Dance festival

I went to a superb traditional dance festival in one of the squares in Ayacucho last Sunday. It was started off by some children from a working children's association that CCS works with, and was followed by some adults from various dance groups in the city, and finished by various members of the public (including me!) being dragged out to join in! I'll leave these photos to speak for themselves ...

Goodbye Ken, Kimi, Sara, Denise, and Caroline!

Only 2 weeks here so far, and I've already had to say goodbye to 4 of the volunteers who started with me. Ken, Kimi, Sara and Denise - all Americans - were only here for 2 weeks, and it was sad to see them go this weekend! There seem to be 2 kinds of volunteer - the short-term, usually 2 weeks, and the longer-term, over a month. And Caroline, from a previous group, left this week too, and we're now down to only 11 volunteers in the house. 4 more leave in 2 weeks, but 4 new volunteers are arriving then, so I guess things will just keep changing, as people come and go. It feels a bit quiet in the house now, but I guess we'll get used to it soon.

Ken, Kimi, Sara, and Denise - we miss you! It was good to meet you, and a shame your time here was so short! And Caroline, you too - good luck in Lima!


Ken, Caroline, Denise, Sara


Gillian, Ken, Kimi

Gillian, my room-mate, plus Claire and Shelley, who all started when I did, are still here, which is good! They will be here for a while too - Gillian and Shelley until early December, and Claire until mid January, so we'll both be here for Christmas - not sure who else as yet ...

A trip to the mountains

The second weekend here, a group of us went on a day trip to the mountains, about 2 hours' drive from Ayacucho. One of the CCS drivers, Alejandro, offered to take us out in his minibus for 100$ for the day - and between 7 of us it was a bargain! He also brought his father along for the ride and so that he could guard the minibus if we went walking. It was a great day out and a good introduction to the countryside around us, though lots of food for thought when we reached the mountain villages ...

We climbed out of Ayacucho and within about 30 minutes we were right out in the countryside and at about 4,000m, with beautiful views of mountains all around us. We passed a number of small villages along the way, as well as adults and children walking along the roads with sheep, goats, donkeys ... women carrying babies or produce in mantas, some of them knitting whilst walking along the road! We also saw lots of people out in the fields, planting crops - mainly potatoes, also ploughing with oxen and old wooden ploughs. It felt like we'd gone back in time.

We then drove down into a valley and stopped at a lovely riverside spot so that Ken, one of the volunteers, could do some fishing. Some locals who lived on the other side of the river said he could fish there, but there was no bridge, so Ken declined! No fish was caught for dinner, unfortunately.

Then another climb up to about 4,000m again, and then a right turn off the Lima road onto a dirt track for another few miles. This is when things began to get really interesting!

Once over 4,000m the air felt different and it was distinctly colder - this is the beginning of summer and even when still in the minibus we were putting putting fleeces on! And the landscape changed too - remote, peaty terrain, and nothing much other than potato crops here and there. And then I saw my first Peruvian llama! And soon after several others, also alpaca.

We continued to climb and must have reached about 4,500m, when we reached a remote village. It is incredible that people can live up here. The only crops that grow are potatoes, and there's a market down in the valley once a week where fruit and vegetables are brought up from Ayacucho, but this must be a good 4-hour hike each way. And a lot of these people don't have any money, so can only get provisions in return for produce that they grow themselves. It's incredibly bleak up here, and people live in tiny stone huts, with very little else.

Some children let us look inside their house and we saw their kitchen - a circle of stones for a fireplace, and a couple of pots containing potatoes. And the sleeping area was just a piece of wood off the floor and covered in blankets. All incredibly basic and bleak. And this is the beginnning of summer. I can't imagine what it must be like up here in winter!

Before we set off, we had been told how tough it was living up in the mountains and we had asked how we could help. Although CCS don't have projects up here, they suggested that if we wanted to help, we could buy some basic goods like hats, socks, leggings, water jugs, etc. for the villagers, so we'd all chipped in and had gone shopping in the market before setting off. Another group of volunteers had done this a few weeks before and they told us that the villagers had really appreciated it. We'd also bought a box of ´Wawa bread´- special bread in the shape of babies that people eat around 1 November, All Saints Day, and as these would not normally reach people up here in the mountains. We were heading for another village further up in the mountains that as far as we knew had not received gifts before, but we gave out some bread and jugs in this first village too, and these were gratefully accepted.

