My Finnish friend Solja and I went to Pachacutec 2 weeks ago with assorted “acquired” furniture. Here we are, all set to go…….well no. We had to wait over an hour to get police permission to move the furniture. Here, if the police see a vehicle with household goods and no permission to move it from them, they assume you have stolen it! We had previously identified people in Pachacutec who had little or no furniture, from doing the godparenting visits, so decided to take it all there and distribute it. It wasn’t as easy as it sounds, as no one has an address as such, nor are there any streets as such, actually……….there aren’t any signposts either! We crawled along in the van and so it was nearly dark when we arrived, but there was quite a festive atmosphere in the end. People came out to see who was making all the noise and to watch, offer help, but this is largely a community of single women and children, so Solja and I (being bigger than the rest anyway!) clambered up and down the lorry moving the stuff + the driver. He didn’t really think much of being asked to work as well as drive and didn’t really get the point of any of it at any time either! The pregnant lady is a volunteer at the school who later the same night had her baby……..and had insisted on accompanying us for a few hours, since she knows all the houses and people, also being the school secretary! She had wanted to stand on the running board at the back of the lorry as we went from place to place….but we drew the line at that……..I did that! You would have to see a disabled lady, left with her niece and nephew when their mother abandoned them, trying to walk on sand floor with her stick, her “wheelchair” of wheels, with a white plastic garden chair atop, to appreciate what poverty is and the scale of need. Nevertheless, as always, we had a great time too!