Was it the altitude or the anticipation that made them breathless as they walked up the stony track towards the small cluster of houses? Caroline and Norman Foord had travelled halfway round the world and climbed high into the Andes to meet their young Bolivian friend, Nilda, and below they recount their steps.
We entered a small compound through a rustic arch bedecked with balloons. And there she was, curious eyes peering out from behind her mother’s skirt. Shyly she came forward and we greeted her and admired her beautifully embroidered dress. We were ushered to sit on an earthen bench draped with a brilliant coloured blanket. Nilda’s ‘uncle’ and Norman exchanged greetings and her mum brought us a meal of mutton and several varieties of potato.
Her brothers – one big, one small – and her friends and neighbours gathered round in the small yard, looking and listening. We spoke in Quechua, Spanish and English, with our World Vision companions translating our greetings, good wishes and thanks. I, Christine, attempted a short speech in Spanish, our common language, explaining that we were teachers and so pleased that Nilda was able to go to school.
We used the language of our faces and other gestures to convey our pleasure at being welcomed by Nilda, her family and the community. Baseball caps seemed a fair exchange for Bolivian headgear and a poncho. The bouncy ball we bought on our travels served as a world globe to show the distance that normally separated us on our shrinking planet. Whilst we enjoyed the spectacular panorama that encircled the village, Nilda became fascinated by the coloured reflections of her surroundings in a kaleidoscope.
Sharing the fun of dancing together enabled us to laugh at the similarities and differences of our two cultures
It was a meeting of two worlds. So many questions. What did she expect to see when we met? What picture does she have of our world? What did we expect? Being able to share was important both to us and to Nilda’s family. Our meal was a particularly poignant symbol of this. Sitting amongst their sheep and goats with chickens running around their mud brick houses, eating the lovingly prepared and proudly presented stew, we smiled back at so many curious faces making sure we left enough for others to enjoy.
Just over an hour of two strangers from another world, face to face with the little girl we had only seen in an annual photograph made the Earth seem smaller. Birthday and Christmas cards will be so much more meaningful. World Vision’s work in the area is remarkably diverse and fundamental giving communities, such as Nilda’s, the support and security to grow in so many ways – in education, in health and in agriculture. In such a remote and inhospitable environment this is no mean feat.
There is still so much we can all learn from each other. The beautifully woven and beaded neck-purse given to us by Nilda – our most treasured souvenir of the trip – is a perpetual reminder.
