Project Report by Kate Gibson- Project Leader, in Consultation with Duncan Hossack, Emmett Zackheim, Rafael Salomon and Karen Niedermeyer
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R.S.I.S PERU 2012 PROJECT REPORT BY KATE GIBSON- PROJECT LEADER, IN CONSULTATION WITH DUNCAN HOSSACK, EMMETT ZACKHEIM, RAFAEL SALOMON AND KAREN NIEDERMEYER PARTICIPANTS Murphey Harmon (M) The Hotchkiss School USA Fabian Becker (M) Stiftung Louisenlund Germany Constantin Paul Froh (M) Salem Germany Maximilian Brudler (M) Landheim- Schondorf Germany Josephine Olhoff-Jakobsen (F) Herlufsholm Skole Denmark Jacob Bunn (M) Gordonstoun UK Fritz Till Krech (M) Salem Germany Coralie N'Djore-Acka (F) Bishops College School Canada Rachel Morris (F) Athenian School USA Melise Knowles (F) Athenian School USA Benedikt Schuster (M) Gordonstoun UK/Germany Emma Pope (F) Cate School USA Prateek Jaiswal (M) Mayo College India Shubham Nowal (M) Mayo College India Helene Gellert-Kristenson (F) Herlufsholm Skole Denmark Rishabh Gupta (M) Scindia School India Sebastien Haimet (M) L’Ermitage School France Anige’r Oriol (F) Chadwick School USA Aelke Schael Van der Venter (F) Bridge House School South Africa Anita van Dam (F) Regents School, Pattaya Thailand Sebastian Alegre Morris (M) Markham College Peru Adults: Kate Gibson – Project Leader Emmett Zackheim and Duncan Hossack – Deputy Leaders Karen Niedermeyer – Accompanying Adult Rafael Salomon – Project Manager ITINERARY July 17th Arrive in Lima July 18th Service day in Lima shanty town July 19th Fly to Cuzco and travel to hotel in Urubamba Valley July 20 Briefings, and time at Apulaya Andean Music and Art Centre July 21 Briefings, and day climbing the via ferrata in the Urubamba Valley July 22 to 26 First section of Project July 27 to 29 Mid-Project Break in Aguas Calientes including visit to Machu Picchu and the Hot Springs. You will also be celebrating Peruvian Independence Day on the 28th July. July 30 to August 4 Continue with Project work August 4 Travel back down from the Project for night in Urubamba Valley/Cuzco August 5th and 6th Two days in Cuzco for cultural activities August 7 Departure from Peru PROJECT OBJECTIVES The aim of this Project was to construct an additional greenhouse for the community that will allow the village to grow much needed vegetables and herbs that will provide a nutritional supplement to villagers’ carbohydrate rich, and monotonous daily diet. The group worked alongside a Peruvian organization called ECOAN (Eco Sistemas Andinos), and organisation that we had worked very successfully with on Projects in 2010 and 2011. The village of Quishuarani is on the same road as Pampacorral, where the 2011 team built greenhouses. ARRIVAL IN LIMA In anticipation of the students, the 3 leaders arrived a couple of days early and we were able to discuss our roles and expectations, as well as of course sampling the local Ceviche- a delicious Peruvian combination of raw fish marinated in lime with onions and Yuka! The Youth Hostel where we were staying was much improved on last year and we were glad to be able to sit outside in the quiet walled garden and make tea easily in the cosy kitchen. The students arrived gradually over a period of 2 days, each being met by one of the leaders at the airport and quickly getting to know each other. The first night, some of the students who had been there for a few hours were tasked with planning and preparing the dinner for everyone. This was a brilliant success as the students were forced into negotiating with one another and had a chance to put their leadership skills into action. The result was an enjoyable afternoon at the nearby supermarket ‘Wong’ and a tasty meal of Fajitas with cheese and homemade guacamole! Even the new arrivals joined in, but most were keen to get to bed after a tiring journey. On the first full day we went to one of the shantytowns to help paint the wall of a kindergarten. This was in response to a suggestion from Frances (the accompany adult who had visited it in 2011) and to give the students a chance to see what life was like in the poor areas of the city before we headed to the mountains. Karen had also been working there for some time before the project started and had already established good relationships with some of the teachers. Our students immediately stepped up to the mark, regardless of artistic ability and took responsibility for designing and painting their short section of the wall. The result was truly a work of art. The day finished with a slightly dark but tasty BBQ at Markham and a chance for some of the students to be reunited with friends from Peru who had been on exchange at their school. ACCLIMATISATION