Peru Project Summary

As part of the foundation we did our project with, we had to a final write up. Hopefully this provides a better overview of what we were doing as well as our experience.

Intergenerational Harmony through the Arts

Peru

University of Notre Dame of Maryland

Brianna January, USA, University of Notre Dame of Maryland

Emily Osvold, USA, Saint Louis University Madrid

Section I

Our 2011 Davis Peace Project sought to build intergenerational understanding and create lasting relationships between the youth and elderly population of Villa El Salvador, Peru. This project focused not only on building bonds, but also on empowering the youth to be more informed about the founding of Villa El Salvador, as well as the struggles, sacrifices and triumphs that their own elderly community fought for to establish it.

The program collaborated with a local primary school, Fe Y Alegria, and an elderly community center, Los Martincitos. Each session, a different group of ten to fifteen students between the ages of twelve and fourteen went to Los Martincitos to interview the abuelos. During these interviews, each student was paired up with a different individual who shared with them the history of Villa El Salvador, how his or her own life had been affected since arriving, and the struggles and triumphs he or she had encountered as a result of this change. At the information meeting that each student attended prior to joining the project, we explained that these conversations were a time to get to know and connect with the elderly and to learn about the founding and history of their home, Villa El Salvador. While this developing community may not look very advanced or progressed from the outside, behind it is an amazing story that sheds light upon the incredible struggles and achievements that the founders as well as the current community have made to advance Villa El Salvador to where it is today.

Established in 1983 after the government expelled its own people from their mountain villages in the north of Peru, a group of individuals came to Lima and settled on a piece of barren, desert land, just south of the city. Together, the founders fought to build up their settlement, working relentlessly without the assistance of the government to receive potable water, electricity, and finally sanitation. Shortly after its inception, the community members began building schools such as Fe Y Alegria, and families and businesses quickly began settling down, building up the small shanty town into an urban community. Today Villa El Salvador is a functioning, developing residential district now home to approximately 450,000 inhabitants. While many issues of violence and crime, low living standards, and other problems persist, this community truly has built itself from the ground up with its bare hands, a remarkable accomplishment to have achieved in a little over forty years.

Before going into the interviews, the students were advised that they had to be very sensitive and careful not to upset their interviewees, as many found it difficult to talk about the struggles and challenges that they had faced. After they finished their interviews, the students spent the remainder of their morning with the abuelos – helping out in the learning center, the arts and crafts room, or the game area. Finally everyone was served lunch and the kids then returned to school.

During the next session, we met the students at Fe Y Alegria where each student created works of art inspired by their interviews. Before arriving in Peru, we had envisioned that some of the students would write poetry, a play, or create other various forms of artwork. However our students were reluctant to do anything besides a drawing or collage. Although we would have liked a more diverse variety of artwork, we were still very happy with what they created.

After all the groups had completed both their interviews and art, we had a fiesta for all the participants and their families at Los Martincitos. Our party was a joyous, uplifting occasion that everyone seemed happy to partake in. After a few rounds of dancing, a few of the students and abuelos shared with everyone a bit about their interviews and what they had learned from each other. The kids then showed and explained their artwork to their partner and to group. Afterwards, we presented everyone at the party with project tee shirts, and shared a traditional Peruvian meal together.

In the end, the party, as the culmination of our project, was a great success. Watching the students and the abuelos dance together, ask to have their photos taken, and talk about their artwork and what they learned from the interviews, brought to life the harmonious inter-generational bonds that were created between these two groups. Well-received by all, Brianna and I could not have been more content with the end results. One of the best parts for us was seeing how much it meant to everyone, especially the abuelos and coordinators of Fe Y Alegria and Los Martincitos, whom we worked so closely with.

While we were extremely pleased with how the project turned out, it was not without its problems. The main issue that we encountered was that during our program all Peruvian schools went on winter break. This meant that we had to put it on hold during that time period, as none of the participating students would be in school. Taking this into account, we made some scheduling adjustments and were still able to have a large number of students and abuelos participate (32 and 106, respectively).

Additionally, not all of the kids that did the interviews came to the party, and parent attendance was very low. While we don’t think we could have done much more to get the students’ parents to come as it was during working hours, we learned that more follow-up is necessary with the kids to assure higher attendance.

As our project was shortened by winter break and because we found Peru to be much cheaper than we anticipated, at the end we had some money left over that we donated to Los Martincitos and the cafeteria at Fe Y Alegria. Brianna and I felt so grateful to be able to make these contributions, especially to the cafeteria that serves over 400 students daily. The school doesn’t have enough money to hire a full-time kitchen staff, so many of the student’s mothers volunteer their time and make lunch every day. Additionally, many of the kids cannot afford to buy the lunch, and for others, it will be their only meal for the day.

