Lucy Hart served in Peru from 1963-1965 (trained at UCLA in the spring of 1963). She worked with Quechua and Aymara Indian knitters, spinners, weavers, and ceramicists in production cooperatives. She is a retired photographer and graphic designer who lives in Seattle.

This photo was taken in front of a community center in a slum called Pampa de Comas, at the time one of Peru’s largest slums. My Peace Corps roommate and I rented a room in the slum for $5 per month. Of course I had no electricity and no running water. The official Peace Corps photographer came by for a visit and we tidied it up and thought it looked kind of cute. He said, “I have seen PC living accommodations all over the world and this is the worst place I have seen!”

The community center was built by Peace Corps volunteers and the project was led by a volunteer who had experience as a bricklayer. It was just being finished when I arrived and this photo was taken in the fall of 1963.