my thoughts

I must say that the 8-9 weeks that I spent in Peru, especially the time spent volunteering at Peru's Challenge, was one of the best things I have done. I just wished I have done it earlier. Oh well, better late than never. I have been to South America three times before this trip (Brazil in 2001, Peru & Chile in 2007) but this trip was different. Volunteering at Peru's Challenge for 8 weeks gave us the opportunity to contribute to the Pumamarca community/school, see Peru at a different level, experience the local culture, mix with the locals, learn Spanish, meet some fabulous like-minded people, etc...I would encourage friends and family to strongly consider including some volunteer work into their travels/holidays. It just makes the experience so much different and rewarding. The kids at school are so adorable and the people are very friendly.

There are many volunteer programs or if you are interested, you can always go with Peru's Challenge - www.peruschallenge.com (disclaimer - I don't get paid by them). Or you can come visit us at Samuel's House - www.samuelshouse.com in Thailand. Peru's Challenge is run by two of the most amazing people I have met - Jane & Selvy. They have such big hearts for the Peruvian people, especially the indigenous Andeans. They have the passion and it has taken them a lot of work/time to get to where Peru's Challenge is the moment. If you do join a volunteer program, make sure you go with the right heart and correct attitude. And please do not balked at the cost of the volunteer programs as the money is also used for the communities that you are helping. We had volunteers in the program that would go partying/drinking till the wee hours of the morning, well knowing that there was work (teaching/ construction) at school in Pumamarca in the morning. I believe this was not the true spirt of volunteering and it inconvenienced other volunteers as there were not enough of us in the various classes and construction . This severely disrupted our time at school. We are given enough free time to do our own thing and I do not believe that skipping work at school for any reason is forgivable. One thing that I think Peru's Challenge needs more is for the volunteers to spend more time at school. We have spoken to a number of volunteers during our time there and most think that we are not spending enough time at school. Most of us (except for the party animals) joined Peru's Challenge mainly for the volunteer aspect of the program. If visiting Peru was the main reason, we would have just gone to Peru and tour around without the volunteer aspect. I would suggest that we go to school everyday (the program only has us going to school on Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays and on occasion Tuesdays and Thursdays but rarely) from Monday to Friday. The reason that we only get to go to school on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays is because of the school curriculum. However, we can do construction work on Tuesdays and Thursdays. But there are also volunteers that think that the time spent at school is sufficient. I think the program at Peru's Challenge is a compromise and they have to cater to the expectations of different volunteers.

I have to devote some space to our housemates that we had for the second half of our stay - Kate, Katrina and Charlotte. They are some of the best people around. They are the people you want to stay with when you have to stay with total strangers for 4 weeks. Love you guys!!! And will miss you!!!

This 8 week journey has made me realised how fortunate I am and the need for me (and others) to help the less fortunate. We need to consider ourselves very fortunate as most of us do not have to worry about putting food on the table. The indigenous Andeans are very poor and yet they are relatively self-contented and happy. We all have our own set of problems but when we take things into perspective, their problems stem from absolute poverty (which degenerates into health problems, alcohol abuse, domestic violence, child abuse, lack of education, malnutrition, etc...) whereas our problems are how can I get a bigger house, how can I get a bigger car, how can I get a bigger TV, etc...

We need to realise that we are given skills, knowledge and resources ($$$) not only for ourselves, but to contribute to the less fortunate at large (and there are plenty of them)...

Alvin