Well-traveled team visits Peru with Global Builders

The Fuller Center Peru is gaining momentum, thanks in part to the recent visit of a Global Builders team helping with the current project in the remote village of La Florida.

The seven members of the team are seasoned volunteers, each over the age of 50. They’ve had the chance to build homes in many countries. But this was the first journey any of them had taken to Peru, and they weren’t disappointed.

"The people of La Florida welcomed us with open arms, and said goodbye to us with many, many hugs and tears," Boots and Ramsay Walker, who led the trip, said. The Walkers are from Tyler, Tex.

Their team was from all over the U.S. Fuller Center Peru, led by country director Zenon Colque, is in the process of finishing 20 homes for families in La Florida. The Global Builders helped with four homes, by completing the brick walls, reinforcing columns and reinforcing a concrete ring beam around the top of the walls. The Walkers insist the work would have gotten done eventually without their help because of the "enthusiastic construction staff of Fuller Center in La Florida and because of the extensive participation of many families and local volunteers."

But, they said, the friendships and experiences they had while there were invaluable.  "All of us hope to return to work with them again, and to help them in other ways, too," Ramsay said.

The Fuller Center’s 20 sturdy brick homes will replace huts made of woven bamboo. It is part of the initial phase of Fuller Center Peru’s long-term goals.

In addition, the Fuller Center is working to bring energy and life into the dry, desert village. They continue to plant trees and have painted many homes with bright colors.

Read more about Fuller Center Peru and La Florida here. To sign up for the next Global Builders trip or learn more click here. View pictures of their participation in the Millard Fuller Legacy Build here.