We then reached the second village and parked in the centre. Alejandro, our driver, explained to the villagers in Quechua that we had brought some gifts for them, and soon lots of people gathered round us.

We handed out the gifts to the villagers, but somehow it just didn't feel right at all. I felt very uncomfortable - was it right for us to be deciding what they needed? Were these the kinds of things that were a priority for them; how were we to know? And the villagers seemed a bit frustrated with us that we hadn't brought enough for each person to have something and asked us to come back again with more! I'm not sure they realised that we'd just bought some things out of our own money on a personal trip, and I have a feeling they thought we'd come on some kind of official trip - apparently the state sometimes brings things up to to the villages. We weren't expecting them to be grovelling with thanks, just a bit more appreciative.

We left the village questioning whether we'd done the right thing bringing gifts at all, and wondering whether the previous visit to the area by volunteers had created expectations that gringos would be bringing presents everytime they passed by. We also questioned whether we'd given the right kinds of things - woolly hats and clothes would keep them warm, but they have been living up in the mountains in these conditions for centuries ... was it just our cultural norms telling us that they needed more? And maybe something more sustainable like a llama or an alpaca would have been a more useful gift, if we were to give anything? This also led to a long debate about culture versus development - an issue that keeps cropping up here ...

Although I came away not sure whether I wanted to do this kind of thing again, some villagers were appreciative, so I'll leave things on a positive note and with this little girl who loved her new chullo!

Hello from Mumbo

Some of you have been asking how Mumbo is getting on. He´s had a busy few weeks and is having a rest this weekend, so he´d like me to let you know that he´s settling in very well. He is proving to be a very popular hit with the kids! At the Wawa Wasi he´s now known as Bimbo, but he´s coping with that. Here are a few photos of Mumbo at work ...

Off to work

Here´s a quick overview of the projects I´ve been involved with so far ...

Wawa Wasi

Last Tuesday was my first day at the Wawa Wasi. Let me introduce you to my new working environment, which is just a little different from Oxford University Press! Here is the equivalent to Walton Street - this is typical Wawa Wasi country. And yes, there are two pigs wandering down the middle of the street!

And here is the Main Entrance - no Reception or Porter´s Lodge, though there are usually a few kids waiting to pounce! Welcome to Wawa Wasi Wayra. This is where I´m going to be working for about 2 mornings a week - 8.30-12.00. For those of you who know me well, you´ll be shocked to hear that I´m getting up at 6.30 nowadays; I´m shocked myself - must be the altitude!

And this is the path just outside the Wawa Wasi - lots of lovely mud! It´s all pretty basic here, with no electricity or running water, and the room we work in is tiny - there´s a dusty floor, a small bookshelf for a few toys, a low table and small wooden chairs, and it has an iron roof with holes in, and gets quite dark when it´s cloudy. There´s a potty just outside the room - I haven´t yet enquired as to what I´m supposed to do, as I don´t really want to know the answer - just try not to drink too much before I start work! And we also try to wash the kids´hands out here and the challenge is to get them back into the room before they try to play in the mud!

And here is my new team, on a milk break ... the milk and lunch is provided by the state, and it´s probably the only good food the kids get each week day. This is Vilma, the mother who runs the Wawa Wasi, plus 9 cheerful, but very wild kids, ranging from 9 months to 4 years old. Quite a handful!

And here they are before we went on a research trip to the local park this week, to get them out into the fresh air ... we just about managed to get back all in one piece, though the main road, a dead dog, and several very muddy gutters provided a few challenges that I could have done without!

Orphanage
I´m working in a girls´orphanage a couple of afternoons a week. The orphanage also takes boys up to the age of 5, and I´m mainly working with the babies and toddlers as that´s where most help is needed. Here´s Jimena and Jose, both about 7 months ...

This orphanage was set up by nuns in the 1980s during the horrendous civil war between the Sendero Luminoso (Shining Path) and the military, when there were thousands of orphans in Ayacucho. Now those orphans are grown-ups, but because of the poverty here, there are still a lot of orphans, or children whose families just can´t afford to keep them, or whose parents are alcoholics or in prison for drug-trafficking. There are about 180 orphans here, and there´s also a boys´orphanage that I´m yet to visit.

This is quite the opposite from the Wawa Wasi where the kids have parents but very little else. Here the children are very well looked after, fed well, and have clean clothes, and the orphanage is light and clean. The babies are fed and changed regularly, but there just isn´t enough staff to give them lots of individual attention, to play with them, so that´s where we come in.

