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Enriched Souls, Kinder Hearts, Open Minds, Meaningful Travel, Giving Back, Service Projects, Voluntourism

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Day 6- Service Project at Albergue in Cusco

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We left the Sacred Valley this morning for our final two days of service projects in Cusco. We arrived at the Albergue, a home for 22 children between the ages of 10-18. Most of them have parents who live on farms and in villages that don’t have access to schools, nor can they afford them, so they apply for their children to live at the Albergue and hope to get lucky. Most of the children have been sponsored to live here and go to school for at least 5 years. Some are fortunate enough to be educated for up to 7 years. When they leave the Albergue, they have a basic education and they have acquired some skills in carpentry, sewing, metalwork, cooking, and some basic life skills. Some of them will go on to become educators in their villages so that they can help their own communities.

Upon arrival at the Albergue, our teams were pumped and ready to work. We split into two teams. One group started building the Adobe brick walls of a future classroom and the other group started sanding pre-cut logs for a fence. It was a hot day, so we had to take several water and Gatorade breaks. They also prepared a tasty vegetarian lunch for us. It was a lot of heavy lifting, muddy, dusty and tiring work, but very gratifying when we were done for the day. We could see progress and were ready to continue working the next day.

But before we left the Albergue for the day, the kids treated us to a surprise talent show showcasing their traditional song and dance. They even managed to get some of us to get up and participate with them. After the performance they all came around and gave us hugs and thanked us for our time and effort with beautiful cards. Seeing their beautiful smiles made the day’s hard work all worthwhile.


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Day 5- A free day to experience different activities

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Today was a free day for families and individuals to experience whatever activities they wanted. Several people chose to ride ATV’s through the scenic mountains. Others chose to try paragliding, but since it is dependent on wind conditions, only one person actually took off and enjoyed the thrilling ride from the mountain top to the valley.

Another group of people decided to go shopping for local arts, crafts and everything Alpaca wool. The local Pisac Market is open on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Sundays and definitely offers a huge variety of Peruvian handicrafts and textiles for a bargain. Supporting the local vendors is yet another way of giving back to their community. Our tourism dollars allows them to earn their living.

Some people took the opportunity to tour the Moray ruins, the agricultural terraces with their complex irrigation system and natural green house effects which allowed the Incas to grow an extraordinary variety of crops at that altitude. Nearby was another interesting site called the Salineras or The salt mines where 3,000 pools produce all the salt consumed in the region. It was interesting to learn about the way the land is cultivated and utilized by the communities.

Now that we’ve spent a couple of days enjoying the scenary and activities in the Sacred Valley, we are ready to go to Cusco and get busy with another couple of days of service projects.


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Day 4-Machu Picchu, Peru

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Our day started off at 6:30am when we took a half hour bus ride to the Ollantaytambo train station. From there we embarked on the most beautiful scenic train ride along the river to Aguas Calientes. Another 25 minute bus ride and we were at the entrance to Machu Picchu. We then started our 2 hour walking tour of the breathtaking ruins and gorgeous sights. Pictures don’t do justice to the beauty and scale of the Inca kingdom.

We also experienced a hair-raising hike along a steep mountain side where the views were unreal. It was as if we were hiking through the movie set of Avatar.
The natural beauty and symmetry of the soaring Andean mountains was amazing. The construction of Machu Picchu and the agricultural system of the Incas was unthinkable.

We enjoyed a huge buffet lunch at the Machu Picchu Sanctuary Lodge before heading back to the Urubamba Valley for a relaxing stay at the Tambo Del Inka resort & spa.


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Day 3- The Sacred Valley, Peru

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Today we flew from Lima to Cusco and then took an hour and a half bus ride to Urubamba which translates to The Sacred Valley. The sun was out, the air was clear and the views were incredible. We arrived in the valley in the afternoon and took the remainder of the day to acclimate to the altitude. Those who felt a little light headed or shortness of breath just had to lay down and relax while their bodies adjusted. We all drank some Coca Leaf Tea which is supposed to help relieve the symptoms.

We did manage to get out to the local food market and saw the multiple varieties of potatoes that this region is so famous for. We also purchased mangoes, passion fruit, and several other fresh fruits to share with the rest of the group. There is nothing like the experience of a local market for those who enjoy food, culture, and learning about what the locals eat and how.


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Day 2 Peru Service projects

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Our second day in Lima, Peru was incredible. We started the morning off at the Camino de Vida facility assembling wheelchairs. Camino de Vida works in partnership with Free Wheelchair Mission. Our team of 24 (the other team worked on this project yesterday) assembled 4 wheelchairs and distributed 6 of them. It’s amazing how durable they are. My group of 8 managed to provide a wheelchair for a 70 year old woman who was paralyzed and immobile, and the second one went to a 3 year old boy whose legs were amputated earlier this year and he continues to be in the hospital due to a lack of diagnosis.

In the afternoon, all 48 of us went to one of the poorest areas of Lima to distribute shoes through Samaritans Feet. What a humbling experience it was to wash the feet of children, women and men, and to provide them with a new pair of shoes while giving them a message of hope. We encouraged them to attend church and have faith in God. Seeing the smiles and excitement in their faces was well worth the long bus ride to get to the distribution site. We all wished we could speak more spanish.

It was a long day, but very productive and fulfilling.

Stay tuned as we spend the next 3 days taking a break from volunteering to enjoy the sights of Peru.


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Day 1 of Volunteer Service Project in Lima, Peru

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Village of Villa Maria
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The first day of our group service projects in Lima, Peru was amazing. Our team of 24 spent the day at a mountain side village called Villa Maria. The local school (yellow and blue building behind me in the picture) was the site of the Medical camp hosted by the Alcansa church and Camino De Vida.

Local doctors, nurses, pharmacists and church volunteers along with our team provided free services to the locals in the village.Everything from a physical exam, dental check-up and flouride treatments, to nutrition advice & dispensing of medication was offered at no cost to anyone who wished to come in. Young children had their faces painted and had an opportunity to play and interact with the kids in our volunteer team.


The most unique thing about today was the fact that we actually had to walk or rather hike the dirt roads of the village going from house to house announcing the availability of the free clinic. As we went around the village, we had the awesome opportunity to see how the locals live in the mountain villages of Lima, Peru.

Stay tuned for more as we go through the next week working on various service projects and experiencing some of the amazing sights of Peru.


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Elly’s heading to Peru

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Elly’s heading to Peru on June 18. Join us as we work on several different service projects in Lima and Cusco. We will be assembling and distributing wheelchairs, putting together hygiene kits, distributing shoes, and working on building, painting, and spending time with the children at the Albergue in Cusco.

But it’s not going to be all work and no play. We will have an opportunity to visit Machu Picchu, spend a day in the Sacred Valley and possibly join in the celebration of Inti Raymi (Festival of the Sun) which takes place on June 24 each year. Stay tuned for posts from Peru!!


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