"I had already travelled twice with Tumaini, but this project in Peru is unique".
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| Nerea during her volunteering in Iquitos. |
They say that a solidarity trip gets you hooked and that, if you try it, you can't stop travelling. Nerea has experienced something similar. First he travelled to India. Then to Kenya. And now, he has just returned from Iquitos, Peru.with her partner Enric. She has collaborated in a little school for children with few resources and has learned to live with very little and to "connect totally with nature".
Did you imagine the project like this?
No, it was much better than I expected! The coordinators make you feel at home and the children are very welcoming. The project is environmentally sustainableI loved that! It has been a unique experience because not only were you with the children during the volunteering time, but sometimes in the mornings (we had several teachers' strikes) and also in the afternoons, after the school closed, we spent time with them. It is an ideal trip if you want to be active all day, enjoy the people who live in the village and the environment.
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| Enric, Nerea's partner, on a walk through the Amazon jungle. |
What tasks did you perform?
I travelled with Enric, my partner, and we participated together in the volunteering. We did different workshops: one on affective-sexual education with the older girls in the project, another one on emotions with the younger ones, and another one on craftsWe built a tic-tac-toe game for each child to play at home. On the last day, we made a gymkhana with cooperative games which they loved. At the end we bought a special snack as a prize!
I also played with the children in their free play time and helped the project as much as I could.
In addition to volunteering at the school, you also helped to set up a clay oven, didn't you?
Yes! oven will be used to bake bread for snacks.. My partner is very fond of construction, so he helped with the creation of a dry toilet and a handrail for the stairs of the volunteers' house.
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| "The children are caring and eager to learn". |
How did the children receive you?
We had a very good reception, the children love to meet new volunteers and to be told things about their countries and to prepare workshops for them, they get very involved! They often come home and ask for you, they want to share their time with you!
Do you remember any funny anecdotes from your trip?
When we were making the clay oven, we did a minga in order to finish it. A minga consists of offering food and masato (a drink made from chewed cassava). Some of the volunteers who tasted the masato didn't know what it was - it was also a source of much laughter!
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| The atmosphere in the era was very good! |
This is the third trip you have made with Tumaini, what differences did you see with respect to the other two projects you collaborated on?
The first trip I made with Tumaini went to India. On that occasion, I collaborated with a solidarity nursery for Tibetan children. The second was to Kenya. I collaborated in a reception centre for girls. Both trips were unforgettable, but he has things that make him unique:
- The coordinators are eager to innovate.
- Children need that space which allows them to remembering that they are children and not adults (many work)
- The environment is privileged but it doesn't have the comforts that you have in other projects. There is only electricity two hours a day, there is no running water, the house is made of wood, there are a lot of mosquitoes... You are totally connected with nature.
- Every day you can collaborate directly with the children. You can also propose your own workshops.
- Both the house and the escuelita are very much aware of the environment.
- Spanish spoken. Communication is smoother!
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| Nerea shared her solidarity trip with her partner, Enric. |
It was Enric's first volunteering experience in a Southern country. What was it like for him?
I was delighted to have this experience with him: He lived it with great enthusiasm and predisposition! And he integrated very well! In the afternoons I went with the boys and girls to play football or volleyball and they loved it. We had a lot of fun.
Do you think this part of Peru is worth visiting?
A lot: the setting is a privilege and the company even more so. If you want to collaborate with lovely children, be in contact with nature and learn how to take care of it, this is the trip for you!
How was your relationship with Andrea and Pia, the project coordinators?
Great, both in the school and outside. We did a lot of things together: excursions, playing cards, housework... They are always looking after the volunteers and you feel part of a community. big family.
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| Sharing videos with children in the . |
Nerea and Enric travelled to Peru from 24 June to 6 July 2018.