I´ve also been feeding babies and getting quite good at getting most of the food into their mouths, and am happy to say that I´ve managed to avoid changing nappies so far! Here are Javier, Eliseo, and Leandro - all about 7 months ...

And here are the 3-4 year-old boys´- I went to play with this group on my first visit. We made origami hats and planes, sang English songs (The Hokey Cokey wore me out - must be the altitude), and we also helped feed them before they went to bed. By 5.30, a couple of the 3-year-olds had fallen asleep while eating their soup ... maybe it was the Hokey Cokey?!



And here is the newest member of the orphanage. Enrique is only 2 weeks old and was found abandonded - it´s so hard to understand how he could just be abandonded, but it´s going to be good to give him some love and see him develop over the next few months.

Yanamilla Primary School
Remember I mentioned a really poor school that I visited on my first day? Well, this is Yanamilla Primary School, and I´m going to work here 2 mornings a week - in a 2nd grade class with 42 children ranging from 7-9 years. There´s just the one teacher and me and this is going to be another interesting challenge!

The school consists of 2 blocks like this, plus an outside ´kitchen´where some of the mothers cook lunch for the under 5s and warm up the milk for all the kids, a toilet block fitted by CCS (but the doors and rooves have been stolen), and a waste-land of a playground.

And here´s my class - I´m going to be helping the teacher, Carmen, and she´d also like me to introduce a little bit of English, building on concepts that they are already familiar with, like colours, numbers, names of basic vocabulary, simple greetings ...

Socos village

The final project that I´ve been involved with so far is out in a village called Socos - about 30 minutes´ drive from Ayacucho. On Thursdays quite a lot of the volunteers go out to work in the Wawa Wasis, kindergartens, primary and secondary schools in Socos. The community asked CCS to come and provide some help in educating their children. I think this will be a weekly event for me - this week I worked in one of the kindergartens with a few other volunteers, 1 teacher and about 18 under 5s.

This is the area around Socos - beautiful countryside, and very remote ....

And here´s the outside of the kindergarten, with a playground built by some of the parents ...

And here´s the class - we were working on the numbers 1-5 in Spanish, which was hard work as the kids are all Quechua speakers, but the parents want them to learn Spanish too. I only have just enough Spanish to do this, but I´m learning fast!

And as in the Wawa Wasis, the kids get lunch here, provided by the state, and cooked by one of the mothers. They had lunch at about 11.00, so I guess they get up very early to get to school, and because the parents are out working in the fields - we saw several people out planting and ploughing as we arrived. And I guess they go to bed early as there´s no electricity up here and it´s dark by about 6.00!



So that´s it so far, only 2 weeks in, and I feel like I´ve been here a lot lot longer, as there´s been so much to get my head round! More details on the work placements as things evolve ...

Hope all´s well at home! Would love to hear some news!

CCS work placements

Before we started work last Tuesday, we spent the Monday visiting several work placements to get an overview of what CCS does here. This was fascinating, but quite a culture shock!

First we visited a Wawa Wasi, which is one of the projects that I´m going to be involved in. We drove out of the centre and out into rough suburbs that I now recognise as ´Wawa Wasi country´- dirt tracks, stray dogs, pigs, chickens, and with small, dusty dwellings with shabby iron doors and rooves. About 9 of us piled into a Wawa Wasi and nearly filled it! It was a very small room that felt a bit like somebody´s garage (it probably was, once upon a time), with tiles on the floor and a very tiny sink and toilet in the corner. There were a few plastic toys and old puzzles, and a small table with tiny wooden chairs for the 8 children, who range from 9 months to 4 years. I have since found out that this is a luxury 5-star Wawa Wasi - wait til you hear about mine! This wasn´t a very typical situation, as we were all staring at the children, and what´s more, 2 groups had also got together for a party to celebrate 5 years of Wawa Wasis, so it was all very squashed and chaotic. There were 16 children under 4, 2 mamas who each run a group, plus 2 CCS volunteers. All the children live in extreme poverty and it´s probably only in the Wawa Wasi that they get to eat any proper food or play with any toys. The project is run to allow families living in extreme poverty to leave their children in a safe and stimulating environment while they go out to work. This is a very popular national state initiative, and particularly successful in Ayacucho where there are over 150 Wawa Wasis. 50% of the population of Peru lives in poverty (on less than 2$/day) and 20% live in extreme poverty (on 1$/day), but in Ayacucho 80% of the population lives in extreme poverty. The under 5s are a handful anyway, but in this gruelling context it was obvious that it was going to be a real challenge!

