The marshmallow and chocolate had solidified under my nails and in the creases of my mouth. With no electricity and a faucet with water running at the pace of one-glass-filled-per-hour, I stood without solution in the bathroom at Faustino’s Hostel. I heard the swish of grass as two tiny feet illuminated by yellow candlelight crept beneath the door. There I discovered Faustino’s five-year-old son with an old t-shirt and a glass of water in hand. He smiled with lips that had been glossed by the remnants of s’mores marshmallows and chocolate, dampened the t-shirt and said “Así!”, as he helped me scrub my dirty-sticky-sweet-hands.
Everything starts with a connection. Many successful businesses function through professional networking; my parents had one conversation and 28 years and three kids later they are still married; I roasted s’mores at a bonfire with a Peruvian boy on an Ascend Expedition and everyday I think of the marshmallow lips we shared. The ability to make such a connection, one that reminds us of the human bond we all share with a person who lives thousands of miles and hundreds of goats away, is what makes the Ascend experience unique. Participating in an Ascend Expedition to Perú allows one to create these human connections with others and also with the traditions and culture of Cusco by working side-by-side with locals on projects designed to help them improve their quality of life. In working on these projects an expedition participant can directly see the positive impact created for Peruvian families through their volunteerism and support, while simultaneously improving their own quality of life through helping others.
Ascend Perú is currently in pursuit of this mission to help others through several projects taking place in both Cusco and the Sacred Valley. We are presently working in three communities in the Sacred Valley on reforestation projects and the construction of hen houses for the raisingof over 800 chickens that will eventually be sold at local markets. These projects will expand the economic potential for over 600 families. To ensure an improved quality of life for these families, we furthermore provide business courses and medical campaigns that include general medicine, gynecology, pediatrics, dental and obstetric services for all 600 families and will increase the likelihood of project sustainability. The support of Ascend volunteers, whether it be helping a dentist pull teeth at a medical campaign, or assisting in the laying of foundation for a chicken pen, or planting trees in the Sacred Valley, is vital in maintaining the sustainability of these projects for future generations within these communities.
Beyond the Sacred Valley communities, we also have projects taking place in the highlands of Quenko. In Quenko, we are conducting a rural tourism course that will allow the families of 15 community members to host travelers from around the world in their homes; just as I stayed with Faustino and his family. The health of not only these community members but also of their fellow neighbors, is vitally important in being able to sustain the community’s rural tourism business into the future. Therefore, we are completing a medical post that will provide healthcare for all 350 Quenko residents.
Ascend Expedition participants will likely find themselves providing service in at least one of the aforementioned communities. Within these communities, they will participate in unique activities that help others while pulling them out of the comfortable context of their home lives. You will stop for cows and sheep on your way to Quenko; you will drink tea and eat the local cuisine (yes, guinea pig) with those who live in the Sacred Valley; you will meet the national police at a medical campaign; you will get creative with how to wash yourself without water or electricity. You will connect with yourself as you do things you never thought imaginable, and you will connect with Perú as you participate in projects that will teach you about the country’s economy, history and culture. However, and most importantly, you will create human connections as you realize that why we are all geographically separated, we all have problems, we all need the help and support of others, and we all like s’mores. An Ascend Expedition provides one with these human connections through which we are often presented with the freshest perspectives, confronted with the most difficult questions and given the most memorable experiences.
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