Oh, the possibilities!

If you are coming to Chimbote to volunteer with Los Amigos, you may have some questions about what kind of projects or work is available for you to participate in. Depending on the amount of time you will be with us, and of course, what your interests are, there are many different areas for you to look into.

Just a little background...Over the last decade or so, Los Amigos and the Parroquia de Nuestra Soccorro (Our Lady of Perpetual Help Parish) have created various programs that are meant to assist, provide for, educate, and bring hope to the poor of Chimbote. With the help of volunteers, many of these programs have become successful in doing just that. Although it is important to realize that the demand for this service may never diminish completely, the chance to experience and help change a person's life is truly a memorable adventure.

One of the entities associated with Los Amigos is called ACAF (Civil Association for Family Aid). Essentially, it is the Peruvian civil association which distributes Los Amigos funds in Chimbote, oversees Peruvian employees working for Los Amigos programs, and maintains compliance with Peruvian law regarding fund distribution and employees. ACAF is resposible for many of the programs that you may be interested in volunteering with while here in Chimbote. Here is a list of those programs, along with a little information about them:

•Soup Kitchens
-6 in operation
-costs $0.30 per meal, covered by Los Amigos
-157,000 families served a year

•Medical Post
-laboratory and pharmacy funded by Los Amigos
-special program for the treatment, prevention and education of tuberculosis

•Hospice
-24 bed facility
-provides pain medication, dressings for pressure ulcers and care for 198 dying patients and family members
-employs over 25 people from Chimbote

•Rehab Center
-provides treatment and therapy for those with disabilities from accidents or physical deformities
-all equipment is donated

•Social Work
-works side by side with those who are handicap(discapacitados) to provide houses, medications, food and necessary equipment

•Quintas (multi-family houses)
-5 built and supported by the parish within the last 10 years
serves a speicific population, such as the disabled or families headed by a single mother
-built in a square with secure entrances facing inward toward an open courtyard
-all quintas are made with fire proof cement blocks
-can support 15 or more families per quinta

•Battered Women's Shelter
-in operation since 2004
-women and children are provided with a safe place to live, protection and psychological counseling

•Halfway House
-Matt Talbot Center provides a place for men seeking refuge from drug and alcohol addictions
-can house up to 12 men

•Daycare/Kindergarten
-provides a safe place for infants and toddlers while parents are at work
-teaches children basic lessons to better prepare them for school

•Youth Centers
-3 centers operated by the parish
-typically invloves children 5 to 12 years of age
-used for focusing on the prevention of drug and gang related activity

•Libraries
-5 in operation
-contains books, tables, chairs and proper lighting
-great place for children to study


•Education
-tudoring program
-art program
-reading program
-english classes


There are also a few programs that are not overseen by ACAF, but are definitely a valuable part of the community and parish. Here are just a few that some of our current volunteers are working on:


•Choi Program (Unlimited Opportunites in Chimbote)
-includes Micro-lending, Dollars for Scholars, computer education, english classes and a recycling program

•Construction
-making cement/concrete blocks for floors or walls
-building estera reed houses

•Gardening
-maintaining trees, bushes, grass and flower gardens around the parish
-planting and maintaining vegetable/fruit gardens
-education on farming/gardening techniques

All of these programs are very important to the community and the local Chimbotanos. They provide work and support to so many families in need. If one of these programs sparks an interest for you to volunteer with, there is never a shortage of things to do and places to help. If you are still undecided about where your skills will be most useful, take the first couple days here in Chimbote to see the different programs and various projects. I also encourage you to visit the Los Amigos website (if you have not already) for more useful information: www.losamigos-chimbote.org.

Luckily, there is always a handful of helpful volunteers and workers who are happy to answer any questions you may have. Your aspiration to help and make a difference here in Chimbote is truly appreciated!

Bienvenido a Chimbote°°Colin

Hello cyberspace...This is my first blog ever so we will have to see how it turns out. If you are reading this it means that you are interested in visiting Chimbote or you have stumbled on this blog randomly. In either case, I am glad you are reading this.

