Day Fourteen: Peruvian Independence Day

We ventured to the worksite early this morning to find that members of the community had continued the work on the stairs while we were hiking during the weekend. In a flurry of activity, the final mural was nearly completed by Jenny, Madeleine, Gia, and Jimbo. The fence was re-installed around the play area at the primary school by Tim, Molly, Prescott, and Jason. And the swing set frame was sited and sanded by Nick, Thomas, James and Diana. Meanwhile, Nancy and Adela contined their total makeover of the bathroom by plastering the walls and themselves in the process.

What has been remarkable about our time in Anco Pacha is how our presence and enthusiasm has motivated many of the residents. It is not always the case that community members get involved in such service work initiated by outsiders. (Surely, such was not the case in our previous two years in Peru.) However, Anco Pacha, composed of a collection of different people relocated to this area after losing their homes to violent flooding in 1999 and again this past winter, is in the slow process of becoming more of a community, and the desire of these residents to work along side us to help improve the quality of life for their children, grandchildren, and themselves has been inspiring -- truly what one hopes for in such service work. As we have all come to know each other better and grown as a community, so too have the residents of Anco Pacha. Service as community building--that is what we regard as the great promise of all of this work.

Today on the worksite, James also met with one of the community leaders to get a first-hand account of her experiences and to learn more about the community and its needs, and tomorrow James and other interested students will continue this interviewing process with the four other central community leaders.


We returned to Ollantaytambo for the Independence Day festivities and were able to watch some of our host families children marching around the central square in the parade. Many Peruvian flags were flying, and the streets were filled with proud residents of Ollanta and many of the surrounding mountain hamlets.

We're intent on finishing all of the work we've been engaging in during the course of the week. Along with our work at Anco Pancha, we hope to tie the threads together on the discussions we've been having periodically with the group. Our conversations have deliberately ranged widely: from discussions of individual temperments and leadership styles to Andean culture and history to broad patterns in the evolution of civilizations to the origins of poverty and to the nature of service. This week, we hope to help students contemplate their privilege, set some individual goals based upon what they've learned about themselves and the world during their trip, and determine how to stay connected to and supportive of Anco Pancha during the upcoming school year. We'll have ample time for these discussions during the course of the next few days. We'll be at the worksite tomorrow and then off to Machu Picchu on Wednesday prior to our final day in Ollantaytambo on Thursday.

A few kids are suffering a bit from a cold, from some mild stomach upset, and and altitude weakened one of us. That said, everyone seems to be boucing back for a strong finish.

Ciao for now.

Craig and Nancy