ist

I spent this past week in the city if Piura with a member of my community, Rosa, along with all of the other health volunteers in Peru and their community counterparts for In-Service Training. We participated in a 4 day long workshop where we learned about options for community projects which include organic gardens, agriculture, latrine construction, construction of improved kitchens, and early childhood and prenatal stimulation. The workshop was very helpful and I am especially excited that Rosa, who is the president of the Women and Mother’s club in my community, got the opportunity to come to the training sessions to not only learn more about Peace Corps but also take back some valuable and useful skills and information about projects we can do in our community.

sesiones demostrativas

One of the initiatives of the Health program in Peace Corps Peru is prevention of chronic malnutrition. In Peru, 40% of children under the age of 5 years old living in rural areas are chronically malnourished. Along with the NGO PRISMA, I have facilitated several sessions for mothers with young children about the importance of nutrition and how to prepare nutritious meals for their families. The women are so accustomed to serving rice and maybe a little bit of meat to their growing children every day. After talking about the significance of a balanced meal where children can get protein, and the important vitamins to be healthy growing children, we prepared foods from the region to show how easy it is to stay on a budget and prepare food that their kids will enjoy, but also that will provide adequate nourishment.
For this project, I worked with the Health Promoters in my community, who are volunteers who help with health promotion for families in Pampa Elera. It was great that I could get them involved and also that we could show the community that the community is working for itself to improve the health of its own children (not just have a random extranjera come in and teach how they should change their health practices). The sessions seemed to be successful and we plan to do follow up house visits with the families to ensure that they are practicing healthy and nutritional habits in their homes.

visita a la selva

Last week, Dave came down to visit and we took a trip to the jungle of Peru. Being in the jungle was such a cool experience. The culture, climate, and surroundings made me feel like I was in a whole new country. We started in Tarapoto, which is a city in the cloud forest. We visited an amazing waterfall there. The next day, we took a 12 hour boat ride down the Rio Huallaga (tributary to the Amazon) to the little town of Lagunas. The only boat we could get to take us to Lagunas was a local boat where everyone takes their own hammock on the boat. We were surrounded by mothers and children swinging in the hammocks. Once in Lagunas, we met up with our guides, José and Johvita. For the next three days, we explored Reserve Pacaya Samiria, which is Peru’s largest national reserve. José and Johvita took us in a conoe up and down the small rivers and lakes that make up the Western part of the reserve. There, we saw macaws, crocodiles, anacondas, crocodiles, capuchin monkeys, wooly monkeys, butterflies, spiders, lizards, turtles, and many river fish including pirahnas. After the reserve, we took a 2 day boat cruise down the Rio Huallaga to the city of Iquitos. On the boat, we got to see river dolphins, flocks of tropical birds, and views of jungle villages on the river. We spent two days in Iquitos. Our favorite part was our visit to a butterfly farm and animal preserve, where we met several monkey amigos, jaguar, giant ant eater, tapir, three-toed sloth babies, and butterflies of every color. We ended our trip by spending a few days in Lima. We had a great time.

taller de danza

When I arrived in my community, many of the kids in the high school expressed interest in having dance workshops and learning different dances. Because this has been one of my ideas since I decided to join the Peace Corps, and I have some background in dance, I was thrilled! It brought me back to the days of WAHS Dance Team. We decided to start with a dance to prepare for the school's anniversary in mid-July. I let the kids pick out a song they wanted to dance to and then I choreographed a routine. It was definitely a lot harder than I thought it would be, considering the fact that none of the kids had any experience in learning choreography, the difficulty of yelling out moves and steps in Spanish, and the pure cultural contrast in discipline. When I said we would have dance classes two days a week at 3 o'clock, everyone needed to come prepared, and if you want to participate in the anniversary show, attendance was mandatory, I was going by my North American customs and expectations. But I soon had to learn that I would be forced to adapt to the customs and expectations of these teenagers. So the 3 o'clock classes started no earlier than 3:45pm (sometimes 4:30pm), kids would often skip or show up for just half of the class, and I often left the classes with a little bit of a headache.

Before the big show, I was a bit frustrated because not everything had gone according to my plan. But I took a step back, and saw how much fun these kids were having. They rarely have opportunities to learn and dedicate themselves to something outside of the classroom. I thought back to how much I enjoyed all of my extracurricular activities in high school, and probably took them for granted. These kids had a fun after school activity and had worked hard to learn something very new and different. I could see in their faces how excited they were to show off what they had learned to their peers and community. It was very rewarding to see the kids perform. It also felt great to share my passion of dance with these kids; because I could tell that they were having as much fun and were as anxious/excited before the show as I was when I was in my high school dance shows. Hopefully we will continue with our dance workshops and continue to improve and have fun dancing!
Here's a clip of the anniversary show:

bebe jesica

A few days before my family's visit, a baby was born in my host family. Roxana and Raul (Gloria's brother) gave birth to a baby girl. After meeting my beautiful sister Jessica (who during her visit was called “Princess,” “Barbie” “Really White,”-which is a good thing, etc), my host family fell in love with her. They are still talking about her and how beautiful she is. In fact, her legacy will live on for quite a while because the new baby was named Jesica! This is the second Peruvian baby named after a family member. In Julcan, if the baby was a girl, it was going to be called Rebecca Marcia (Marcia, my mom, and I got left out because it was a boy.) The new baby was named Steven, in honor of my dad, who the family never had even met.