Although we came in under budget, in retrospect we would have divided out our budget a little differently. In some areas, such as travel expenses and ground transportation, we were over budget, but in other sections such as cellphone expenses and art supplies we only spent a fraction of the allocated amount.

Since Brianna and I have both studied Spanish for a number of years, communication was never a great problem. The only cultural issue that we encountered was adjusting to Latin American time, which we found a bit difficult when making arrangements and setting meeting times.

While we were not able to set up our project to be continued immediately after we left, enough enthusiasm was generated by both the students as well as coordinators of Los Martinicitos and Fe Y Alegria that we hope a program of the same content will be carried out in the future. Many of the participating students showed great interest in returning to volunteer at Los Martincitos, and were put into contact with the director of the program so that they might be able to do so in the future. Additionally, we hope that the students will share their experiences with their friends, encouraging the learning process to continue, raising more awareness about Villa El Salvador and its founders.

Section II

Peace is when all men live in a state of harmony, concord and agreement. It requires justice and love for one another, as well as the recognition of the equality of mankind. Our project contributed to this great effort of moving towards peace by helping to bring together two very important but often overlooked groups in Villa El Salvador; the elderly, and the youth. In the short-term, it unified and built new relationships, and in the long-term, it helped to create lasting ties that both generations will keep with them for the rest of their lives. Furthermore, we hope the students will share what they learned with their friends, their family, and their future sons and daughters, encouraging these relationships to continue and spreading awareness about their heritage and their past.

At an individual level, our project showed us the true resilience of the human spirit, and also the capacity to peacefully persevere in the face of great oppression and insurmountable obstacles. It also taught us that we, as developed countries, have so much to learn from growing, developing nations and cultures. We found that while the people of Villa El Salvador had so little, they had so much happiness in their own lives. Although peace at any local, national, or global level is difficult, or may seem almost impossible to achieve, you cannot begin to truly work towards this goal until everyone has attained a greater state of peace and contentment. Although Brianna and I came to help two groups of Villa El Salvador work for external peace and harmony, what we did not realize is that they themselves had already taken the first step towards this end, which begins with internal contentment – a lesson more important than even the one we were trying to teach, because without it, collective peace is an unattainable goal.

“Our project directly affected two of the most marginalized populations of Peru, the elderly indigenous community and the poor youth. However, the largest impact was made on myself and Emily. This opportunity has allowed us to grow as young women, humanitarians and citizens of the world, an experience that I could not be more thankful for.”- Brianna January

Project Summary+Reflections

Our British mates + Bri and I (the two adopted Americans) in front of the national museum of Lima. Over the course of the month we spent with them, my English vocabulary increased by 100, I swear. However it came at the price of complete and utter misunderstandings, and general problems of communication. I honestly had more language issues with them than I did with the Peruvians! Despite our problems/disagreements about English, they willingly adopted us and made us part of our group. What a lovely bunch :) Os echo de menos!

This is Delia, my absolute favorite abuelita. The first day I met her, she showed me her photo album, filled with her being held or hugged by various tall, white, and handsome volunteers at Los Martincitos. As she is mute, every time she'd show me a different one of her hombres, she'd give me a huge high five and thumbs up (see above photo)! After Brianna and I were wooed in by her charming ways, she slyly pulled out a bag of hand-made jewelry and compltely haggled us! While we were more than happy to pay, the two braclets and necklace we bought were probably the most overpriced things we payed for on our whole trip. Man, did Delia know how to work us! We had a great time and were more than happy to pay, but were left quite bemused by this sly and coy business woman.
Brianna and I with one of our favorite abuelitos

(notice how much we're bending over...as Brianna and everyone else that has visited Peru will testify, Peruvians are definitely some of smallest people ever! Direct proof - neither of us, nor our British friends that stayed with us, fit comfortably in any means of public transport. The seats only leave about a foot and a half of leg room!)

I'm sitting in my sister's house back in DC, trying to take myself back to Peru. Although I arrived for a quick visit to the area last Friday, I still feel, breathe, and think Peru.

While I didn't go into the trip with a lot of expectations, (because I truly did not know what to expect) our project and experience was beyond anything I could have imagined. Brianna and I are both so grateful to have had and shared this opportunity together. I believe we learned so much about ourselves and each other. The work we did and the time we spent in Villa El Salvador filled me with an inexplicable joy unique to anything I've experienced before. I think that this was mainly because after all these years of studying international development, learning about all the different types of development programs going around the world, I finally got to really immerse myself into the type of work and service that I've been really interested in for a number of years.

