Tag Archives: desarollo humano

24/06/2013
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camp VALOR, happenings, happiness

camp VALOR.

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this last weekend we had our second camp of the year for our the adolescent boys in our department: camp VALOR!!! just like for ALMA, all 25 volunteers worked together to plan a 3-day, 2-night camp for boys ages 13-18 years old. each volunteer brought 2-3 kids from their site, and for 3 days, all participated in a number of charlas that went along with our “Iron Man” theme, including:

  • beekeeping
  • financial planning

    equipo verrrrrrrrde!!!

    equipo verrrrrrrrde!!!

  • gender equality
  • addressing “machismo”
  • team-building exercises
  • hearing from a local success story from a chiclayo business owner…a volunteer favorite…kango cafeIMG_3922
  • soccer tournament
  • self-esteem
  • future planning/vocational testing
  • job fair

    with our first mvp of the camp!

    with our first mvp of the camp!

  • cuy/duck farming
  • campfire with s’mores and singing until 1am
  • sex-ed charla with our pc doctor from lima, where they had the opportunity to ask extremely candid questions with a highly-qualified professional
  • trust falls

    team leaders enjoying our kids' soccer tournament.

    team leaders enjoying our kids’ soccer tournament.

  • a socio-drama about applying the knowledge they learned
  • human pryamids galore!
  • and of course….a condom race!!!IMG_3995

my team was the smallest of the groups, but what we lacked in number, we certainly made up for team spirit. one thing i really liked about my team, was the diversity in the personalities. half were extremely outgoing, and it was easy to see that they are given regular opportunities to lead and serve and their communities, and there are others who this was their first chance to gain these skills and were more reserved. there were a couple that no longer live with their families for a number of reasons, and had to overcome a number of obstacles in their lifetime that many of us never even have to worry about, yet they still came forward as strong independent leaders, and were given the opportunity to get know other boys like them, and others who have similar goals as them. that is the beauty of this camp. empowering these young men to rise to the opportunity ahead of them, and provide them with the skills to do so!

after a tough tie-breaker, verde won third overall in the camp!!!! wooo!!!

after a tough tie-breaker, verde won third overall in the camp!!!! wooo!!!

los tucumanos.

los tucumanos.

thank you again to all that donated and made this camp possible!

the lovely lambayeque ladies.

the lovely lambayeque ladies.

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19/06/2013
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campo, caserios, happenings, túcume, youth group

in the know.

talking to a school director in tucume viejo.

talking to a school director in tucume viejo.

lately, i have been spending many of my mornings with the presidenta, vice-president, and my socio, from my youth volunteer group (ADEPZORT) traveling to the various caserios of my district in order for them to better understand what needs exist outside of the main pueblo. the culture and way of life in the campo is quite different than that of the pueblo. additionally, there are different needs for the youth and their communities. also, the campo makes up for most of the geography of my site, so at times we have found ourselves in the truck for 30 minutes to travel to these communities.

many of these communities are lacking water and electricity, and are the more impoverished pockets of my site. it has been a great reality check for the youth that have joined for the interviews, so they can better understand the realities of those they desire to serve. this weekend, the council is getting together to better form an outline of project ideas based off of the information they have collected by talking with school directors, health posts and community members of those caserios visited. i am quite excited to continue my work with these youth as throughout this process they have demonstrated an increase of passion of working with those in the rural areas of tucume. hooray!

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19/06/2013
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family, friendship, happenings, happiness, home, túcume

home. +1.

peru on our world map.

peru on our world map.

well. this month marks my one year mark of living in peru. i did it! but really, to live and adapt and integrate into a foreign country is not a cake walk, but it has also been one of the most enriching experiences. i arrived to peru, well….exhausted…, but completely open minded to the experiences that awaited. i also arrived only being able to reply with “si.” and by the second day, i was able to say the word “claro.” and i only hoped that i wasn’t agreeing to anything too absurd.

after learning enough language to survive, and receiving a full library’s worth of manuals and books, i was sent off to a pueblo in the middle of the peruvian northern coastal desert. this pueblo has slowly but surely become my home. i have built a strong relationship with a family that has become my own. i have built friendships with people who have never shorted me with their patience, their positivity and love….and of course, food.

traditional mochican wall carving.

traditional mochican wall carving.

their passion for their immense cultural history here has captured me, and as i explore and discover new parts of my site’s more rural parts, i relish in the fact that i am experiencing a living history.

