Chapter 7: The cost of serving: $185 per day

  June 9, 2011


On Sunday, I got a glimpse of what it means to install clean cook stoves in the homes of indigenous people—which is what I will be doing this August in Peru.

I caught that glimpse while ascending Mount Si. We encountered an Australian lady who was descending. She was in the same profession as my hiking buddy, and they instantly recognized each other. So they talked. She said she had been involved in one of those events that raise money to fight cancer. My friend explained that I was going to Peru on a public health project that included installing clean-burning cook stoves.

We didn’t need to draw her a picture. The Australian had traveled in Asia, and she was familiar with home kitchens that are full of cooking smoke.  In the brief time she had been exposed to them she had developed severe breathing problems.

Her experience was gratifying to hear, because performing this community service comes with a hefty price tag: $1,850 for two work weeks. In other words, I’ll be paying $185 per day for the privilege of helping people breathe clean air. That doesn’t include the air fare.

Here’s how the program works at this end: There are three community colleges in Seattle that have 15 allied health programs. The medical and service communities and lay people team up to deliver medical and volunteer serves in four developing countries, including Peru. The “Peru Quest” program includes delivery of health care and education, installation of water filters and the clean cookstove program. At the other end, an organization called ProWorld Service Corps coordinates our service when we arrive.

The $185 per day it costs for me to participate covers preparation, training, food, housing, in-country transportation, support and development of specific volunteer sites, supplementary health insurance and staff support. Volunteers be packing some of the supplies in their luggage.

The stoves that are installed are quite inexpensive: they cost $15. They are made of materials familiar and acceptable to native families: mud and brick, along with a chimney. According to ProWorld, they eliminate 90 percent of indoor air pollution and decrease carbon emissions by a ton (!) in a year. (For more information: http://cleanburningstoves.blogspot.com/ and http://www.seattlecolleges.edu/international/documents/globalimpact/ProWorldProjectProfile_CleanBurningStove.pdf.)

Using these figures, if you credit me with only one installed stove per day for each day I work, the cost for that stove would be about $200, with my labor accounting for most of the cost. I presume I’ll be more productive than that. But if I only install one a day, the cost for that single stove would average out to 55 cents a day. Over 10 years, 5.5 cents per day. When you consider the impact this will have on the lives of these people in reduced health issues, reduced deforestation and more time for other activities, I think it’s a pretty good return on investment.

Global Impact, the program sponsored by community colleges in Seattle, has an answer for how to cover the cost for this public health project: Ask people to help. Ugh. I hate to ask for money. Instead, I’m using this chapter of the Inca Diaries to offer you an opportunity to “participate” with a contribution, if you are so inclined. You should know that I’m going regardless of whether I obtain outside support. But if you want to be part of this, consider this your invitation.

I’ll be covering my own airfare, immunizations, special medicines for tummy problems and altitude sickness, and personal supplies such as a personal water filter and other incidentals. That’s approximately half the cost of going. The other half is the cost of providing the service, which is what your donations would apply to.

When I travel, I keep a spread sheet on all expenditures, and this will be no exception. Inca Diary readers will get a full report for two reasons: Accountability, and because some of you may want to take the plunge someday, and this will give a realistic picture of what’s involved. This is a learning experience for me, and I’m going to be taking notes, and sharing what I learn during or immediately after the trip.

The deadline for coming up with the $1,850 is July 1, less than a month away.

How to Donate:
I have created a special account at Columbia State Bank in Seattle to hold the donations. Checks can be made out to:

Robert Smith Peru Quest and mailed to my Seattle address: 

1136 13^th Ave, #201
Seattle WA 98122.

Each donation will be acknowledged.

For those of you who want to support me in this endeavor, thank you.
Love,
Robert