PHOTOS FROM THE COLLECTION OF MELYNDA THORPE BURT, PERU 2012

Then Today Happened

Finally comes the day we will meet the children

Melynda Thorpe

Published in

Making of the film “Heart of the Andes”

5 min readOct 4, 2013

for more informationPart 6 in a series following: https://medium.com/heart-of-the-andes/605cdbcf4df7

September 26

We arrived late last night at Parador del Ausangate, a quaint and rustic ranch house just outside of Hueccouno. A five hour drive from Ollantaytambo turned into nearly ten hours of adventure beginning with a flat tire. And that was before we added even more weight to our already packed tourist van. On the drive to Cusco, Penelope received wonderful news. We cheered to learn that her lost suitcase full of donations had been found in Lima and would be waiting for her at Cusco Airport within the hour.

We stopped for lunch at San Francisco Square and purchased fruit for the children at Hueccouno. In three full produce boxes the market was able to provide enough for each child to have an apple, orange, banana and a small bunch of grapes. Penelope tells us fruit is a prized treat for the kids and tells us they are lucky if they get it once a year. This is going to be like Christmas for them, she says

At Cusco Airport, we all rejoice at the sight of Penelope’s suitcase. We also meet up with our translator, Vital Pillco Rodriguez, who will be accompanying us for the rest of the trip. He is leaving his family business harvesting bananas in the jungle, and wife and two children, to travel to Hueccouno with us. His help is necessary for us to successfully conduct interviews for the documentary film, and Penelope is eager to use his translating skills as she negotiates and meets with villagers and other local officials.

We are all happy to see Penelope’s lost suitcase arrive at the Cusco Airport.

For Vidal, we gladly offer the very last seat in the van, seat number nine, and make room for his two small knapsacks. We now officially have 34 pieces of luggage and need to make room for some fresh baked bread we want to pick up on the way.

At this point, we are praying for the driver and the four tires.

When we pulled into Parador del Ausangate, we are greeted by the hotel keepers who see us to our delightful rooms and invite us to a warm cup of fresh made coca tea. The van seemed to lift six inches after the roof was unburdened of our luggage, and I’m pretty sure I saw our driver offer a sigh of relief as he made his way down the ranch house lane and back to his home in Urubamba.

Back to today.

We wake to the sound of rain trickling down the clay roof tiles. At 9 a.m. we follow the wet cobblestone paths from our individual rooms to the main house with excitement and anticipation. Today is the day we will meet the children.

Bertha slips into her school director role with charm and precision. The children respond to her return to the school with delight

With Penelope as our lead, David, Guy and Mary Kitchen, Rain, Michelle, Vidal and I walk down the tiny town road to the Heart Walk School at Hueccouno. Walking about 20 feet in front of us all the way is a small boy, barely tall enough to attend school, holding his pant legs as he walked to keep them from touching the ground and getting wet.

We pass chickens and dogs and children who do not attend school along the way, and wave to men and women who walk along the roadside to see our tiny parade.

Entering the gate at the school, we are led to a playground where children in native dress are lined up by class and grade and their parents circle around them all. Cheers and applause and song and dance and speeches of welcome fill the next several hours. Over an open fire near the playground, mothers of the children prepare a giant feast of boiled potatoes, beets, carrots and delicious roast chicken.

Mothers of school children cook lunch each day over an open fire.

Bertha wears her school director hat and runs the entire festival with careful attention. And when the music and dancing break out, she, along with the rest of us jumps in, takes the hands of the children, and celebrates.

We all celebrate, even the sun. Just after our arrival this morning, the rain excused itself and the sun made a significant entrance for the duration of this beautiful day at Heart Walk Hueccouno school. And finally, I begin interviewing, photographing and filming as I meet children who have been gifted the opportunity to come down from their mountain home to attend school.

Dear Journal:

I was able to get amazing footage for my documentary today. The kids seemed practically unfazed by my camera and they clamored, danced and played in spite of me. Penelope gave us a tour of the school’s greenhouse and new dining room and it is all beautiful. To see the children growing their own vegetables … lettuce, beets, mint, mint, celery, Swiss chard … and the dining room where they will sit to enjoy their own grown meal is heartwarming.

What a wonderful day. What a wonderful greeting. On the walk home I stopped in at a tiny market and spent one sole on a warm bottle of Coca Cola.