My name is Colin. I am 22 years old and recently graduated college this past May. I left for Peru on Thursday March 11 and will be staying until the 25th. Just a 2 week visit but in my mind enough time to get a small taste of the Peruvian culture, do some service, and learn a lot.

I have been fairly active in service since high school and have been on three different short term international service trips in the past. All three of these trips were to a small village in Guatemala called San Lucas Toliman. San Lucas is one of my favorite places in the world and when I decided that I wanted to take another service trip I thought about returning for a fourth time to Guatemala. But I ultimately decided that I wanted to go somewhere different to serve a new community and learn about a new culture.

My mom suggested I look into Los Amigos in Peru and after some reaserch I decided that it was exactly what I was looking for. Chimbote is a large departure from my experiences in Guatemala. Chimbote is a city of 400,000 people. San Lucas is a town of about 4000. While the cultures do have some notable similarities, the unique histories of both regions and countries have created unique social and economic problems. The problems of both regions are similar but due to the unique qualities of both areas, the solutions are different.

I have only been in Chimbote for a few days now but one of the things I noticed immediately about Los Amigos and the people of Chimbote in general is the welcoming environment and a focus on community. During my two weeks here I am living with a wonderful host family with lots of patience for my stumbled Spanish.

I have met a lot of truly inspiring volunteers in my time here. When one truly comprehends what Father Jack and Sister Peggy have accomplished here and the goals that are being reached every day it truly is amazing.

I will post another blog in about a week after I have a full work week under my belt. I am having a wonderful time here and am turly grateful for the experience!!

LINES & CHIMBOTE BRACELETS

Hey ya'll. This is Kevin again. How was your day? Good? I hope so. Well, I am here to talk some more about the great reasons for working here. Right now the medical mission of 41 doctors is here and they are currently working like mad crazy to see as many Peruvians as humanly possible. There is a big need for translating and just shear crowd control. Especially since something I've noticed about Peru is there is a lack of comprehension of the idea of forming LINES! It is especially prevalent with the kids, especially when you are serving them cake and juice and popcorn and candy. Regardless, the important thing is that people are being helped in ways that cannot be explained or even truly described.

We also have a new volunteer here for 2 weeks, his name is Colin, he will be posting soon I hope. It is his second day of working and he's already got a full plate. There is never a lack of opportunities to help out. You have the basic locations: The Medical Post; the Prevention Centers which act as Gang and Drug prevention havens for the kids of the neighborhoods. They are basically like smaller versions of Boys and Girls Clubs in the States; There is also Casa De Juventud which offers an array of activities involving education in fields like economics, computers, and the basics. There is an organization started by a girl from my school that is helping a group of women out financially so they do not have to resort to other, less than digifying means of earning a living, namely prostitution and others. http://www.facebook.com/ChimboteBraceletProject?ref=ts This is the facebook page for the organization, Chimbote Bracelets.

So besides donating funds to Los Amigos or coming and volunteering, you can support the people of Chimbote personally by purchasing these bracelets for about $5 a bracelet. Keep in mind that $5 equates to around 15 soles, which goes a LONG way down here.

As of today I have 10 days left in Chimbote, and I'm stuck between being excited to return to Lima to reunite with my group and eventually head home to be with all that is normal for me. Friends, family, ENGLISH, Fast Food that I like, The Daily Show, my car, cell phone, etc., etc. Something that I am aware of and preparing for is the little known condition of 'Reverse Culture Shock.' It's stronger and more of an issue with a lot of my friends who have traveled abroad. And it is something that needs to be addressed and prepared for. I haven't sent a text message since the beginning of January. I haven't driven a vehicle since the beginning of January. I haven't watched a TV show in English since the end of Christmas break. These things seem futile and irrelevant but the reimmersion into my own culture and the complete overload of hearing nothing but English again can be difficult. On top of that I am graduating from college about a month after returning, and I am planning on moving to Oregon this summer. That is a lot of big changes in my life in a matter of 6 months, January to July.