I'm not quite sure why they like us, or at least our names, so much. It's flattering, I guess. Peruvians are very enamored with all aspects of North America and its culture. They are always asking about it and curious about life there. For example, I have heard WAY too much about Michael Jackson's death in the past week. I'm not sure how big it is in the news in the US, but Peruvians want to talk all about MJ with me.

Anyway, back to baby Jesica. As I've talked about in previous entries, a huge part of Peruvian culture is having madrinas and padrinos (godparents) for EVERYTHING. I've been a madrina for an elementary school graduation, a high school graduation, an inaguration, and, now something new. I was asked to be Jesica's madrina for her earpiercing and first nail cutting. That sounds as weird and confusing to you as it did to me when I was asked to be the madrina. It is an honor to be someone's madrina, but I didn't really understand. Well, I had to do exactly what it sounds like. I pierced the baby's ears! And then cut her nails. It is tradition that a chosen godparent cuts the fingernails for the first time for all babies. And for girls, a godparent pierces the baby's ears. I freaked out a little bit, when I saw the earrings the mom's hand and she asked me to just stick them in. I declined at first, because I would NEVER do that sort of thing in the States. But they begged and pleaded and I decided to embrace yet another bizarre part of the culture. So I pierced Jesica's ears, and then cut her little nails; she barely even cried. And now I am the godmother of her ears and fingernails.

¡visita de mi familia!

In mid-June my wonderful family came down to visit Peru and my site. It was so great to visit with them and to share with them the wonders (ups and downs) of Peru.

I met my parents first in Trujillo (my old capital city). We toured the ruins of Chan Chan, the capital of the Chimu culture from around 800 AD. It is a city completely built of adobe and the largest Pre-Colombian South American city. We then visited Huaca de Luna, ruins from the Moche culture that ruled during 100 AD to 800 AD. In Trujillo, my parents also got a chance to meet some of my fellow Peace Corps friends, Josh and Javi.

We then took a night bus (which was quite an experience for them) up to Piura (my new capital city). We got to spend Father's Day walking around the city and also do some shopping. My sister, Jessica, arrived in Piura and then we headed to my site, about 3.5 hours away from the city.

We spent the week exploring my village and meeting my host family and new friends. They got to do everything including share some North American books and toys with the children in my host family, attend some of my community meetings, see a traditional rural Peruvian parade, to eat homemade ceviche, experience the life on a farm with donkeys, guinea pigs, roosters, pigs, goats, etc., adapt to surviving without running water, and learn how to climb over the pigs in the latrine when you need to do your business.

After having some amenity-free days at my site in the “campo,” we treated ourselves to a few days at the beach of Mancora, which is a couple of hours from Ecuador. Besides enjoying hot showers and other wonderful amenities from the developed world, we soaked in the rays, ate some good seafood, and enjoyed each other's company.

I am so happy that my parents and sister were able to come down to visit and see what my Peruvian life is all about. My Peruvian host family took quite a liking to my North American family, and vice versa. It was hard to say goodbye to my family, but it was great that both of my families got to connect, for at least a week. Although I'm going to miss my sister and mom and dad, its great that they know that I have a loving family down here in Peru.

inaguración del CADI

One of the projects that I am most excited about here is the CADI, Centro de Aprendizaje de Desarollo Infantil, or the Center for Learning and Early Development. Sponsored by the two NGOs PLAN and PRISMA, the Center will focus on pregnant women and children under the age of 3. Our projects will include:
1. Prenatal Care (nutrition for pregnant women, preparing for childbirth, preparing for a baby, taking care of your body during pregnancy, etc);
2. Early childhood intervention (psychological development of infants, developing motor skills, social skills, nutrition, etc); and
3. Parenting school (how to discipline your children, understand the importance of regular medical care and vaccinations, how to have a safe home, parenting roles in the family, etc)

Families here unfortunately lack the knowledge and healthy practices relating to these three themes and hopefully this new center will help prepare the new generation of kids of Pampa Elera to succeed. Brains are developing rapidly starting from the fetus until age 3. It is a critical period for brain development, and if the brain is not stimulated or nourished properly before a child’s third birthday, it loses the opportunity to reach its full capacity.

I am very excited to be a part of this project because it really has the potential to make a difference in this new generation. 40% of children under the age of three in Pampa Elera are chronically malnourished. 80% are anemic. Additionally, these children aren’t developing social or motor skills as much as they should be. I think back to my preschool experience where we sang songs, learned how to play with others, ate healthy snacks, had a clean and safe place to run around. Then I look at my neighbor, Nelson, for example, who is 2 and a half and plays by himself in the dirt, eats rice for meals, and already has rotting teeth. I know that that may sound terrible to many of you, but I am not exaggerating. It is unfortunate, but hopefully these parenting practices and behaviors can change!

Mothers of under-stimulated, malnourished children aren’t to blame when they don’t have the proper knowledge or resources. But with this new center, we can hopefully teach mothers how important early childhood development is, starting from when they are pregnant.

We had the inauguration of the new center in our community this past week. I was asked to be the Madrina (“godmother”) of the ceremony, and was accompanied by the mayor of the district of Las Lomas, who served as Padrino (“godfather”). We had been working hard in the community the weeks leading up to the inauguration to fix and clean up an old building, as well as publicize about the new center. The inauguration was a great success, and I’m looking forward to continuing to work on this project.

Here is a video of my speech at the inauguration as the madrina for those of you who speak Spanish.