We've kept this journal private except to a select few people just because we had no idea what our situation would be.
To quickly update anyone new, we tried for months to get the permissions we needed to have the Fuze thru Shoes accepted into Peru. There is just so much red tape and the language barrier wasn't helping either. Although we are confident that we will finally receive the permission, our trip was booked and we faced a huge dilemma.
Could we/should we postpone the trip until we had the permission? This was quite an expensive option. And even finding the time when everyone could be available to go again was difficult...we were looking at August probably. So we decided to break into our pallets of shoes and load up 3 suitcases full and try to bring them with us. We were so afraid that the Peruvian customs would confiscate the shoes if we were caught. And truly, everyone of those pairs of shoes is precious to us. A child donated them. We pledged to create the connection. And we wanted to honour that pledge.
In the end - we made it into the country with nearly a quarter of our shoes. 90 pairs. And despite some very anxious moments at the airport last night - we couldn't be happier. We are all in a state of euphoria.
Tonight we embark on a 9 1/2 hour overnight bus ride - leaving at 10:45. To Trujillo.
Chances are...tomorrow we'll finally see the results of this crazy adventure. www.fuzethrushoes.com
We're still hoping to send the other shoes in the near future but will ensure that photos are taken and Shea's original vision is carried out to the best of our ability.
Ana Teresa told me you are already in Trujillo with Peruvian and foreign volunteers. Andy you probably went to the poor neighborhood.
ReplyDeleteI guess you are doing now exactly what your were looking to do.