After completing a terrific school year in Madrid (3 down 1 to go. Yahoooo!), I'm currently back in Oregon visiting the fam for a bit.
For those of you haven't heard, I'll be heading off to Peru in a week for the rest of the summer. While there, my friend Brianna and I will be conducting a service project (explained below) that I will be getting college credit for (no, that is definitely not why I'm doing it! It just happens to work out conveniently :)). So this being the case, I'll be using my blog to update, record and track our progress through the project (which I will hopefully be writing in both Spanish and English if I'm up to the task!)
A little about the project - Brianna and I applied to conduct our project, "Intergenerational Harmony Through the Arts" through the Davis Peace Project Foundation. Most fortunately for us, we have been selected and will now be carrying it out from mid July to mid August. (Shout our to the Davis Peace Project Foundation - Thanks so much!)
During this time, we will be located in a slum outside of Lima, Peru. By collaborating with a local school in Villa el Salvador (the slum), we will be taking a group of kids each week as an after school program to a local residencia,, or nursing home. The elderly population living there, made up of a primarliy indigenous population, has been largely marginalized and forgotten. Additionally, their native culture, language and heritage has been suppressed and continues to be lost more and more with each passing generation. With this in mind, the kids (who are also mostly indigenous) will accompany us to the residencia every day after school for an hour or two. There they will be paired with one of the residents of whom they will spend the week getting to know, learning their stories, their culture, and about the history of the founding of their home, Villa el Salvador. At the end of the week, the kids will share their stories and discoveries through different artistic mediums such as a drawing, a skit, a dance, or something else. During this time, we will have a party for them to present their art and share what they've learned with the residents, the other kids, and hopefully their parents.
Our project aims to engage the younger generation living in this area to get involved and create connections with the elderly, providing a wonderful service to the residents, and also themselves. We also hope that through this sharing process the children will learn more about their own heritage, helping to preserve it and keep their culture and language alive.
Each group will go for one week, with four groups in total. In our spare time Brianna and I are hoping to serve in whatever capacity we can - whether it be at the children's school or at the residencia. I've also been in contact with the Baha'is of Lima and we're hoping to get involved in the Baha'i activities and to get to know the community.
While not exactly a typical summer vacation, I am thrilled to have such an incredible opportunity. As I am studying international relations and plan to pursue a career in international development, our time in Peru will be a terrific opportunity to get great experience in my field and to develop both intellectually and spiritually. This kind of service is something Ive always been hugely passionate about. I am absolutely antsy in anticipation to get started!
The only thing about this trip that I'm sad about is that I'm leaving summer...for WINTER! If you know me, you know how much I hate the cold, and love the warmth. Thankfully Peru is reasonably close to equator so I don't think we'll suffer too much :)
Hasta Peruuuuuuu!
