Cusco

10 Parades and 1 Peaceful Protest in Cusco

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(An old post that never got published while I was in Cusco)

As the work team from Dearborn and North Carolina headed off to Machu Picchu today, Billy and I ventured out of Urubamba (where we are working at the Casa Girasoles home) and into Cusco for a slow and relaxing day.

Before I continue, it is important to know that the month of June is a big party month in the city and surrounding area of Cusco. Cusco, which means navel, in Quechua, is rich in Inca history since it was at the center of the Incan Empire, which stretched from southern Peru through northern Ecuador.

In Incan politics, the empire was ruled by the emperor, who according to Incan religion, was a direct descendant of their god, Inti, the Sun, and was also worshiped as a divine being. At the height of the Incan empire,  the emperor’s name was Pachacútec. Pachacútec and and Incans worshiped their gods of the Sun, Moon, Rainbow, Mountains, Mother Earth, etc.

To celebrate Incan tradition and their rich heritage, every year on June 24th, the Cusqueñas (people from Cusco) hold huge festivals in and around the city. The biggest of these festivals is called Inti Raymi, which is supposed to take place Thursday.

The festival is supposed to take place this Thursday, but possible protests and a region-dehabilitating strike might take place on the same day. For the past two weeks people in the surrounding areas of Cusco have been on strike and protesting the Peruvian government and President Alan Garcia’s decision to build a dam in the area of Canchis. By building this dam, the Peruvian government would be reclaiming land from it’s people and taking a loan from the Japanese government to pay for construction. The Peruvian campesinos (people from the country) that live in the area of Canchis are not particularly thrilled to be losing their land and water supply, and therefore have been protesting the decision – including protesting in the Plaza de Armas of Cusco today.

In addition to the very large peaceful protest that occured in the Plaza de Armas, Billy and I also saw 10 different parades taking place in Cusco today. Not only were there at least 10 different parades, they were all over the city. Each parade stopped traffic and pedestrians that were in its way and followed their own path. One of the particularly memorable parades had men and little boys dressed up as bears/gorillas (it was hard to tell which animal it was) dancing around women who had on very colorful dresses. We’re not quite sure what they represented, but it was quite entertaining!

SU Background

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Here’s a little background information about the non-profit I am working with while in Peru. The majority of my time is spent within the Programa Girasoles abandoned boys program, working as a translator and guide for visiting work teams from the United States and United Kingdom.

SU Background

Scripture Union is involved in six different ministries in Peru:

– the publication of Bible reading aids, working with church leaders
– work with the hearing impaired, penetrating families who see their children as God’s curse
– a growing schools work, where staff teach Christian values in public schools
– a full camping program for children on the Pacific coast, high in the Andes and deep in the jungle
– an innovative medical outreach located in the Amazon Basin
– a unique ministry to abandoned boys, known as Programa Girasoles, where 40 abandoned boys live with a family in a Casa Girasoles.

In addition, to these six ministries, Scripture Union has 6 worksites available to work teams from all over the world. Each site is home to a Casa Girasoles (a home for abandoned boys), and has plenty of work to do.

Scripture Union Sites

Kawai
Started in 1978, Kawai is the Pacific beach campsite and home for abandoned boys, located approximately 1.5 hours south of Lima.

In Kawai, SU is building beach condos to rent as part of their income generating projects, which enable the organization to become more self-supporting. At present, Scripture Union covers 72% of its budget through income generating projects.

Groups that visit Kawai interact with the 30 boys and their house parents, Raul and Rosa, and since they visit during the winter, they have full run of the campsite.

Kimo
To reach this high jungle campsite, groups travel 8 hours by bus from the desert over the Andes (at approximately 16,000 ft.) and down to the mountainous jungle area.

To reach Kimo, a hand pulled cable car shuttles people across the torrent Chanchamayo River, 6-8 people at a time. Cabins built with palm leaf roofs make the perfect place to rest. There is a lake to swim in, trails that lead to waterfalls, and plenty of work to be done. A new home for abandoned boys is being built in Kimo, which is expected to be completed during 2010. Currently, two of our older boys from Puerto Alegria live in Kimo, where they have trained as carpenters and are now pursuing other studies in town.

Kusi (Quechua for Joy)
Kusi is nestled high in the Peruvian Andes nearby the town of Yungay, a 9 hour bus ride from Lima.

Currently, Scripture Union has been given the privilege of supervising an elementary school for over 100 children from the nearby area. One of its kind, this school is available for the poorer families of the area and is financed by the Peruvian government, but administered by SU Peru. Groups have the opportunity to visit the school and lead songs and games one morning they are in Kusi.

There are currently 43 boys living in the Casa Girasoles with the house parents Angel and his wife Rosa.

Work teams make adobe bricks to help create the little village of Kusi. Plans have been made to include a city square with all the necessary buildings around it – chapel, city hall, school, stores and homes.

Puerto Alegria (Port of Happiness)
Our Amazon site is an hour away from Iquitos in the Amazon River basin. Work teams stay in a dormitory setting with a bunk bed in each room. The 42 boys who live in Puerto Alegria eat their meals with teams, and go to school in the mornings just a few hundred yards away.

Puerto Alegria is the most rustic site still since there is no electricity. There is, however, a generator and, therefore, you have lights in the evenings when needed. The Casa Girasoles house parents are Gene and Patty.

