We thought it would be good to reflect upon what we have done after we finished up at each volunteering location and sum up our thoughts. We finally have time to sit and think in Singapore, so here it is...
I am glad that our first stop for the year is Cusco, Peru, with Peru's Challenge (www.peruschallenge.com). I have absolutely enjoyed my time in Cusco, especially up at the Pumamarca school and community. The weather in Cusco is great except for the first 2 weeks when we had a fair bit of rain and it was freezing cold. Acclimatising to the high altitude was not an issue besides having slight headache for the first few days. UV is extremely high and I have never use so much sunscreen in my life before Cusco. My skin didn't fair too well in Cusco due to the dryness, harsh sun and cold. No amount of moisturizer was enough to keep it normal so I gave up. As for food, we could get heaps of fresh vegetables and fruits but we just have to be extremely careful with how we treat/cook them. Could not enjoy the freshness of fruits or salad as everything must be cooked, boiled or peeled. Also had to be careful with meat and dairy products such as cheese and yogurt. Alvin had to cook the meat until they were terribly tough before we were comfortable to eat it. Getting salmonella or parasites (giardia and entamoeba) seems fairly common in Peru and I was surprised that I stayed away from it until week 7. The rate of people going down with stomach bugs and the severity of it was alarming. Having a long, hot shower is one thing I missed the most. The most annoying thing was having your water supply cut off anytime in the day or night and you can bet your money on the water supply being cut off once every 2 days. No idea why. It was a major hygiene issue and the likely cause for why so many people in the volunteer house had stomach bugs. Can you imagine not being able to flush the toilet or wash your hands after going to the toilet? Being a scientist in life sciences didn't help as I could picture it in my head all the little bugs being spread around the place.
Peru's Challenge (PC) has achieved a lot in a very short time. It amazes me what they are doing in the Pumamarca community and the respect and cooperation they get from the community. They have given a hope and a second chance in life to many children up in the community, by providing essential facilities and most importantly education. The kids are just gorgeous and saying goodbye to them was the hardest. I absolutely adore the kindie kids. They are at the age where good teaching is so valuable and important. However, I was a little taken aback by the kids at grades 1 and 2. They were a lot harder to handle and could be very rough and rude. I am not sure if it's due the tough family background or because the kids have started to understand that gringos (foreigners) are only there temporary and unlikely to discipline them. There might be a 'over compensation' problem. I had witnessed on a few occasions when some kids had serious behaviour problems but the gringos tend not to deal with the issues thus indirectly telling these kids that their behaviour was acceptable.
I am particularly impressed with the contribution from the community...the mums, dads, sisters and brothers. Many of them giving their time to help out in the school even though they have to to work in their fields, all with a common goal of wanting their community to develop for the better. PC has made a tremendous effort to involve the community in all the projects, as they believe that the community must be self-sustainable when PC moves out of that community. I think this is a great way of operation as the community will develop a sense of responsibility for themselves and take charge of their own community development projects. Supporting the projects via this volunteer program which includes tourism and volunteer work in the school and community is a fantastic way for PC to draw in the required funds. It works so well because of the tourist attractions in Cusco. I have met many great and wonderful people through this program. People with a real heart for the children and the community and willing to do as much as they can to help in any way. However, the fall short of the program is that you do get volunteers who are not at all interested in the volunteer work. Some went with their own agendas and volunteer work took second place. Sometimes I feel that they were wasting everybody's time. It's difficult for PC to enforce any rules given that volunteers had paid a fair bit to 'volunteer' and they had the rights to do what they like. I truly admire the founders of PC, Selvy and Jane, who are so passionate about their work and have sacrificed so much.
Sadly, the majority of the people in Peru are still living in poverty. You can clearly see the rich and the poor in cities such as Lima and Cusco. It's disturbing that the indigenous people in Peru are being looked down and treated unfairly. They have been exploited by many in the tourism industry yet their needs are hardly made. I am not talking about any major needs but rather the basic essential ones such as education and health. Many indigenous people leave their hometowns and cultures, seeking work in the cities but often left jobless and end up in squatters. This can be a major issue in Peru as there's possibility that some of the ancient cultures may be lost with time.
We had the best time sight-seeing Peru. Of course the Inca Trail is the highlight of the trip. I am so proud that we carried our own personal belongings (clothes, sleeping bag and mat, etc.) and trekked for 4 days. Alvin did fabulously considering that he twisted his ankle the day before we left for Inca Trail and again on the 4th day of the trek. Camino Inka is not extremely tough but I won't say it's easy too. Peru is absolutely beautiful!!! It has so much to offer. The landscape is amazing and so contrasting from one place to another. Cusco has definitely benefited very much from tourism and indeed it's a gringo city. Our short bus ride through a few cities in Peru has definitely re-enforced the fact that most of Peru is still very poor.
Given another chance, I would love to visit Peru again.
Linda
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