As mentioned in one of the past blogs Ronny and I were on a TV show called Haciendo Peru acting as tourists haha not a hard thing to do. We had a great time and enjoyed a totally new experience behind the camera. While having a fun time we also got to view how Experiencial Tourism operates. Anyways, here are the links to view the show online:
Part 1
http://www.youtube.com/user/HACIENDOPERU2009#p/u/27/ldgfFLpkZZw
Part 2
http://www.youtube.com/user/HACIENDOPERU2009#p/u/26/5DITDeR_bc4
A sad thing to think about is the fact that I only have 2.5 months left here in this beautiful country. Now, I am thinking about all that I want to finish on our projects before leaving and all the locations I want to see in the country. It is amazing how fast a 6 month contract can fly. When talking to my good friend Shazia about her internship last year she told me the beginning and end of the 6 month period flies. The middle two months feel a little bit slow. I wish I felt that way!
In the past couple months we have been very busy working all the time on our projects. On down time I go to the gym, visit friends and now practice boxing and jujitsu with a few guys from Urubamba. Every Wednesday there are salsa lessons, followed by volunteer night out with all the NGOs in the whole town. Weekends I either stay here and relax or go to a more upbeat location named Cuzco.
Before leaving I will be going to Chile, Huacachina, Lima, and Mancora. Therefore, there next up coming weekends will be great. When going to Chile, Ronny and I will be visiting Amanada and Drew in Arequipa. From there, I believe they will be coming with us to the beach of Arica, Chile. I am looking forward to this upcoming trip.
Ronny and I are also prepping to be the project coordinators for a group coming to NeVo in December. There is a group of 18 coming from the University of Oregon, With this group we will be staying in the town of Pisac making dry ecological bathrooms for a community above Pisac called Maska. With these bathrooms they will be able to use their waste and turn it into composte for fields.
I would love to start this blog by congradulating my brother Ronny (The other Intern posted with me ^) for obtaining a position with Nexos Voluntarios as a Projects Manager following the completion of our contract. My last post mentioned all that I have learnt from him and now the proof is in the pudding. The man began his pre-departure training with an objective to become a project manager and 3 months later....SUCCESS!
Ok, now time to talk about our projects a little. These past few weeks have been extremely busy. Especially with only three of us working here (and the odd visit from our CEO Maricarmen). The projects have been progressing well and now require even more attention to details. This can cause an overwhelming feeling at times but at the end of each day we feel very proud of our hard work.
Our Research Project
At NeVo we have really been working at our research project using outcome mapping as a tool to measure progress. We contracted a company named PAR to aid us in the concepts of outcome mapping which helped out alot. Following a weekend seminar with the exchanging of many ideas, and thoughts of each project we were ready to start with the first steps of our OM project.
Kuchi Wasi
We have started the nutrition program this past week! What a feeling of success to see the hard work put in by so many volunteers actually reach a milestone. We began holding capacity training workshops with school mothers and fathers, and developed a nutrition plan for a month and a schedule for 2 mothers to help cook per day. We are feeding the children of Villa Marcelo three times a week. We are now discovering that cooking for all these children will take more than 2 mothers at a time. We all work very hard to have this meal ready by the lunch hour. Buying food for the children even poses challanges hahaha. Ronny and I sure get a goood workout in carrying this. The implementation of this project would not be possible without or donations from our a American group who held a fundraiser. We have enough money for a few months but need to look for more sources of income from anyone who wishes to contribute.
