Tuesday, March 23, 2010

March 22, 2010: A Letter from IFEJANT to the High School Students from Kamloops

On behalf of IFEJANT and the children from the NASSAE and San José Obrero schools, we would like to thank you for having chosen to visit our country and for having contributed to the children’s education, which is their fundamental human right. By helping build classrooms and bathrooms, you have expressed your friendship and solidarity.

All children hope to have adequate facilities for their education and regrettably in our country this is not possible for all children. However, you have made these hopes a reality. You have supported these children so they may continue to study and organize continually demand the fulfillment of their human rights.

Thank you with all of our hearts. We hope that this spirit of solidarity grows and strengthens in each one of you. The bridge of solidarity that has been sown with the presence of our counterpart Jess is now strengthened by the connection we find with you. It is our hope that from this connection many other Canadian youth will connect with us in solidarity.

We will always wait for you with an open heart!!!

Your friends from IFEJANT, NASSAE and San José Obrero.

Monday, March 15, 2010

A couple of posts from the High School Students Perspective on Volunteering in Peru.


We woke up nice and early today, ate our regular breakfast of buns and jam, and headed to one of the forty-nine districts in Peru, where we will be working again tomorrow. This trip has been absolutely amazing so far. We have learned that Peru is in serious need of a number of things, besides toilets in which you can flush toilet paper. First, there is a shortage of clean water in Peru. Second, there is a shortage of cement mixers. Indeed, the term “back-breaking” is not to be taken lightly in the Latin-American construction business. The drivers are crazy, the traffic is unbelievable, and the work is long and sweaty, but despite the honking and the polluted air, I think we can all agree this one trip that won’t be easily forgotten.

Among some of the other things we’ve learned is the fact that you haven’t really eaten fries until you eat them in Peru. And it also goes without saying that’s it’s never a good idea to cross the street without looking, ESPECIALLY in Lima. We're not even half way through our trip, and we’ve already seen and experienced more than some people will in a lifetime. The people are friendly, the food is delicious, and in a city of eight million, we’ve met the handful of people who had the potential to change our lives.

Lastly, one the things I’m sure we’ve all taken to heart is that in Latin-America, you don’t mix cement; cement mixes you.


-MACKENZIE



Let me just start off by saying, that this trip has been amazing. I have learned so much and we aren’t even half way through. Working at the first school was so much fun, we worked with some extremely nice people, who were always patient even when it took us awhile to figure out what each other were saying. It was so amazing to see what we have done for them and help them in as many ways as we could. After we had finished everything, we went and played with kids in a soccer game. All of them were so good and pretty much blew me away with their soccer skills. They were all so happy and the laugher was contagious until it hit everyone.

Today and tomorrow we are working at a pubic school that isn’t sponsored by the government. The school hold s200 students and I have no idea how they fit them as the building was so small. With our contributions and donations we were able to start building a bathroom for them so that it is more comfortable for them to be in school. These last few days we have all put a lot of effort into working but I have never felt so satisfied with what I have done. Working with these amazing kids just opens my eyes to all the possibilities of doing more volunteering. They are so gracious of the work we have done and it just makes me feel so happy and proud. I have truly grown as a person and I am so thankful for this experience.

I can see myself volunteering in the near future. The few people that we have met have made this experience one to remember. I will always have the memories and the experiences that I have taken on this trip with me forever. Buenas Tardes!!

-CARISSA

Tuesday, March 9, 2010

March 9th: The High School Student Perspective

Buenos Tardes!! After a night of the literally-best shopping in-my-life at Largo Mar and a late night, we woke up at 7:00am to get ready for another day at NASSEA School. The bus ride over was a unusually quiet one, everyone was falling asleep and that was the perfect time for bue-meister (Mr. Buemann, Teacher) to take his camera and take unflattering shots of us drooling and sleep deprived teenagers. Once we got there we went straight to work and started painting and getting messy. We had so so much fun getting to know the children but after a few minutes and with the help of a Spanish dictionary we started getting to know each other really well. Brian (a kid from the neighbourhood) and I started having very funny conversations. As I type, we’re finishing up the painting and getting ready for the kids. This trip has been going so well. I’m feeling really good about what we’re doing at this school. I can’t wait to see what we do tomorrow and the day after that. This is the SERIOUSLY-BEST-TRIP-IN-MY-LIFE!!

- Leah !



Oh my goodness! There is so much I could say right now; it’s so crazy! It’s been such an amazing experience already, and we’ve only been here three days! The things you find here are very…different. Driving, first off, consists of no seatbelts, 4 people in a back seat, and no turn signals or traffic lights. Like none. It’s literally chaos. Also the fact that we get stared at wherever we go is a bit weird, but it’s really amusing. There’s something new around every corner, and it’s so surreal to really be here after waiting for this trip for so long. I say on behalf of everyone that we’ve already learned so much about Peru and the people here. The past two days at the school have been such a whirlwind of activity – everyone has been working super hard, and it feels great to be able to contribute to a cause like this. Everyone around us is so positive, and it’s really great to get to be around the kids while we work. We’ve whipped out the dictionary numerous times today to try and communicate with them, and it’s actually really fun! We learn a lot by speaking, and there are a lot of phrases that we’ve picked up on already. Though, I am still not able to decode the conversation Jess, DWC Team Leader, is having on the phone on the couch across from me…lots of ‘hoolio’ and yelling and laughing…muy loco. Haha! Everyone is also getting along really well – definitely a contributing factor to all the fun we’ve been having. So many good times have gone on, and there are some pretty sweet insiders that we’ll be remembering. My abs are so sore from laughing its not even funny. It’s been so amazing though, and I’m looking forward to the rest of the experiences!
‘Jess, this has been like the best trip of any trip in the entire universe of all trips ever taken in my whole entire life. Like ever!’

