Day 1

Day 2

We all loaded buses to finish repairs at a women’s shelter. The women in this center work together to survive by selling chocolates and forage for leftovers at different restaurants. It is ran by a wonderful couple who try hard to provide a safe place to live but receive no outside assistance.

Day 2-5

Participants get to work on the following projects: 

• Green house to be more self-sufficient (The green house included clearing the land, hauling eucalyptus posts, digging & cementing in post holes, nailing posts together, then stretching the plastic in place - the moxie group made it all look easy. 
• Kitchen w/ a cement floor and plumbing!  (The food was being cooked on the ground).
• Children’s playroom
• New roof (Removed the old leaky one and replaced it with a waterproof tin roof)
• Paint - the food prep area, children’s rooms, gathering room, food storage and the new kitchen!
• Cement work in the bathrooms, the entrance and pathway to new greenhouse
• Wood cut and stored for the cooking



We had 2 mixers going from day 1 and also 6 wheelbarrows to haul all the cement. We had 3 crews split up and working on the different projects during the work days. At one point the decision was made that to be more productive we needed another cement mixer. One participant and his wife kindly purchased a cement mixer to help the project move along faster. Multiple bags of cement were used, buckets and buckets of rocks and dirt were mixed in order to lay all the cement that was required to finish the project. We were blessed each day with a clear blue sky and great weather. 

The greenhouse crew also hard a hard job as it was their responsibilities to haul all the eucalyptus posts from where they were stored to the green house out back. This seems like an easy task but they are very heavy and dense. The moxie group made it look simple as they decided they would make it their daily workout instead of the hard work it really was. The green house also included digging all the holes, cementing them in, and also nailing the posts together to make a level area. They also cleared out all of the grass underneath the soon to be planted greenhouse. The final day was exciting as we saw the plastic stretched and cut to fit the giant greenhouse. It finally took shape as the plastic was stretched across the top and everyone took a side and hammered it to the poles. 

The roof of the main building was leaking every time it rained. The old roof was the old tiles and was being collected once removed for a new project. This was a very dirty and hot job to take everything off the existing roof. Also a little bit scary as the roof was exposed and not very sturdy. Once removed the new roof was placed and it was the tin roofing. Everyone became experts as the roof went on very fast.

Painting is one of those jobs that need to be done but not everyone jumps up and down to do it. We had some great workers who chose to repaint the new kitchen area as well as all the bedrooms and sitting rooms for the kids. They were given some fun colors and the option to mix the paint colors as they wished. It took them all 3 days to complete all these tasks but in the end it was a perfect face lift that was needed for this little place. They even painted a cute little llama on the wall to fit in perfectly for Peru. 



The young girls shared their chocolates with the group and the group also shared their hearts as they talked about the trip and the things that they enjoyed about the service. In the end we all danced together and even the gringos showed their talents by dancing to a line dance. Multiple hugs were given and even some tears as the participants loaded the bus and drove away.