Today was my last day in the prison and it oscillated between wonderful and chaotic. On Tuesday the prison agreed to let me take photos of the women with one caveat- I had to use their camera. Today when I arrived I went to Dr. Castro’s office to get the camera but he wasn’t there. After waiting for 30 minutes I decided it was more important to see the women before they headed to mandatory therapy.
When I arrived at the women’s area, we immediately launched into addressing issues with the order. Apparently the men no longer want to weave the thicker, more simple manta because the thinner materials fetches a better price. This was fine, but it meant having to redo the order on the spot, without a calculator on hand (long division anyone?).
Me with two of my students and my very own Rikchari necklace!
Halfway through redoing the order the women from the jewelry class let me know that they had to go to therapy so frantically we exchanged money and jewelry pieces and hugs and goodbyes, not knowing if we would see each other again. It was all very hectic, with a group of 10 women surrounding me, 100 more trying to leave to go to therapy, pens flying, money dropping, the guard telling all of us to hurry! What a rush!
Of course, once most of the women went to therapy, the cells were quiet because only a handful remained (those who opted out of therapy). The good news was there was then plenty of time to go over the order and do the calculations properly. I also heard some of the stories of the women who will be embroidering manta.
One woman (who is very young) was a street child and involved in drugs when she was younger. She is incarcerated with her husband and her daughter, who is now 3, lives in the North of Peru in a home. She really needs work and money, especially because she doesn’t have a family support system.
Another woman, also incarcerated with her husband, has 5 young children living with relatives. Both need as much work as possible to support their children. Fortunately, the woman’s husband is a weaver so the entire family will benefit from the order.
A delicious plate of pork and papas fritas
The woman who we have hired to arrange our order (she has been in our programs since before Ruraq Maki existed!) had a plate of food made for me and while I was eating told me, “I thank God for you every time you come. I’m always so worried about paying for my daughters’ university and what I am going to do to keep them in school. The market here is very low and there is so little work. Then you come and give us the work that we need. And I tell my daughters, she isn’t just helping me, she is helping you too.”
It brings tears to my eyes writing this because it is a testament to how a small non-profit like Ruraq Maki can have a big impact on individual lives. And the you isn’t me, it is the support network we have as an organization that creates this impact.
Tomorrow- part 2 of my last day in the prison- Dr. Castro arrives with the camera!! (and photos of the women with their final jewelry pieces).