Study-Service Term

The summer Peru Study-Service Term concluded this morning with a pre-dawn bus ride to Lima’s Jorge Chavez International Airport for 13 students. The remaining three are heading on to further travel in South and Central America before returning home.

For the Gary family, this is the end of Peru SST, too. We have led the last three units and have called Lima home for the past year. Tonight we’ll also be departing from Jorge Chavez International Airport. We are sad to leave, excited to be back, and grateful for the many wonderful people we have met and places we have seen this year. In particular, we have been blessed with students whose abundant enthusiasm, flexibility, and good humor have helped to make our experience here so extraordinary.

At our closing retreat we sent the students off with the following prayer. As they—and we, and you, and all of us—prepare for the next great adventure in life (whatever it may be) let us together pray:

Lord Jesus, you traveled with the two disciples after the resurrection and set their hearts on fire with your grace. Travel also with us and gladden our hearts with your presence.

We know Lord, that we are pilgrims on this earth, seeking the citizenship which is in heaven. During our journey surround us with your holy angels and keep us safe from seen and unseen dangers. Grant that we may carry out our plans and fulfill our expectations according to your will. Help us to see the beauty of creation and to comprehend the wonder of your truth in all things. For you are the way, the truth, and the life, and to you we give thanks, praise, and glory forever. Amen.

Goshen: We’ll see you soon. Perú: Te amamos!

—Kevin, Heather, Evie, Lucas, and Gabriel Gary

We spent our last weekend in Peru on the beach at the Union Biblica retreat center, about an hour and a half south of Lima. It was a beautiful place to reflect on the past three months and to prepare for our homecoming.

We were delighted to have the group together once again after spending six weeks apart during service. The SSTers shared many stories about their experiences in the selva, sierra, and costa (jungle, mountains, and coast). We heard lots of laughter during our time together and sensed the deep affection and appreciation the students developed for for this remarkable country.

Our retreat included presentations from each student on their final project. We heard about a wide range of topics related to Peru:

Translational problems and patient care in the medical mission setting

Disability services in Chimbote

Single mothers and their children in Chimbote

Multilingual education in Peru

The effects of poverty on education in Peru

Food and diet habits in Ayacucho

Native medicinal plants of Chanchomayo

Gastrointestinal infections in rural Peru

The effects of poverty on children’s health care in Peru

Inclusive and special education in Tarma

Coffee, fair trade, and free trade

Young mothers in Tarma

Reasons for abortion and the effects of the Peruvian law prohibiting abortion

Water-related health hazards in Ayacucho

Parenting styles in Peruvian culture

Perception and reality of nutrition in Tarma

In Ayacucho's Plaza de Armas

Ayacucho is one of Peru’s most historically significant places. During the 6^th century A.D., when the Wari civilization ruled much of Peru, its capital was located just outside of what is now Ayacucho. Twelve hundred years later, in 1824, Peru’s struggle for independence from Spain ended in victory with the Battle of Ayacucho. And it was here in the late 1970s that the revolutionary Sendero Luminoso (Shining Path) movement started, with the goal of destroying the existing society to build a new communist state. The battle that ensued between Shining Path and Peruvian government forces resulted in an estimated 69,000 deaths, and countless people, mainly Quechua-speaking peasants, suffered severe human rights abuses. The Shining Path’s leader, Abimael Guzmán, was captured and imprisoned in 1992. Today Ayacucho is a safe, bustling regional center that four SSTers are calling home for six weeks.

Kim is teaching English at Institución Educativa Cristiana William Thompson, an elementary school with about 60 students.  She stays busy with her students and her host family, which includes five siblings, ages 1 to 18. Jenae is working at Institución Educativa Privada Inicial Vidas, a preschool and kindergarten where she is assisting the teachers and helping her 2- to 5-year-old students learn some English. She also recently taught her students how to make pizza.

Peter and Tahnee are helping out in a few different medical environments. They spent the first few weeks working in a small clinic that’s in the same building as Jenae’s school. They’ve also been assisting at a clinic in the village of Quinua, a 50-minute drive on winding mountain roads. Most recently they’ve been working with Medical Mission International to assist American and Canadian health professionals who are conducting a health campaign. Peter has been translating for doctors and patients, and Tahnee has been working in the pharmacy. Both have had a chance to see all kinds of health problems and help patients who have limited resources.

All four SSTers have been enjoying Ayacucho’s mild weather, beautiful natural surroundings, and strong Quechua culture.

with Sister Patricia at Fe y Alegría school

Tucked in the mountains and surrounded by fields of flowers, Tarma is known as the “Pearl of the Andes.” That moniker may be a little grandiose for this unassuming town of about 52,000 residents, but it certainly communicates the warmth and welcoming nature of this central highlands town.

Three SSTers, Kayla, Caleb, and Mara, are working at the Fe y Alegría school (Faith and Hope) in Tarma, which is part of a network of more than 2,000 Catholic schools in South America that provides quality education for low-income students. The school, which is high on a mountain overlooking the town, has only been open for a few years and is supported by the Sisters of Saint Joseph.

Kayla has been working as a teachers’ aide in several different classrooms, helping students with their assignments and teaching English to the older classes.

Mara and Caleb are helping out with the school’s new integrated environmental program that aims to educate students and the community about the environment as well as provide some income-generating opportunities for the school. What this means for Mara and Caleb is a lot of time in the garden, where they have been planting, weeding, and watering plants. They have also been helping out with projects in the office, and Caleb has helped with the school’s computer classes, as well.

All three are enjoying getting to know their host families and taking the time to explore this gem of a town.