saltcoats
Mrs A McIlroy
Miss A Buick
Mrs S McCulloch
Mrs R Montgomerie
Mrs E Reid
Mrs S McHallum
Mrs W Smith
Mrs S McKinnon
Kilwinning Old Parish Guild
Autumn Club, Park Church, Ardrossan
Mrs M Taggart
Mr & Mrs McWhirter
Miss E Howie
Rev. Sandy McCallum
Mr & Mrs H McCulloch
Mr & Mrs R Rankin
Mrs E Gilfoyle
Mrs M Watson
Pauline Reid
Mr & Mrs G Armstrong
Mrs A MacLean
Mrs N Hamilton
Mrs E Copes
Mrs E McKinnon
Mrs N Benson
Mrs H Callan
Mrs A Hamilton
Kilwinning Old Parish Church
Overton Church Ladies Group, West Kilbride
Fairlie Parish Church
Mansefield Trinity Church, Kilwinning
Mr A MacKinnon, Troon
Miss Thorburn, West Kilbride
Trinity Church, Dalry
St Andrew's Church, West Kilbride
Mrs C Brown, Raasay
Mr & Mrs J Campbell
Mr & Mrs W Long
Mr & Mrs W Smith
Mr J McBroom
St. Andrew's Episcopal Church, Ardrossan
Mrs M Smith
Mrs J Gordon

with apologies to anyone we have omitted.

Stuart McMahon