Peter and I With the Cespedes Carbajal Family

This is us with Deanna and her family. Peter and I were amazed to discover the amazing similarities between our families, beyond the obvious size. Patrice their oldest, asked me if in Canada I was chastized for having such a large family. Unbeliveable!! (The answer, by the way, is yes!)

This is their home in 2006. The Cespedes Carbajal family spent years building this home. Brick by brick. Unfortunately, adobe brick. In August 2007 an earthquake shattered this house and thousands of others on the southern shore of Peru. Hundreds lost their lives, but our family was blessed to have been saved from harm as their house litterally crumbled around them. Adobe brick is an inferior building product, and is much cheaper than comercially manufactured brick. News of the earthquake to minutes to reach us, but it took 10 months for us to recieve the news that "Our Family" (as we call them) were safe and sound.

The Cespedes-Carbajal Family 2006

My eldest son Peter and I are so fortunate to join a group of Pilgrims that travel to Peru to see first hand, the fruits of a joint Partnership between the Diocese of Pembroke and the Archdiocese of Lima. Peru holds a very special place in my heart, as I lived there in 1974-1976 while my father worked for CIDA, teaching at a technical collage, Senati, in Lima Peru. My parents had the forethought to immerse me in the local culture, in doing so rejecting the idea that the British run private (english) school would be the best place to send me. Off I went to a local Peruvian school, and became immersed in a culture that instilled in me a deep sense of compassion, and knowledge of what extreme poverty is. If you have never left this great country of ours, you have no real idea.

Our hope was, through the Sisters of St. Joseph, to find a family that somewhat resembled ours to offer a scholarship. Many children in Peru are not educated because of poverty. By what I believe was nothing smaller than a miracle, a family in need of a scholarship was found. And there were 8 kids, 5 girls and 3 boys, just like our own family. As in Canada, large families are much of an anomaly. This would be a huge opportunity for the kids and especially Peter to understand how blessed they are to have food on their plates and a roof over their heads daily!