Although I've had other service opportunities before, mainly for the Baha'i Faith, this experience was different because it took us out of our element, humbled us, gave us the opportunity to put our Spanish to use, and perhaps most importantly for me, it confirmed at an intellectual and spiritual level that international development is without a doubt the line of work I want to pursue. While I've never had many reservations, this confirmation was beyond reassuring.

One of the greatest gifts and things I really appreciated about this trip was being able to go into another culture and another country and be able to communicate with the people in their own language. So often I feel that we travel to other places and either expect those around us to speak our own language or are very fortunate that enough people speak English as a second language that communicating with others doesn't always require a lot of effort on our part. I'm not saying that this is a bad or negative thing, but undoubtedly you lose much of the nuances of the conversations and closer connections with the person when you can't truly describe what you want to say, or fully understand what they're telling you.

While I'm still not fluent, my Spanish has progressed far enough to communicate with others on an intimate, and more personal level. In Spain I really appreciate having this, but never more so than in Peru. Our trip presented us with so many opportunities to sit down and hear the struggles of the abuelos, who attended the elderly center where we worked. Many of them came to live in Villa El Salvador because they were expelled from their villages in the mountains of Peru. As a result, a group of them decided to settle on a piece of barren, dry land outside of Lima. Over time they built up their new home by fighting for potable water, sanitation, and electricity - almost always against their own government. They also endured for twenty years under the oppressive terrorist group, the Shining Path, who brutally massacred, raped and pillaged their own people. While difficult and shocking to hear about, learning about the Shining Path helped me to understand so much more about the Peruvians, what they have survived and how it has shaped them.

Spanish also allowed us to chat and interact with the twelve and thirteen year old kids that we were working with on their own level - joking around about cute boys and listening to their middle school gossip. On another occasion I got to know a 4 year boy on the streets in Lima selling gum, and learned that his parents were both working. Instead at being at home being looked after by someone, he was working too. It broke my heart to talk to him. Although his story is far from beyond uncommon in a developing country, that fact makes makes it so much harder to accept the reality of life that some many children know too well.

While I'm sure I still would have experienced many of these things to a certain degree if we had only had a very basic level of Spanish, it would not have been the same. And for that, I'm very grateful.

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I wanted to blog more about the project itself as well, but seeing as I'm already back in school in Madrid (ok, yes i definitely started this blog right after I went to do DC...but am finishing it from Spain) and am already very busy, I'll wait. I have to do a write-up summary/reflection for the Davis Peace Project though (the foundation we did this through) so once I'm finished with that, I'll add it on here. I hope I was able to convey a little bit of the wonderful experience we had. My few blogs do not even begin to do our trip, Villa El Salvador, or Peru in general, any justice. Of all the countries that I've been fortunate enough to travel to, I really think I'd recommend this one as number one. Peru is a world of it's own, and should not to be missed by any means.

The Sacred Valley

Monday, August 8th,

Today we began our project….FINALLY!! Brianna and I just returned from a great trip to Cuzco and Arequipa, but alas, could not make it Machu Pichu! We had our train tickets, our hotel reservations….but no entrance tickets! As everyone was on vacation in Peru, the entrance tickets had already been sold out. I must admit, it was a bit crushing to take a grueling 21 hour bus ride from Lima to Cusco only to not go! It’s alright though, we ended up spending a day touring the Sacred Valley around Cusco – wow! What a place. After a full day of 4 different stunning, gigantic and breathtaking ruins, I was pretty satisfied. But wow, the altitude truly was killer. Each time I went to one of the sites, I felt confident that I was in shape enough to climb them without any problems, but each time I found myself almost literally incapacitated as a result of the altitude. I'd climb about 15 stair and felt as if I'd just run a marathon. It was quite intense, but only made it that much more rewarding when I reached the top. Check out the pics below for a few glimpses.




Top Left:

Maras y Moray -

Moray was an important center of Incan agricultural crop research which was carried out on different sized plots located at various altitudes. The Andean terraces, built on retaining walls filled with fertile soil and watered via a complex irrigation system, offered up more than 250 different types of vegetables and cereals, such as corn, quinoa and kiwicha.

Top Right: Canon Colca - the second deepest canon in the world - rivaled only by it's neighbor just a few hours drive. The canon is more than twice as deep as the grand canon.

Center Left + Right: Ollantaytambo - one of the best preserved Incan civilizations (after Machu Pichu of course). The ruins offered three different parts of the remaining settlements that you could hike into.

Bottom Right: Fail! A repeat. Unfortunately not computer savvy enough to delete it! :(

Update

Monday, July 25, 2011

Wow, so much has happened in the past week I don’t even know where to begin. I feel so honored and grateful to be here and to have had so many incredible experiences in our short week and a half.