- Maddy H.



At the risk of sounding cliché and repetitive, I fist want say that this trip is amazing. It’s hard to find the words to describe what you’re seeing and what you’re feeling unless you are actually here, working, learning, and travelling. We learn about Peru: geography (“which is actually very fascinating!” – Mr. B) culture, language and most importantly we learn about ourselves. We came to Peru expecting to help the people here by volunteering in their schools and by bringing donations: which we have done and its’ not hard to tell that what we have done so far is so greatly appreciated. But what I did not realize to such a great extent was how much this trip would help us. I truly believe that in these long three days, all of us have truly grown as people and as members of the international community. Our eyes and our hearts have been opened… as cheesy at that sounds. So what have we learned exactly? Personally, I think that this trip has really clarified for me what I want to do in my life and the direction I’m headed. I know I want to experience more cultures and I know I want to go into a career where I can travel, learn new languages and help people all over the world.

Jess said I should talk about the differences between Canada and Peru… and there are so many its unbelievable, but if there weren’t, this trip would be no where near as interesting. Firstly, obviously the difference in language is huge. A Latin-American phrase book and Spanish-English dictionary is always close by. Mostly, at the school and when we’re around Lima, we speak Spanglish: an odd combination of two different languages cobbled together, and most of the time no one has any idea what anyone else is saying. It’s frustrating, but when you can finally understand what someone is trying to communicate to you, the feeling of satisfaction and fulfillment is so overwhelming. Another difference is the driving, as other bloggers before me have mentioned.

When travelling by taxi we split up into three groups of five, meaning there is four of us squished in the backseat of a tiny taxi speeding down highways and little roads going 80 kilometers an hour when the speed limit is only 50.
(if you’re reading this mom, don’t worry we’re quite safe… Peruvians are the best bad drivers you’ll ever come across).

Another difference is food, no where else will you find lime that is so acidic it can actually cook fish. And I’ve eaten an unbelievable amount of potatoes and rice. As for the bathrooms, when we have flush toilets, you can’t put the toilet paper in it or it will clog. And when there aren’t flush toilets, you can find a small hole in the cement the size of the base of a small water bottle. That is an experience I will never forget. Of course there are so many differences I could write about, but for times sake, I’ll just mention a few: architecture, clothing styles, schools, city layout, diversity and the overall culture.


As excited as I am to experience the rest of this trip, I wish I could slow down time and make it last longer!

- Claire

Monday, March 8, 2010

March 5th, 2010: Kamloops High School arrive Lima, Peru.

After a long day of travelling yesterday, we woke up to the sound of car alams and Jess’ voice…

Our grumpy moods were soon taken care of though, when our breakfast time came. Breakfast was not only delicious, but also caused a flurry of conversations with all the new fruits and jam’s. We then made our way to our host partner’s headquarters where we were introduced to the crew. We met two Peruvian girls and two boys and one of them played his bamboo flute for us which was INCREDIBLE.

After lunch, we bused our way downtown to catch a tour bus to Mt. St. Christobale which had an amazing view but the ride up was a little windy. Then, after purchasing our own bamboo flutes, we returned downtown where we went into an amazing church where the bones of 25 000 people are!

An adventurous day it most definitely was, learning lots about to be in Peru. For example, one should always look both ways before crossing the street and one should not point at people with your finger. People stare at us because of the colour of our hair. Tonight were going dancing, it should be a blast!



Anne Simpson
Developing World Connections Participant
Lima, Peru
March 2010

Peru 2010: Kamloops High School Students - March 2010

Kamloops High School Students will be working with new host partner, IFEJANT, in Lima.

Friday, March 5th, 5:03 pm, Lima, Peru

It’s Jess here checking in just before the rest of the team arrives tonight. Everything is ready to go and I can’t wait for the team to arrive as I know it’s going to be an incredible experience for them. We will be volunteering at two schools in the “cones of Lima” which are on the fringes of the city. Here people live in densely populated areas in very precarious and marginal conditions. In both schools, we hope to get a head start on the construction of bathrooms which at present are non-existent. At first, the bathrooms will be like outhouses, but we are building them in the right place so that eventually they can be connected to a sewer system.

It’s going to be a busy schedule as we are packing a lot into 10 days. We will be meeting and working with the members of IFEJANT (host-partner in Lima), working children, students, teachers, and many other Peruvians. Tomorrow, the group will hit the ground running – after the orientation and a welcome lunch, we are going to tour the centre of Lima and view this massive city from atop a hill. After dinner, we will experience tradition folklore dancing and music and hopefully test our Peru legs by doing some dancing of our own! On Sunday, it’s straight to work throughout the days and it’s going to be hot, humid and dirty. At nights, we will continue exploring other parts of Lima that contrast extremely with the marginal areas we will be working in. After a community celebration on Wednesday, we are off to Cuzco first thing Thursday morning to explore the wonders of the Ancient Incan Empire and the beauty of the Andes. On the last day we will return to Lima and go 40 km’s south to rest and relax on the beach before flying home to real life.

Lima, “City of Kings”, is a diverse place with extreme contrasts. The grip of extreme poverty, sprawling population and pollution does not surpass Lima’s incredible history, lively spirit, incredible vistas, savoury tastes and, above all, it’s inspiring people.

I am very excited because I know the students are going to have an unforgettable experience – this will truly be a life changing experience offering them a new and valuable perspective. It is my hope and sincere belief that their experiences and, above all, the people they meet, will inspire them; I hope this inspiration will serve them well in their personal development and create in them a lasting personal commitment to global citizenship, solidarity, sustainable living and service to others.

Jess

DWC Team Leader, Development Coordinator