The thatched huts that stood on the wasteland three months ago have been replaced by tidy, good-looking brick houses. Suddenly I realized that I was having an extraordinarily meaningful Thanksgiving Day.

Due to the effects of El Nino, Peru experienced heavy floods in late 1997 and early 1998. Tzu Chi members from the United States evaluated the situation in May, and in mid-August a relief mission and free clinic were sent to the most devastated counties in Lambayeque Province, near the equator in northern Peru.

After that, Tzu Chi members also decided to donate construction materials. They sent roofing material, beams, windows, doors, nails and tools to flood victims in the villages of Illimo, Pacoras, Jayanca, Olmos, Salas and Motupe in Chiclayo County, enabling them to build a hundred brick houses.

Between November 27 and 29, Tzu Chi members from the United States and Argentina toured the six villages to help celebrate the completion of the new houses and to share the happiness of the residents who had just moved in.

On the eve of Thanksgiving Day, I said goodbye to my family, took my simple luggage and drove to the airport. The plane took off promptly at seven in the evening. Looking down from the air, I saw the lights of Houston sparkling below. My children were on their way back home from different states for a family reunion, yet I had to fly to Peru to visit flood victims. As I thought about it, I couldn't help but feel sad.

The flight attendants served our lunches. As I ate, I wondered how many people were going hungry right then without so much as a slice of bread. In my mind, I hoped that someday the flood victims in Peru would have plenty to eat.

Bricks and labor

This was my third visit to Peru this year. On May 15, I went the first time with Brother Chi Yao and Sister Tzu Hua to evaluate the needs of the flood victims. That was also the first time I had ever participated in one of Tzu Chi's international disaster relief missions. Seeing the pathetic conditions and the plight of the victims, I was in tears every day. Then on August 17, I took part in the distribution of relief supplies. When I saw the joy on the faces of the victims as they received our food, blankets and medicine, I was immensely grateful to Tzu Chi for giving me the opportunity to deliver our love with my own hands. Now, this third trip was to inspect and approve the 152 brick houses (fifty-two were donated by the Japanese Red Cross) built by the disaster victims of Chiclayo County.

My mind was still wandering when the plane landed at the Lima airport the following morning. I met with ten Tzu Chi members from the Argentina branch office, and together we took a domestic flight to Chiclayo County.

The director of the Lambayeque Province Red Cross and seventeen volunteers were already waiting at the airport. After dropping off our luggage at the hotel, we drove to Illimo.

Though only thirty-seven houses had originally been planned, the village leader, Mr. Phillipe, was very prudent. Under his direction and supervision, an additional fourteen houses were built. In addition to using the construction material donated by Tzu Chi, Mr. Phillipe mobilized the victims to make their own bricks and to provide the labor for the construction. He even supervised the work himself. "All donations from Tzu Chi come from people with loving hearts," he kept saying, "so I must make the best use of every cent."

Each house measures about eight by six meters [26.4 x 19.8 ft]. The walls are made of bricks covered with either lime or mud, and the roof is made of corrugated metal sheets. The front of the house has one door and one window and there is another door in the back. Inside, the house is partitioned into two or three rooms. Even though the sun was hot and all of us were hungry and covered with dust, we still visited each and every house with great enthusiasm. Seeing the smiling faces of the residents, we too were filled with joy. After we had finished in Illimo, we went on to Pacoras and Jayanca to view the fifty-five houses there.

Since the new houses were so spread out--some right beside the road, but others in the fields--it was already half past seven in the evening by the time we returned to the hotel. The Argentine Tzu Chi members used the hotel kitchen to cook some instant noodles for us. Not having had any lunch, each one of us refilled our bowls several times.

A wooden plaque

Early the next morning we started out for Salas and Motupe to view sixty new homes there. The local government had provided land in each village for the construction, and row houses were laid out in two neat, pretty rows facing each other.

At the entrance, a large wooden plaque bore an inscription in Spanish that says, "The construction material for these houses was donated by the Taiwan Buddhist Compassion Relief Tzu Chi Foundation."

The residents had prepared a simple yet solemn welcome ceremony and had decorated the site with Buddhist and Tzu Chi flags. Colorful paper ribbons also adorned the front doors of the new homes in Salas. Trees and flowers had been planted. Though there was as yet no water or electricity on the sites, the government had promised to install water pipes and electrical lines for them.

It had been just about a hundred days since relief supplies were delivered in August, but it was obvious that the life of the victims had already improved. Most of them had resumed planting and had already harvested beans and corn. A few women worked out of their homes making clothes for a factory. If they were fast, they could earn US$6.00 in a twelve-hour day.

Life was still very hard, but the perseverance and sincerity of the disaster victims were very touching. It made me realize how much our small acts of kindness had meant to them.

Further assistance from Argentina

On the morning of November 29, the Argentine Tzu Chi members returned to Lima to prepare an activity for local overseas Chinese. I stayed with Brothers Chang Chao-nan and Lin Cheng-teh to inspect the flood-ravaged area of Puerto Eten to help plan future assistance.

We had distributed relief supplies at Puerto Eten in August. When we visited them again this time, we found that the villagers were still living in thatched huts and had no electricity or water. A Catholic priest explained their construction plans and said that he would fax a draft to the Tzu Chi liaison office in Argentina.

For now the relief work in Peru has come to an end. Members from the Tzu Chi liaison office in Argentina plan to assess the needs in the areas of sanitation, medicine, public facilities, employment assistance and children's education. I hope that these kind, simple Peruvians will soon be able to overcome their poverty and lead a happy life.