i have discovered that in order to truly grow to love a place and people and culture, you have to endure the hardships as well as relish in the great things. throughout my time in site thus far, i have had some key socios move or have a change in career, a month long school strike, accumulative to a month’s strike from the health post, a school that started more than a month late, have spent hours upon hours waiting for people to show for meetings, and so much more. another challenge for me, in particular, was breaking the social barriers that existed in my municipality because of my being a female and a foreigner. so, when i was asked to raise my district’s flag with my mayor during my town’s celebratory flag ceremony for bolognesi, which happened to share the same date of arrival to peru, my heart was overwhelmed…because for me, this was a sign of how far i had come, and how far my site and i have come together. the truth is, everyone’s site is completely different. and some come with more difficulties than others, and sometimes i found myself wishing for an easier service. but, at the end of the day, it was through those challenges, that have come to call my site home. that it is. home. with one more year + a couple of months. i’m home. and i love it here.

getting ready to walk the flag through town before the flag raising ceremony.

getting ready to walk the flag through town before the flag raising ceremony.

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31/05/2013
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camp ALMA

camp ALMA.

the whole camp!

the whole camp!

this past weekend all of the volunteers in my department and i had our first camp of the year: camp ALMA!!!! it involved a lot of preparation, teamwork, a lot of support from our communities and especially from you guys back home!!!

camp ALMA is a yearly camp that we as volunteers put together for young women (ages 13-18) in our communities. for many, it’s their first time of sleeping away from home, and for all it’s their first time to camp and sleep in tents. each volunteer brings 2 girls that have demonstrated great leadership skills in their communities, and they have an opportunity to build long-lasting friendships with other girls, and also learn about what the realities are of other people’s homes. for many of these girls, it’s also an opportunity to build a new support network with other girls their age who can support them in their goals to attend university and other career aspirations, as quite often this type of support is not found in the home. the camp also strives to empower the girls to be in control of the decisions that are going to be making in their life. and finally, the camp is just a lot of FUN!

activities included:

  • team cheer-off contests

    team rojo's chant.

    team rojo’s chant.

  • teambuilding exercises
  • trust falls…because camp would be incomplete without them
  • belly dancing lessons
  • creating community maps to share about the communities
  • self-esteem, values and decision making
  • environmental awareness
  • group discussion with an obstetrician379655_10101100300600649_1065955547_n
  • cuy farming
  • mural painting
  • telenovela play
  • volleyball tournament
  • campfire with s’mores
  • peruvian women who made history
  • yogurt making
  • career assessment exam
  • career fair

    team rojo!

    team rojo!

  • sexual education: condom use, abstinence, finding an ideal partner
  • talent show
  • question and answer time
  • condom race
  • talent show
  • …and so many other fun games!
the amazing lambayeque volunteers! and apparently too much work has made us crazy...

the amazing lambayeque volunteers! and apparently too much work has made us crazy…

and to think we packed all this into 3 days is crazy! but the girls and all the volunteers had quite the memorable three days. when we left, all the girls were writing down their emails and other contact information so they could keep in touch with their new friends.  numerous hugs were given. and for a few, even some tears of goodbye. and let’s not forget, that these girls walked away being empowered with new knowledge of self-awareness and a sense of capability that they can accomplish their goals, and that numerous before have done so, and so can they. and that is a mission accomplished.

always fun and games with us! thanks again for your support!!!

always fun and games with us! thanks again for your support!!!

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09/09/2012
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túcume, vaso de leche

vaso de leche.

thursday, while walking around and exploring new parts of the community i haven’t wandered through yet, i walked by the “desarollo humano” (“human development”) building. i then resolved to return tomorrow, when it was open to learn about it. when i arrived this morning, the women were surprised to see me. and as it turns out, the office building is for tucume’s headquarters for vaso de leche.

vaso de leche is a program that works at providing families in poverty, nutritious food for the kids as well as provide a few other services. this one in particular provides a free daycare service for mom’s who need to work. the head office coordinates with the 55 vaso de leche posts in tucume, with each post serving more than 100 children (all under the age of 9). as i was learning more about it, i learned that most mothers are “young mothers,” still in their adolescence, and as their family grows, they continue in the program. on average, the mothers are 18-20 years old, with many more that are 16, and some mothers as young as 14.

this connection, was a great insight into opportunity in my community, as well as a way to see how i can help the organization possibly expand or provide additional services for it’s young mothers (i.e. nutritional or work-skill developing classes).

the kids w/ their snacks.

the head of the organization in my community, karla, was anxious to start introducing me to a post. she has offered to take me to all of the caserios to see the posts out there as well. once i have bike, it will be much easier to visit the caserios as well. today, we went to a local one in tucume, where they provided a free afternoon snack (a porridge-type drink and a roll w/ butter) to kids. all-in-all about 15 kids showed up.

these two kids were too cute. the one of the right was wearing mismatching shoes (both being meant for the right foot), and the two had not had a bath in at least a week…but still cute nonetheless.

 

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