experience as much as you touch the hearts of the children. In December
2012, Gunvor and her friend Mads joined us from Denmark. More than volunteers,
they were heroes to the children. This is Gunvor's story:
I arrived in Huaraz not really knowing what to
expect from the following two weeks. I did have a lot of information about the
organisation and had been in contact with Jim, so I had an idea of what I was
getting into, but the internet can never really prepare you for the real life
experience. I knew that I would be getting to know some of the poorest people in
Peru and that I would see a completely different side of the country than the
one I had experienced in Lima and at the major touristic sites. And I was truly
looking forward to the
experience.
Arriving in
Huaraz
I arrived in Huaraz on the 8th
of December 2012, around one and a half month after I had first contacted
Changes for New Hope. Jim met me and my friend Mads, who was also volunteering,
at the bus station and led the way to the hostel, Caroline Lodging, where we
stayed while we were in Huaraz. The hostel is highly recommendable and the
family who runs it is very kind and helpful – and it’s cheap.
We arrived on a Sunday, which is the day of
the week where there is no volunteering to be done. Instead we went hiking with
Jim up one of the mountains and got an amazing view of Huaraz and the
mountainsides that surround the city. At the same time we got to know more about
Jim and the organisation and were prepared to start the work Monday
morning.
Meeting the Children and
Families (and other projects)
We
started Monday with helping at one of the other projects Jim is also involved
in: the comedor.
The comedor is a place where
it’s possible to buy lunch for just 1 sol and the people who come there are
generally people who have a job but who can’t afford buying lunch other places.
We helped serve the customers and washing the dishes afterwards. To my surprise
washing dishes was something you did in cold water and I doubt that any European
health organisation would have been happy about the way things were done, but
all this was made okay by the fact that the people running it and the customers
were grateful and kind people. The first day we walked in there we got a big
round of applause – just for coming. That’s something that makes you want to
help!
After helping at the comedor we went to
the group of children closest to the hostel in the area called Challhua. I think
we had around 30 children there aged somewhere between four and 14. Jim’s helper
Charlie – a Peruvian teacher – took care of the older group while Jim, my friend
Mads and I played with and helped the younger ones. I know some Spanish which
helped me communicate with them. My friend Mads who doesn’t know more than the
very basics of the language found other ways of communication and even though
the language can be a barrier, children are amazing in the way the try to
understand you. They don’t give up just because you don’t understand them the
first five times. This first experience with the children made me happy about my
choice of coming to Huaraz and I started looking even more forward to meeting
the other groups.
The next day, Tuesday, we
went to Santa Rosa which is a small group of houses about 7 km outside of
Huaraz. This was, without doubt, the group I liked the best of the ones we
helped. Already the first day we went there we were greeted with open arms by
both the children and their parents. It’s quite extraordinary how involved the
parents of Santa Rosa are in the project. Mads and I had bought LEGO with us
from Denmark as a present to the children and they absolutely loved it. They
were very creative and also good at sharing. Before we went back to Huaraz we
played volleyball with some of the older children and parents. They were really
good at it! So if you want to practice your volley skills I can definitely
recommend this group of people. The net was put up on a slightly sloping dirt
road but this didn’t stop it from being fun. This was one of the experiences I
have clearest in my head. The fact that you don’t need a perfect pitch to play
and at the same time it made me much more appreciative of what I have in Denmark
where I come from and how lucky we are the ones of us who are born into Western
middle class families.
Another group is
located in a place called Secsapampa, it is close to Santa Rosa but further up
the hill. The road up there mainly consists of dirt which makes it impossible to
get up there when it’s raining. The same is the case for the fourth group at Rio
Seco where Changes for New Hope doesn’t have a house and therefore depends on
dry weather. At Secsapampa, after our first visit, one of the little girls
hugged me and told me that she would miss me. Again an experience that shows the
gratitude that children who are part of the project show to the volunteers who
come to them.
Seeing another side of
Peru
Volunteering with Changes for New
Hope turned out not only to be an option to help children in need but also a
chance to get a closer insight in Peruvian culture and to help other groups as
well. As an example, one of the other things we did was to go to a private
school where one of the teachers offers an enormous support to the project. To
repay his kindness we went there to an English class basically just to speak to
the children in English. We also visited local markets and restaurants. On the
second Sunday we were there Jim and the guys at the hostel helped arrange a
horseback riding tour close to Huaraz which was an amazing experience.
Jim is also very involved in art and helps the
children improve their self-esteem through artwork. We helped the children draw
and paint and also worked on sculptures. All this ended up in the biggest museum
in Huaraz where the children could see their own art displayed and which will,
hopefully, make them appreciate themselves and what they can do more.
Unfortunately for Mads and I the opening of the exhibition was right after we
left Peru, but judging from the pictures I’ve seen it was a huge success.
Another thing I noticed was how appreciative
the children of the project were. An example: giving them a little bit of
Play-Doh and you would make their day – even though they had to give it back by
the end of the session. From my experience with Danish children most of them
would probably have complained they didn’t have more colours to play with. This
is of course a natural reaction when you are used to having a lot of different
toys and getting most things you wish for at your birthday. But it was life
confirming to see that it doesn’t take a lot to make these children happy and
give them a better day, and from that starting point hopefully a better life.
My final words will be on what I liked most
about Changes for New Hope and Jim as its founder: The organisation does not
help everyone who puts their hand out. They have to show that they want to be
helped towards a better life and that they are willing to take responsibility
for their own life. The people who just want more and more and doesn’t do
anything to change the way they live to become self-supporting are not helped by
the organisation. I think this is the right way to do it. And if some people
from the last group changes their mind and wants to make an effort, then the
door is of course open to them.
All in
all volunteering with Changes for New Hope is something I can recommend to
anyone who really wants to make a difference for Peruvian children. Volunteering
changed my view of life even though it was for such a short period of time and I
hope that the days I spent in Huaraz had a positive influence on these children
and their families.
--- Gunvor
Platou