Off to a Great Start!

All of the students and the group are off to a great start!  Here’s a quick recap of our first few days:

April 28th: All the students arrived (well most of them).

April 29th: Bienvenidos! We all had a short introduction to the city, walked to Barranco and had an orientation with the organization Ashoka (of which all the organizations and projects are associated with), the organizations where the students will be working for the 2 week period, and Sara Diestro (an Ashoka Fellow – Social Entrepreneur) discussed with the students her organization, Deporte y Vida, where the students would be volunteering the next day.  Here is the group on the roof of the Ashoka Peru office in Barranco:

April 30th: After our quick introduction, everyone headed south towards Ica.  We all spent the afternoon volunteering in the community Lurin Chincha with Sara’s organization, Deporte y Vida.  The organization uses sports as a means to keep children off the streets and actively promote social change.  It gives children the tools and resources to succeed in life in communities where such resources are not normally available.

The afternoon was spent as cultural exchange, opening up dialogue between the students and children and parents of the community.  They played sports, did arts and craft, did oragami, and shared stories of each others’ cultures.  It was an opportunity for the students to see first hand the situation that many in developing countries find themselves and were able to relate to them on a personal level.

Finger Painting

Oragami

Soccer with the kids

Volleyball on the streets

A great quote from one of the students added a nice twist to the experience,

“It helped me realize that all kids are pretty much the same, even the ones in poverty; they just want to learn and have fun.”

Adios!

May 1st: Was spent as time to relax and unwind in the oasis town, Huacachina.  In the afternoon we all took a dune bugey/sandboarding tour of the dunes and watched the sunset over the desert.

Chelsea and Jim getting ready to fly down the dunes

Elyssa about to take off down a dune

Mini group shot at the bottom of a dune

Now the groups are all divided and dispersed among the 4 distinct organizations in diverse locations throughout Peru for the next 2 weeks (Huaraz, Huancayo, Ica, and Arequipa).  It will be interesting to see what experiences, lessons, and insights occur throughout this period!