We then headed for a soup kitchen in the centre of the city, but unfortunately one of the women who worked there had died, and so the kitchen was closed. I´m yet to go back.

Then further out of the city into another poor suburb, to visit one of the clinics. A couple of CCS volunteers who are medical students are working here. The clinics provide free consultation and they are currently giving children free vaccinations, but normally drugs have to be paid for, so this can be a problem for many. The clinic was pretty basic, but clean and friendly. We also had a tour round the obstetrics ´wing´(= concrete hut) where we saw how basic the resources are - no sign of any birthing pools or drugs; woudn´t want to give birth here ...

Next, we visited a primary school in a particularly poor area on the outskirts of the city. I hadn´t realised it was a school until children started appearing from various classrooms in a long, thin concrete building opening onto some dusty wasteland. The school was opened a couple of years ago with about 80 children, and apparently there were not even any desks at the time. Now there are about 200 children, desks, and some CCS volunteers had a toilet block fitted, though the door and roof have since been stolen. There are hardly any books, no running water, no electricity. My heart went out to these kids, and I´m hoping to go back to work here, so will let you know more another time.

We finished our tour with a look at the outside of the Yanamilla high-security prison. CCS sends volunteers in here to work with the under 5s who stay in with their mothers (some children were born here!), also to take the children out into the real world on Friday mornings, and to work with the mothers, teaching them English. The prison is mixed, and most of the sentences are for drug-trafficking - the north of Ayacucho province is one of the main regions in Peru for producing coca leaves and apparently 30% of Ayacucho population is involved one way or another in the drug industry.

Other projects that CCS is currently involved with is teaching English in secondary state schools, where there is a lack of English teachers and a real need for teacher training, also in two orphanages, in a street kids drop-in centre, and in some schools out in a remote village about 30 minutes´drive away. I´m hoping to visit more of these soon ...

Hola Ayacucho!

Well, Heathrow feels like way more than a week ago! Thank you, Andrea, for managing to get me to the airport on time, and after a pretty tiring 30-hour journey, via Amsterdam, Bonaire, and Lima, I´ve made it to Ayacucho. I had to wait 11 hours in Lima, but thanks to Natalia´s lovely friends Francisco and Ana Maria, the time passed quickly, and by 6 last Sunday morning I had met the other new volunteers and was in another world, on a very small plane, looking at fabulous views of the Andes on the 1-hour flight to Ayacucho.



Ayacucho is nestled up in the Andes at 2,800 m - and even though it´s a city of nearly 200,000 inhabitants, it feels extremely remote. After the big-city hustle and bustle of Lima, this is a completely different place entirely!

We were met at the airport and then taken to the Cross-Cultural Solutions ´Home Base´ for some breakfast and to settle in. We met some of the other volunteers, who were waking up gradually. Everyone seems very nice - there are 17 of us in total, ranging from age 18-60, and from England, Ireland, Canada and USA - a good mix! This is the Home Base, and I´m on the 4th floor (which we would call the 3rd floor), and this is also where there´s a roof-top terrace for us to do our washing, sunbathe, and drink in the evenings - all very civilised. It has the feel of a very comfortable youth hostel, but as there aren´t many of us, the rooms aren´t full and it´s good to have a bit of space. I´m sharing with Gillan, a very nice Irish woman, and we´ve already made the room feel like home!



And this is the view of Ayacucho from our bedroom ... we´re just on the outskirts of the centre, but not what I´d call suburbs. It´s about a 15-minute walk to the central square, Plaza Mayor, so all quite convenient.



On the Sunday we arrived, we were all pretty shattered and a bit fazed by our new surroundings. I hadn´t really had any proper sleep for 2 nights, but Phil, one of the óld´volunteers kindly offered to take us on a guided tour, so how could I refuse!

We walked into the centre, with moto-taxis whizzing past, and crazy traffic everywhere - felt very busy for a Sunday! And in the main square they were preparing for a procession at 11 and people were gathering, sitting on the various steps under the arches around the square. I think we were the only ´gringos´there. There was a real buzz, with so many people on the streets - selling everything you can imagine, in or out of anything you can imagine! And then at 11, after the band played the national anthem, the procession started. It was made up of childen mainly, from tiny to teenage, representing various schools and clubs and all trying to march in the way the army had done at the beginning - you could feel the pride they took in representing their institution, and they were all trying really hard to stay in time and to do it properly ... Apparently there´s some kind of procession or event in the square every Sunday, but at the time it felt like a really special welcome for us, and it felt very good to be in Ayacucho at last!

