Home, Sweet Home

My arrival to Cusco on Thursday morning was a little bit like playing make-believe. I was picked up at the airport by the other Cusco interns and office worker, Wilson, Trey, and Tim. When we got to the house the other workers of ASCENDER, Julia, Rubén, and Sandro immediately welcomed me to the team. Obviously, everything was different from where I had come, Utah. The roads, the culture, the people, and especially the language are all things I am hoping to become very familiar with before I leave here. My home away from home was as different from home as possible, but it wouldn’t be any fun if it weren’t that way.

Yesterday I finally got the chance to go down into Sacred Valley with Tim, Julia, Rubén and Sandro. We passed pueblos built from mud and stone, dirt roads, and simple architecture with the name of their alcalde/mayor covering the walls. Cusco was different, but this was really something else. I had the opportunity to meet many of the families cooperating in a project being carried out by ASCEND and other agencies. ASCEND and Peru Rail had helped three of these communities start a chicken farm, so they had a source of income while they waited for fruit to grow on the trees that were recently planted. I had traveled around the city of Cusco over the past few days, but meeting the people in Sacred Valley is what made this experience go from make-believe to real life. I had read about the projects while in the office, but seeing it had an effect that reading simply could not give.

Even though everything changed the second I got off the airplane, there are always a few things that remind me that I’m not too far from home.

Sarah Mariko Bartlett, Intern Spring 2011

The Climb to Qquencco

We woke up early, before the dogs could renew their fight for territory in the street. Daylight hadn’t broken, and we winded up through the worn, muddy streets of upper Cusco.

Interspersed between unfinished buildings and passing buses, the view of city lights from above showed tiny distant universes among an urban life still indiscernible. Cusco remained asleep.

Tim and Rubén, due to countless trips to the Sacred Valley, slept in the back of our camioneta, while Wilson drove. I couldn’t miss my first trip to Qquencco, so I sat shotgun and resisted the rest that a 4am wake-up call can steal.

Entering into the Valley is more beautiful than I ever imagined. The snow-capped mountains in the distance are like a welcome banner, and immediately you understand why they call it Sacred. But the single-lane dirt road, with nothing between you and a long fall except gravity, reminds you what you’re risking to be there.

Our mission was recording Encuestas (surveys) of atleast 20 families, not only to get to know the pueblito better, but to gain them potential sponsorship from the United States. The questionnaires go a little something like: Name, Age, How Ascend is involved in their lives, and What they would like for Ascend to do in the future... Say cheese!

After the climb we descended 2,000 feet into the base of Qquencco , and parked our truck in the soccer field so the people would know we were there. It was a cold morning, probably around 40 or 45 degrees. Someone said, “This is summer?” We laughed and threw on our Ascend vests. Braulio, the president of Qquencco, finally came down to meet us. Averting his gaze, he offered us his arm to shake, and led us to our first family for an encuesta/photo.

The first thing that I realized was everyone – everyone – was wearing old, mud-caked sandals. And then it just kind of hit me. I was standing in almost utter poverty. Qquencco is the poorest community in which we work; the curve of culture adjustment was pretty steep that day, especially since it was my second day in Cusco.

We climbed up and up and up, each family a little past the last one, until we reached the top of Qquencco. In the end, we gained 25 new encuestas, a ton of pictures, and a bunch of new acquaintances around the village.

On the way back, the road was pretty crowded with people walking to work, people wanting rides in our truck, cars on the one lane road, and....sheep herders? Yes. People's livestock is their main way to bring home the bacon, so to speak. Anyways, we had to edge around the sheep that clogged up the street and finally started back to Cusco.

Time has been flying by since then! I've been here for around 3 weeks now, I spent the night in the hospital last week (caused by food of course...but it's soo good!), and we've welcomed a new intern, Sarah Bartlett.

Ascender Peru is looking toward some pretty ambitious goals this year. Check back soon to read more about all of our adventures, from Wilson, Sarah and myself!

-Trey, Ascend Alliance Intern, Spring 2011

Chicken Business Partnership

Chicken Business Partnership from ascendcuscoperu on Vimeo.

