My time as a Young Adult Volunteer is coming to a close (I have three weeks left in my site and one final retreat with the other Peru volunteers) and I’ve realized that my blog is lacking! I’ve had so many incredible experiences with the organization I work with, with my host family and with my community here, and I want to share some of those with you.
The organization that I work with works with women and children in small communities surrounding Andahuaylas. The project working with children is called Multicultural Bilingual Education, and in this project the team works with schools, community leaders and parents to collaborate to improve the children’s education while also ensuring that the children’s rights, and their culture, is respected and valued. In these small communities, the first language is Quechua, and most children learn Spanish second. In the history of Peru, when the Spaniards came and claimed dominion over the land and the people, they tried to completely eradicate the indigenous cultures and language. It was made illegal to speak Quechua and many artifacts, important buildings and communities were destroyed. Sadly, even though it is no longer illegal to speak Quechua, the Peruvian government has not respected the rights of these students in learning in their first language until recently. This recent change is largely thanks to the work that Paz y Esperanza has been doing. They have advocated for the students to have reading materials in Quechua, to learn Spanish as a second language instead of being taught strictly in Spanish, and for the teachers to receive cultural awareness training. This has created a system in which the students are treated with dignity, are actually able to learn the material, and have activities in which they are able to show pride in their culture. I had the opportunity to participate in a self-esteem and “valuing culture” workshop in some of the schools. It was incredible to watch the children and interact with them as they were given space to demonstrate important songs, poems and dances passed down through the generations in their communities. The children at first were very timid, but as they stood up to share this time with their classmates, they transformed. Their voices became stronger, their back became straighter, their chin was lifted higher. There was laughter and sharing and joy. My purpose in the workshop was simply to cheer them on, to ask questions, and to express to them that their culture, that the activities and history that they share is so valuable and beautiful. For hundreds of years the people of these communities were oppressed and forced into silence. They were prevented from being their true selves, as individuals, as communities. They were forced to weave their art, beliefs, language, and resistance into their daily lives in methods of secrecy and hiding. And still they are overcoming these years in so many ways. Still they are oppressed and treated unequally by the government, even though the “laws” say that there is equality. The women’s entrepreneurship project works with women in these communities who have been victims of domestic violence. There is a very strong culture of “machismo” in Peru, the idea that men should have the power and that women should submit. As a result, there are very high numbers of incidents of domestic violence, sexual assault, and mistreatment of women. The team here works with women to educate them about their rights, teach them about abuse and violence, and assist them in escaping their situation if they decide that’s what they want to do. We have educational workshops about cooking and sewing, entrepreneurship, self-esteem, public speaking and leadership to help the women learn skills that they could use to earn an income and become economically independent. My experiences in these workshops have been very similar to my experiences in the workshops with the children. When the women are given a safe space to open up and share, to learn, to embrace their skills and their worth, they transform. There were women who I met in October who were so quiet and unsure, and now I see them running their own successful small business. I have seen women transform into leaders in their communities. I have seen such strength and courage, vulnerability and hope. As these women have been given an opportunity to see their worth as a human, to see their abilities for growth and change, to utilize their skills and knowledge, they have learned to thrive and it is changing communities for the better. As I see these realities here, I can’t help but to think about how these realities play out in my own country. The histories are very similar in so many ways, and the present-day condition of different communities and of our societies are as well. But as I see the teams here working, advocating, making a change, I am given hope and inspiration. We should not settle. We cannot settle. We cannot say, “Well this is just the way things are and there’s nothing we can do about it.” We cannot forget about the people in our country, the people around the world, who have been told that who they are, their heritage, or their culture, is illegal, unimportant, or unworthy; people who have been told that they are less. This includes entire communities, but it also includes individuals that we may pass on the street every day. When a person is given the freedom to be themselves, to value themselves, to embrace their skills and knowledge and heritage, they are given the opportunity to thrive. And when people are given the freedom and the opportunity to thrive, their possibilities, and through them the possibilities of a society, are so much more incredible. When people are given the space and the opportunity to fully exist, to grow, to simply have confidence, they can achieve amazing things that ripple out and positively affect systems much bigger than themselves. We exist in systems of discrimination, oppression, glass ceilings and cages. But we can be better than this. We have to be better than this. We can overcome our own assumptions, biases, prejudiced thoughts and fears if we just have the courage and humility to face them, to really see them, and decide that we are meant for more than these thoughts and ideas that prevent us from sharing a truly beautiful human experience. We are meant for more than what the systems in power want for us, and we are capable of so much more than what they are trying to breed in us. We are capable of true love and compassion, of openness and fearlessness. We are capable of having hearts and minds that truly believe and live through equality, instead of just having mouths that speak it. It is possible, and it’s the only option that makes sense if we want a positive and beautiful future.
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AuthorThese are the stories of my adventures of growing, learning and serving in Peru! Archives
October 2017
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