Successful children of first Fuller home in Peru grateful, happy
La Florida, PERU — Ana Tarazona Ramos was not merely living on the streets of densely populated Lima, Peru in 2006. She was doing so with two young children and a baby on the way. She sold school supplies but not enough to afford a home or even a decent rented room.
She dealt with ruthless landlords as she alternated between living in temporary shelters or actually on the streets. Her two children went from school to school and missed most of their early grades.
In a leap of faith, she left for a village called La Florida, about two hours south of Lima in the desert-like Cañete region. That’s where Zenon Colque was launching The Fuller Center for Housing’s first international covenant partner on the continent of South America.
She became our first Fuller Center homeowner partner in Peru, eagerly building alongside volunteers — along with her children Erick and Zuinmy — and gave birth to second daughter Grace before moving into the simple, decent and safe new home in La Florida. Ana rediscovered herself in the process, gaining confidence and even becoming mayor of the community at one point.
More importantly, Zuinmy and Erick finally had a stable place to call home and were able to not just attend school regularly but also make up for the years of school that they had lost. Younger sister Grace would never know the struggles of living on the streets.
Last week, Zuinmy and Grace chatted with us about the importance of having that home as they paid a visit to the site of The Fuller Center’s 20-home 20th Anniversary Build in La Florida — a single parcel that will ultimately house 44 families.
“Most of the houses here were made out of straw mats and bamboo when we arrived,” said Zuinmy, who now has a law degree and works with Peru’s Congress in addition to representing a district of Lima on the city’s local council. “There was no water and no lights. And, now, you have power and water and these beautiful homes coming! I was kind of surprised when we first came in because earlier homes were scattered about, but it looks like it’s going to be a community of one big family.”
“It was emotional to me when Zenon was first telling me about this because it’s going to allow so many families to have a decent home and live with dignity,” added Grace, who will take her college-entry exam next month with the dream of studying industrial engineering.
Fuller Center Vice President of International Programs remembered Zuinmy well from trips to Peru in 2009 as they were building the home and in 2012 after the home was built as he returned to the community for the 2012 Millard Fuller Legacy Build. He remembered her both times as a friendly, hard-working child, though she insists her outgoing personality and confidence took a little while to build in La Florida.
“In school I was very timid because we were never in the same school very long, so it was very hard for me to make friends in Lima,” Zuinmy said. “Once we got here, I was in the same school for the rest of my youth. It was easier to make friends.”
She credits not just the home but also the many volunteers who came to La Florida to help her family and others build homes for her transformation.
“I certainly was shy when I was young, but having all the volunteers around helped me overcome that,” Zuinmy said. “They were such nice and agreeable people.”
She is grateful that her younger sister did not have to undergo such a transformation because she has always known the joy of having a simple, decent place to live and has always known the love of Fuller Center volunteers who have flocked to La Florida for more than 15 years to put their faith into action through the Theology of the Hammer.
“Unlike myself, Grace, has always known volunteers coming in,” she said. “She’s never been timid and has always been sociable.”
However, both Zuinmy and Grace noted there are plenty more children who are growing up in poverty housing conditions in other countries where The Fuller Center works. In fact, there are still some huts made of bamboo and straw that house children in the relatively small village of La Florida — though the local Fuller Center of Peru has put a major dent in that problem by constructing more than 120 new homes with 44 more to be completed soon in the new community that welcomed the latest volunteers at the 20th Anniversary Build.
“Everyone should consider coming down here to volunteer,” Zuinmy said. “It’s a great support to all these families, but, most importantly, it encourages the children who need a decent home. If we’re going to change the world, we have to work with the children to make that happen. Getting the children into a decent home is very important.”
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