Ascend Alliance and Peru Rail have teamed up to help the communities of Tanccac, Primavera, and Piscacucho. With everybody working together, these rural communities are now raising chickens that will be sold in the market to bring needed capital into the communities. This project is also the first step of greater plans to help these communities create sustainable economic development projects in the future.

Wilson Ashton, Ascend Alliance Spring 2011 Intern

Welcome to Cusco, Peru

As I stepped off the plane from Lima to Cusco to begin my 6 month internship, my first breath of fresh Cusqueño air was a deep one. 28 hours in transit, 2.3 miles above sea level, and 2 enormous bags can wear you down, even on your first day!

But I couldn't even begin to think about where I had just come from, because what Cucso lacks in oxygen it makes up in scenery. On my first drive home my face was pressed again the widows of our quaint Toyata Hilux camioneta looking at mountains so tall clouds concealed their tops.

I was picked up by Tim, our volunteer coordinator, and Wilson, my fellow intern. We had met several times by Skype, but it was really great to finally meet them and to be greeted so warmly. The trip from the airport to our house didn't last long. Ever few hours or so I can hear and see planes landing from our house. That's how close we are. It's pretty cool.

With eyes soon to shut, I grabbed my bags, endured the tour of the house, found my room upstairs and crashed for 2 hours. I woke up and went downstairs where I met my boss, Julia, the coordinator for operations in Peru and a very charming lady; Rubén, a quiet yet witty and enthusiastic guy with a lot of knowledge of the people; Sandro, a recent addition to our team, who is very funny and also has an informed and intelligent opinion. For a few hours Tim led a discussion about our Goals for 2011, what we did well and what we should improve on. Although I obviously couldn't participate in past logros o fallas, I was encouraged to express my opinion on future goals. We worked for the entire day and ate lunch and dinner together afterward. Although Ascend Peru has been around for some time, over the last year it has undergone a big face-lift. I was great to see our team, although very young, coming together. Just my first day has me positive about what the future holds.

Someone told me once that a way to test your comfortability level with friends or family is the ole friendly fridge rule: if you can enter into another person's home and browse their refrigerator without feeling super awkward, it's a really incredible sign. I can say that I've never felt so welcome into someone else's home, entering into someone's else life. On one hand, it's strange and difficult to do what Wilson and I are doing, traveling abroad, learning new customs, and meeting new people. But on the other hand, it's equally as hard for those already there to accept you with patience and share with you their lives. And their fridge.

It's Sunday, my third day here and I feel very excited and motivated to do the work that Ascend does. Speaking of which, check back soon for my next post: This past Saturday, my second day in Cusco, we got up at 4:30 am, and drove 2 hours away into the Sacred Valley where we collaborate with several communities. The one we visited was Qenco (pronounced Kink-co, with a glottal K sound). Right now, it's looking close to dinner time (the food is amazing!) and I'm starving! Hasta entonces. Chau!

-Trey, Ascend Alliance Intern, Spring 2011

Medical Post in Qquencco

Medical Post in Qquencco from ascendcuscoperu on Vimeo.

On behalf of all of us here in Cusco, we are very happy/surprised at the progress of the medical post in Qquencco. This project has and will continue to help this community in so many different ways. Besides the fact that the people of Qquencco will have access to basic health care (instead of a three hour walk to the nearest hospital), it has brought a sense of unity to the community that has been absent for some time. Political strife split the community into various sections, which made it very difficult to get anything done in a community, let alone a project as big as a medical post. After some time, and much conversation, the people of Qquencco were once again able to clear their vision, and realize that their children and their health were more important than a few minor political ideals. It was good to see everyone treating everyone with respect, and to see them talking with each other again.

This project is not only really cool, but has also taught me a very important lesson. We need to persistently try to do what is right. More often than not, our good actions come with various other unintended positive consequences.

Five Days in Cusco

Two weeks in Cusco, and I find it hard to describe my life working with Ascend. Luckily this week, an awesome friend came to visit, and she takes fotos increíbles! and as the saying goes, a picture can tell a thousand words. So, we have five days worth of pictures, and hope they can tell a story better than we can. ¡Enjoy!

Create Connections with Ascend Perú

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.