how Love fled And paced upon the mountains overhead And hid his face amid a crowd of stars. -W. Yeats

(Meet Fredy and Willi. The most incredible human beings I have had a chance to meet, talk, and play soccer with. Also look closely at the soccer ball I got them, the three of us signed our names.)

One of my most memorable experiences while volunteering in Peru this past summer came when I met Fredy and Willi. They are the young kids of two textile weavers from the Center of Traditional Textiles of Cusco I volunteered with. Even though I had met many other young kids, Fredi and Willi had so much young energy that they made me feel like a kid again. They made me realize, how much as a kid, you don’t think or care about the hardships all around. Even though I was heavily comparing my American lifestyle to theirs, they helped me value such a privileged life that I have been able to have. Meeting Fredi and Willi was inspirational, and has helped me feel encouraged to make any type of change in the world.

Prior to my arrival and decision to volunteer abroad I had been heavily interested by the concepts of social entrepreneurship. I knew that I wanted to spend my summer committed to self-learning through service. I decided to apply to the Cultural Enterprise UBELONG project that partner with the Center for Traditional Textiles of Cusco. The center is a non-profit organization that embodies the concept of social entrepreneurship through its goal of fostering and preserving hand-made traditional textiles.  While working with the Center’s business section all of us volunteers were able to set up a community outreach project. The project we choose to do focused on bringing the young kids, from the ten communities the Center partners with, on a full one day all free of charge trip to the city of Cusco.

Having had the chance to provide the kids on a days trip to Cusco was self fulfilling. Seeing their eyes glow, and vibrant smiles throughout this day told me that any type of service helping is a meaningful moment in any persons life.

Mil gracias Fredy and Willi for allowing me to meet and be around your presence! No vemos pronto amigos!

A HUGE Thank You!!! The Successful Completion of the Indiegogo Campaign

 

Wednesday, July 4th, at midnight, saw the end of Indiegogo campaign, a campaign to raise $1,000 for the Center’s work in the town of Chinchero, offering invaluable funds to finish a much-prolonged project. Thanks to  the overwhelming amount of support from family and friends of Scott, Sebastian and I, we not only raised enough money to meet our goal, but surpassed it by $200! On Tuesday morning, we broke the news to the CEO of El Centro de Textiles Tradicionales de Cusco, Nilda Callañaupa Alvarez, that we had been working on this campaign and successfully raised over $1,000 for them.

She was speechless at first, astounded by the generosity of people who hadn’t even visited The Center, or even have a particular interest in textiles. Immediately, Nilda and her right-hand-woman, Sonia, excitedly began to plan. Some of the funds will be going to Chinchero to finish construction, which will now ensure the completion of the store, as it still needs a lot of work (we will be returning in two weeks to finish the ceiling, as we have now painted the walls), however, with all of this extra money, she decided we could do something extra, something truly special.

I am now privileged with the opportunity to plan a festival for all the children of the communities The Center works with. These are rural communities, ranging from 1-9 hours away from the city by car. These children are often from poor families, and can travel up to two hours to go to school each day. They finish school on July 28th after exams, then have a school vacation. This turns out to be the perfect opportunity to host them all here in the city, where Sebastian, I and the other volunteers will take them through the city, visiting various museums (the Inka Museum, the Chocolate Museum – yum!) and other sights. Then, we will all congregate together on top of the beautiful Saqsayhuaman ruins overlooking the city to eat lunch, play soccer, and all get to know each other for the entire afternoon.

I am so incredibly excited about this project, as these children will not only get the chance to visit the city for a fun-filled day, they get to learn about the history of where they live, andget to know other children who actually live very similar lives to themselves – I can only hope many new friendships will be made! The festival/field trip will be on August 4th, and with our money we are able to fund the entire thing, hopefully starting a long-standing tradition.

Furthermore, I also have the chance to provide hats for the children of Accha Alta – the boys and girls I took pictures with as we frolicked along the beautiful Andean landscape one weekend. They love their bright colors and have amazing clothing, however, they have been short of funds to buy the colorful yarn to make the hats they love so dearly. Immediately upon hearing news of the campaign, Nilda described how we could finally buy them hats, and how it will be a complete surprise! I think that we will be returning in two weeks to the town, as it’s a long ride through the mountains, however, it will be completely worth it to show up with the very materials they have been in need of for so long.

Everyone here working at The Center is so grateful, including myself. I learned so much through this campaign over the past month: the depth of friendship, the willingness to learn about another culture, and that it is okay to ask for help. This experience has been unparalleled, and it is such an amazing feeling to know that my message and my goals are being heard by other people, and that these people care about what I am trying to do. I know that it is different being here in Peru, working every day next to the weavers whose livelihoods depend on these beautiful and intricate textiles, compared to a distant United States, where you are so entirely far away from anything like life in Chinchero or Accha Alta. However, I have truly enjoyed articulating to the best of my ability all that I experience here, from the pictures to the descriptions where I can attempt to capture the feelings and background to every moment.

All in all, thank you so much to everyone. Your generosity does not go unnoticed, and I am here to make sure that the funds are put to good use, and that everyone who contributed gets to share in the incredible experience of giving to these communities that we work with.

A non-stop tornado inside my head

It is hard to think that I am about to depart, and live for the next three months in Cuzco, Peru. Of course my family and friends made it slightly harder to smooth out my departure, but am glad to have that love around. 

This past semester has been one of my most meaningful and life changing moment. The idea of social entrepreneurship was introduced to me by an incredibly great mind that lives inside of my friend Emily, and her friend Fabia. Social Entrepreneurship has always existed, but has become a prominent movement most recently.  

I never thought that I would have the opportunity to travel abroad during my undergraduate, due to finance, but was introduced to the UBELONG organization last year as I interned in Washington D.C. UBELONG is a non-governmental organization with a grassroots action missions to improve the economic and social conditions of disadvantaged communities in the developing world. 

I will be volunteering for the next three months in Cuzco, Peru working with UBELONG’s Business Development- Cultural Entreprise project. During my time volunteering, and experiencing every moment of Peru I will study the effects of working under the concept of a Social Entrepreneurship. I will also bring with me all of the guidance, support, and skills learned through The Office of Multicultural Affairs from my institue, Rollins College.

Nos vemos