Our project has been a lot different than we first anticipated because when we arrived we discovered that winter break was about to shortly commence. Instead we reorganized our time in Peru, and will be doing our project (see previous entries) in the last half of our trip. During the last two weeks we’ve been volunteering at the school, Fe Y Alegria, that we’re collaborating with for our project. Brianna and I worked in two different 1st grade classes during the morning session from 8 to 12:30. After teaching kindergarten for a year in Slovakia with 22 kids, I really developed a deep appreciation for teachers and also how stressful and hard it is to manage a class, especially young kids. I thought 22 kids were difficult, and then I stepped into this classroom. There were 35 six and seven year old's in the class. It wasn’t a complete mad house, but quite chaotic nonetheless.

We’re also working in Los Martincitos, a community-based initiative that started over 40 years ago. Three times a week—on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays—up to 130 poor senior citizens who are eligible for the program receive two hot meals, recreational activities, organized prayer, basic health care and an opportunity to socialize with others. To be eligible, one must be at least 65 years ol, and live below the poverty line of $2 a day for a family of four. (The "absolute poverty" line is $1 a day for a family of four.)

They also have a learning room with a literacy program set up by the government. Many of the abuelos that come are illiterate, and although the majority of them are over the age of 80, they still thirst for knowledge and are extremely eager to learn. The program’s slogan is “Nunca es tarde para aprender” (It’s never too late to learn). I got to work in this group last week with one of my favorite abuelas, Teresa, who’s about 85, 4’5, and as feisty now as I’m sure she was when she was 30. Together we made signs to decorate their room.

In the morning after clearing up from breakfast, I heard music blasting from their recreation room. After listening more closely I realized that everyone was boogying away to Ricky Martin’s “La Vida Loca”. Myself and the other volunteers all joined in for a few songs. If you're a self-conscious dancer, or just prefer dancing in private, I highly recommend this experience to break you out of your shell. Not only can you dance care-free, but all of the abuelitos encourage, hoot, holler, and kiss you on the cheek when you finish. Talk about a confidence booster.


The atmosphere at the center is wonderful. Although pretty much all of them live in abject poverty, they are so happy and content with what they have. I've really fallen in love with the place.

First Impressions of Peru

I have to be honest - of all the places in the world that I've really wanted to travel to, South America has never been at top of the list. It's not that I didn't want to come, but I always just figured I'd travel to south east Asia and Africa first. However, being as Spanish is now my second (closest) language, I was hoping that I'd really enjoy Peru, as I'm sure my work will keep me in this area in the future. After just our first four days, I'm trying to recall back to whatever prior reservations I held about South America and cannot remember one.

Brianna and I have become almost enchanted with Villa El Salvador, an impoverished (or more accurately I would say, slum) suburb of Lima that we're living in. It's so refreshing to leave so many of our "westernisms" behind and immerse ourselves as much as we can in the lifestyle and culture. How freeing it is to get up in the morning and not only pull on the same pair of muddy jeans and tee-shirt that you've worn the last two days, but to also not feel in the least bit judged by your rather frumpy, and grungy appearance! I know it sounds a bit cliche, but as a Westerner coming from such an image-conscious country (perhaps Spain ever more so than the US), I feel so much more like myself in my dirty sneakers than my heels.

While life in Villa El Salvador does in one sense feel much harder and taxing, at the same time I find it be richer in so many different ways. The streets are rough; uneven and half-constructed sidewalks incongruously line the partially paved streets; flea-infested, scavenging dogs haphazardly dart out from every corner, and "hostel" signs signaling prostitution houses occupy more buildings than any other business. By taking a quick glance, Villa El Salvador appears incomplete, underdeveloped, and impoverished beyond almost all Western standards.

However when you get out, start talking to the people, and making your way through the neighborhoods, your initial impressions quickly fade away and you're left with a population of proud, and contented people. The pride they have for their country, as well as their area, is incredible. Instead of dwelling on their problems, they have found a greater state of contentment and ease that always seems to be just beyond our reach. Everyone appears quite satisfied with what they have, although it may be very little, or as almost nothing, to us. Yet still they are happy, and enjoy life. Those that have so little, often have the most to give.

My Summer (or winter!) Plans

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!

New Found Love

I was just introduced into the band Mumford and Sons....a london-based bluegrass eclectic group of great lyrics and ridiculously good sound. I dont know how I've missed out on their incredible music for the last four years! Nonetheless, they're my music love of the month. If you havent looked them or heard them yet, do it now!

Until then....Play these songs!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x6rYPHmSzcE&feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xd8tOAJMA8Q&feature=channel