IN CUSCO Late into the night our final team member arrived after a missed connection! We were ready to head back to the airport for our flights to Cusco. The air was thin, but the sun was shining and the mountains around us seemed to welcome us to the Andes. We headed out of the city and down into the Sacred Valley for a few days to get used to the altitude. The group were already bonding well and finding out about each other’s school and countries. We took the first evening at Qu’wana Lodge to play ice breakers of which ‘splat’ become a popular favourite to re-occur later in the project! Then the students moved round a cycle of activities led by the leaders, adding their handprints and expectations to the pillow case I had stolen from my mother’s linen cupboard which would serve as our team flag! We then had a discussion about what they could perform on the final night from their nation so that rehearsals could start, and finally, by candlelight (due to a power cut), looking at risk assessment for the cultural phases of the project. Our first day of fun in the valley involved panpipes, beans and generous hospitality. We found this in the home of Valerio and Emerita and their family who run the Apulaya Cultural Centre. The morning was spent learning various wind instruments and practising in pairs, each partner taking the ‘male’ or ‘female’ aspect of the flutes (that’s the big or small ones to the untrained reader!). After some unbeatable freshly baked empanadas we then learnt about pre-Inca art and how to really draw a bean with all its potential! The next day, our individual personalities really came through as we attacked the 300 metre rock face rising above the Urubamba River for the via ferrata climbing activity. Some of the students were much more confident and experienced, and eager to help their shaking team mates climb, make it across the ‘bridge’ and then down the abseil at the other side. Many wedgies and much screaming and laughter later, we were all safely at the bottom! We had twisted our way down, crashing into each other and the greenery but now we all had awesome stories in the memory bank to regale our friends back home with! And it was only the start of the trip! PROJECT PHASE 1 The twisty road up the mountain provided beautiful views as we climbed higher and higher, passing through Pampacorral (last year’s Project village) and onto a track no one thought the bus would be able to get up, but it did, only to meet a gushing stream ahead! But 3 hours later we had arrived at our home for the week. The isolation of the community struck us all as we gasped for air dragging our rucksacks up to the hut. There seemed to be no one around, but we were quickly thrilled to find that we might not all need our roll mats as there were 8 beds! Quickly agreeing to double-up to make the most of the comfort, the boys settled in one room and the girls another, with a few having to put up with the dining room floor and 2 brave souls electing to sleep outside on the veranda! Once we had all claimed our sleeping spots Rafael took us down to the school where we were to repair the old greenhouse and so imagine our surprise and his to find it looking in excellent condition, and filled with plants! We realised we would need to wait until the next day to find out what was happening from ECOAN the NGO who we would be working with. That first evening set the tone and structure for many entertaining and reflective evenings throughout the project. We had dinner (soup and then the main meal by whichever two students were on duty), post-dinner-time card games and magic tricks, and then the briefing. This always started with a lively game and much laughter, followed by personal reflections on the day; each time with a shifted focus, and concluded with plans for the next day’s activities. We had to head to bed shortly after this as our dining room was a shared sleeping area with the cooks who needed to be up early! In the days that followed the students and staff had to work physically hard, carrying large rocks several hundred metres, digging out the hard earth of the playing field to smooth the ground for the new greenhouse we would be constructing. Perhaps the most challenging task for us all was understanding why our ideas were often rejected in favour of a local way and time that had been spent building and digging was often needed to be redone as the initial plan had not been correctly communicated. A good learning curve for many about how things are done round here! It was inspiring to see the way that many students were able to continue to be motivated and worked even harder to move the pace of the construction on, despite the setbacks.