What I am trying to get across is that volunteering abroad is an important experience for anyone. It helps bring the world a little closer, person by person. But it is smart to prepare oneself mentally for the immersion into a different culture and then equally to prepare for the return. So please, come and share your time, talents, and personality with the people here. Peruvians are intensely friendly and always willing to help you truly experience their beautiful country. So by all means, come down for a couple weeks during summer break. Or quit your job and commit to 6 months or more. I can tell you that having spent most of my 6 weeks here I definitely feel that I NEED a lot more time, so I'd recommend and be jealous of those who could commit to several months. You'll see yourself and the people around you change in front of your eyes and the relationships you create and build here will be impossible to forget.

Unless I post again, I bid you adieu from Peru...ha, I love rhyming. I hope all is well with you and those you love. Volunteer! Si Dios Quiere. (If God Wills It). Nos vemos y cuidanse.

MOPS

Bueno, I don't know where to start for this. I don't have anything fancy to share like them there pictures with the photo camera, but I shall try my best to paint a picture with my palabras.

My name is Kevin. I hail from Casselton, ND. It's a small farm town near Fargo, as every other town in North Dakota essentially is. I go to school at Goshen College in Goshen, Indiana. It's near Chicago and South Bend, where Notre Dame is. I am here with a friend from Goshen as well, Max, you will hopefully meet him at a later post.

We are here with our college on a program that is required by each student at Goshen to complete sometime before graduating. Besides our group of 17, who are scattered around Peru right now, there is a group also in Cambodia. Our group is split up into Huaraz, Ayacucho, Cuzco, and La Merced for service. We are in the middle of our 6 weeks of service that follows our 6 weeks of studying in Lima. Anywho, enough about me.

Chimbote is sweet. I thoroughly enjoy it more than Lima because Lima is no different than any other big city in the states. There is an overload of things to do, and they all cost way too much money. Even in soles. Chimbote is a simpler way of life. There are less distracions and you can spend more time actually talking to people. Also, the people in Chimbote are bar none more friendly to strangers than in Lima. This allows you time to actually practice your spanish, which is much easier when you are put in a situation where you literally cannot ask anything in English. My spanish has excelled in leaps and bounds simply because of this fact. I went out in Lima and have gone out here in Chimbote and just talking with my host families has been where I learned the most.

As far as conveniences go, I mean if you are attached with an umbilical cord to your cell phone or laptop, then Chimbote is a pretty extreme way of cutting that cord. I can attest to the healing power of cutting that cord. As an admitted textaholic, not being able to keep tabs on my friends via a random text or phone call has been difficult yet liberating. I came to Peru looking forward to being cut off my 24 hour access to the internet, cable, and cell phone. Welp, I succeeded in surviving this endeavor. I'm still alive and I'm happier. We always joke that coming to Peru is like going back to elementary school. Before facebook, messenger, cell phones for each and every kid, and texting. Now we have to rely on each other to be at a certain point at a certain time to do a certain thing. You can buy 'pay-as-you-go' cells here, but I'd only recommend it if you are staying for a few months.

What do we need? Just today I went to a library to help out and we ended up sweeping and mopping the place up to find more rat poop, spider webs, spider eggs, and rats than I care to ever remember. Ok it was only 1 rat, but it was 1 BIG RAT. I want to issue a plea for dontations of money for, or donations of MOPS. The whole deal, Mop with bucket and the thing you ring it out with. MOPS MOPS MOPS. You'd be saving people here a lot of trouble and it would better living conditions and learning conditions tenfold.

Ok I have a habit of rambling and I sense that is where I'm headed so I will stop for now and save the rest for another post another day. Please come help out in Chimbote. The food, the girls, the guys, the people in general are amazing. Don't be afraid of not finding something to do, you can't imagine how smart, clever, and resourceful you can be when forced to. It's worth every second and cent you have to offer. For now, nos vemos, hasta luego, buena suerte. We'll see each other again, see you later, and good luck. Gracias para leyendo. Kevin