Wawa Wasi

Well, there's only a week to go and it's time for me to get myself organised! A week seems like a long time, but I know it's going to go really quickly and that as usual I'll run out of time and will be racing around right up to the last minute! So in case I don't have much more time for blogging - here are a few details about what I'm going to be doing. I've finally received details of my main placement, which will be at Wawa Wasi. There will be opportunities to get involved in other initiatives once I'm there, and I'll try to keep you posted as things evolve, but for the time being, here are the details that I've been sent so far ...

See also link to UNICEF site on the right-hand column, with a bit more info.

Hazel Geatches
October 29, 2006

Work Assignment: Wawa Wasi

Background to the organization
Wawa Wasi (Wawa = Baby and Wasi = House, in Quechua) is a community initiative to provide daycare services for families living in extreme poverty. In most cases the caretaker lends a room in her home to be used for educational and recreational activities for some 9 infants and children aged 9 months - 4 years. The government provides some educational materials and hot meals for the children as well as a small stipend for the caretaker. Wawa Wasi is run entirely by the community.

Volunteer Duties
To facilitate educational and recreational activities, including good practices in sanitation and primary health care, for infants and children aged 6 months-3 ½ years, as well as for their caretakers. Other activities include playing with the kids, teaching educational games, helping to feed the children and putting them to sleep.

Useful Supplies
Pictures of self and significant others for "show and tell" activities;
Children’s books with bright pictures;
Papers, crayons, colouring books and/or any other material for crafts activities; Magazines, brochures, and any piece of regalia (to help introduce your regular environment to the clients and colleagues at your partner organization).
Ideas for games to play with the kids.

Important Volunteer Attributes
Tolerance to uncertainty and a sense of humour;
Willingness to overcome difficulties when working in a different language;
Ability to interact with disadvantaged kids;
A lot of creativity.

Your Volunteer Assignment
As part of the Cross-Cultural Solutions Program your work assignment provides the opportunity for you to work with a local grassroots organization in Ayacucho. During your time as a volunteer we hope you will develop an insight into Peru and the development issues that Peruvian’s face on a daily basis.
You have been assigned according to your background, skills and interests. The placement process is flexible and we encourage two-way feedback between staff and volunteers. Please communicate with the Director in order to maximize your work assignment and your time in Ayacucho.

Nearly there

I'd like you to meet Peru Pig. OK, so I've had a bit of spare time on my hands recently! Peru Pig has been helping me save my pennies and collect sponsorship for the trip, and your sponsorship has been truly amazing! I have been incredibly touched by all your contributions, best wishes, and encouragement. So far I've collected nearly £2,500, enough to fund working 10 weeks in Ayacucho, which is fantastic!

For those interested in the breakdown of costs involved, there's a one-off fee of about £1,000 for the first two weeks going towards project overheads, coordination, volunteer placement, project development, etc., then it costs about £150 per week for board & lodging, transport, coordination, general support, etc. I'll be funding my own flights, vaccinations, insurance and any other expenses.

More soon, once I know exactly what I'll be doing!

Getting my act together

It's mid September and I seem to be getting my act together! The Teddy cake is proof that I've now left Oxford University Press - for a year anyway! And I've signed up with an organisation called Cross-Cultural Solutions to go and do some voluntary work in Peru at the end of October. See link on the right-hand column if you want to find out more. I've chosen to go to Ayacucho, a city 2,800m up in the Andes, quite cut off from anywhere else and in need of support. Forms have been filled in and sent off, flight has been booked, so there's no going back now! I'm yet to know exactly what I'll be doing, but as I'm not leaving until 28 October, there's a bit of time to acclimatise to the whole concept ... I'm likely to know more details about 2 weeks before I leave. It'll probably be working with street kids or in an orphanage, possibly also teaching English, but that might not be the biggest priority, so we'll have to wait and see ...

I've been pretty busy since I stopped work and can't quite imagine how I managed to fit that in before!! All the 'non-leaving dos' at the end of August were all quite emotionally draining, and since then it's been good to have a few weeks to focus on Peru plans, to start thinking about the year ahead. Now it's easier to look back at my time at OUP without getting so upset about what I've given up, though I do really miss the Spanish Primary team especially, so I've pasted everyone in here for posterity, plus a few other photos from the dos!