In Puerto Alegria, we are building a new campsite for schools and churches and to generate money for the program. It is all on the same property where the teams stay.

Each week a day is arranged to travel into Iquitos where Scripture Union has a medical clinic and an outreach program for semi-abandoned boys. Work teams visit the market area of Belen and see poverty in a way that most visitors have never seen.

Valle Sagrado (Cusco)
Live the splendor of the Sacred Valley and Machu Picchu, recently voted one of seven modern wonders of the world.

Days are spent building the Casa Girasoles Valle Sagrado which is located 1 hour outside of Cusco, and 15 minutes from Urubamba. Work teams help make adobe bricks to expand the home. There are 40 boys at the Casa Girasoles, and the house parents are Hector and Maritza,

Many teams spend a day traveling through the Sacred Valley on a one-of-a-kind train ride to the lost city of the Incas. The very core of Scripture Union and the very center of the Inca Empire (Cusco means navel or center of the universe) join hands in the wonderfully alive and remote southern Andes to bring an experience of a lifetime.

Ica
Inaugurated in January 2008 as the Casa Girasoles Ica, this site is located in the desert city of Ica, approximately 4 hours south of Lima. Work teams stay on site with the 42 boys that live at the home. The house parents in Ica are Augusto and Nancy.

Since Ica is located in the desert, there is very little water for cooking, drinking and cleaning. One afternoon during a week, work teams distribute water to the surrounding areas. For 80 soles, teams purchase 1000 liters of water that can help many families that can’t afford to purchase clean water.

Lima (Chosica)
At the heart of the entire program is our Centro Girasoles that is located in Lima’s downtown historical district. At the end of July, this program along with the abandoned boys and offices will be moved to a location 45 minutes outside of the city of Lima in Chosica.

8 days

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te amo Perú, originally uploaded by katherinebruder.

Just a short 8 days until I jet off to the far away lands of Peru again.

Here’s a quick run down of my tentative Peruvian itinerary.

May 27: Arrive
May 28 – June 13: Kusi
June 14 – 17: Lima
June 18 – 25 : Cusco
June 26 – 27 : Lima / Kawai
June 28 – July 4 : Ica
July 5 – August 16 : Iquitos (Puerto Alegria)
August 16 – 21 : Ica and/or Kusi

I stress that this is a tentative itinerary because the last time I spent a few months in Peru, the original schedule was completely different than what I actually did. Nothing is ever set in stone, and quite frankly, I have had schedule changes right up to the very last minute and even after going along with previous plans.

Even though I expect this itinerary to change, I’m pretty happy with the way it stands right now.

A Return from Kimo and an upcoming trip to Cusco

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Last Wednesday night, I and three other interns met a team from Gainesville, Georgia at the Lima airport to take them up to one of SU’s campsites in the jungle, Kimo. Our schedule was temporarily delayed due to a national strike, which meant that many of the roads in the mountains would be blocked and traffic would not be allowed to pass. Because of this, the team was re-routed to Kawai (which is about 90km south of Lima, and where I had worked a few times in the past weeks). I was happy about the change in plans because it gave me the opportunity to return to Kawai and to see the boys that live in the Casa Girasoles one more time. Many of the boys asked about my team from Dearborn, wondering if they were still in Peru. Sadly, I had to say that they had returned home to the States.

After the quick stop off in Kawai, we boarded a bus to make the long trip up to Kimo. Kimo is located near the small town of La Merced, in the Chanchamayo region. To reach Kimo, one must cross a mountain range at 12,000ft and then go all the way down to 2,000ft above sea level. Needless to say, the ride is quite precarious in some spots, but also quite beautiful.

Once we arrived in Kimo, it was time to cross the river to get to the campsite. The river crossing is not made by a driving across a bridge, but rather, by riding across in the huaro (cable car) and then a long hike up the mountain to the campsite. We arrived at night, so it was already dark and being in the middle of nowhere in the jungle, there were no streetlights or any electric lighting. The night was illuminated by hundreds of stars and a full moon, which was quite a sight to see.

Saturday was spent at the work site. Kimo has been a part of Scripture Union for over 30 years (and has quite an interesting history, including being taken over by the Shining Path at one point), but has never had it’s own Casa Girasoles for abandoned boys. This year, the team from Georgia was starting the construction for a home for boys that hopefully will be opened in January 2010. Construction in the jungle (and Peru in general) is quite a feat and interesting to watch.

Today, one of the other interns and I left the group in Kimo (in good hands with our jefe, boss) to return to Lima. Since it was just the two of us, we made the long journey by public transportation (the Peruvian equivalent to Greyhound). Despite the length of the trip (between 9-10 hours), it only cost 20 soles, which is approximately $7.

Tomorrow, I meet a team from the UK to take them down south to Cusco to work on the Casa Girasoles home there. This will be my first time in Cusco, and if everything works out right, next Saturday I will be at Machu Picchu.

On a side note, Peruvians are all about their heritage and patriotism to the country. This year, Peru will celebrate 187 years of freedom from Spain on July 28th, their independence day. Despite the fact that it isn’t for a few more weeks, many businesses and people have already began to decorate with flags and anything red & white they can find. In fact, I started to notice decorations at the airport, around Lima and street vendors selling Peruvian flags on almost every corner at the beginning of the month. It will be interesting to see what actually happens on the big day.