Past Projects Peru

Here are some of the projects that our volunteers have completed as part of the WYI Overseas Action Programs (OAP). The OAP is a team program for 18 - 30 year olds which focuses on community development. Each project aims to build a structure which the community desperately needs, in the areas of Primary Health Care, Income Generation and Education & Training. 

When: December 2007
Building Project: Internet Room
Where: Huaran, Sacred Valley near Cusco
Lasting Impact: Delivered infrastructure to enable access to previously unavailable online services and resources, as well as income generation possibilities

In Huaran, and the wider Sacred Valley, most of the population survives on subsistence farming and other income sources are limited at best. Following on from previous projects to transform the local "Hacienda" - former Spanish manor - into a hostel to attract tourists to the area and provide the whole community with another income stream, a small group of volunteers set about renovating an old run down room and fitting it out in preparation of internet services being extended to this community.

Internet facilities will make a valuable difference to the Huaran community in many ways. Whilst primarily designed as a value adding facility for the hostel, and thus deriving tourist dollars, the room will also be made available for the entire community to access online services including education and training, which will provide for more long term opportunities. At present, with the combined efforts of multiple WYI volunteer groups and the local community, all the infrastructure is in place for the hostel to be a success. Work can now be focused on assisting and training community members to effectively manage and run the hostel and internet services so as the entire community can reap the rewards of everyone's hard work!

Shane Roos, Team Leader

In Peru, many rural areas were historically dominated by wealthy families living in Spanish style homesteads called a "Hacienda". These dominant families used local people as labor to farm a large area of land. While the village community worked hard on the land, the dominant family reaped the profits. In Huaran, a small community in the Sacred Valley near Cusco, the local community took control of the local Hacienda in the 1970s and the community now owns this historic building.

In 2005 - 2007 WYI worked with the community in Huaran to develop the historic Hacienda into a hostel for tourists to stay in as a way to generate an income for the community. In December 2006 our group renovated an old falling down room into a functional kitchen in the hostel. The kitchen is now used to cook meals for guests staying at the Hacienda and the income generated by having guests stay there is supporting the community. We also made a big vegetable garden at the Hacienda and the vegetables grown there are used to feed guests as well as to generate further income for the community.

Nicki van Hooff, Team Leader

Amantani Island, a long four hours by boat from Puno, has no running water, no electricity and due to extreme climates, the people are unable to keep livestock. This leaves the residents dependent on crops of potatoes and traditional Andean vegetables, mainly corn and beans, to survive. Most of the children hardly have nutritious meal needed to grow, and the income provided by those who are able to find jobs on the mainland are often poor and cannot provide for their entire families.

World Youth International and local NGO Inti Wawacuna set up a project on Amantani Island to provide daily nutrition and educational needs for the younger generation in one of the communities. Our project was to build a dining hall for the children at the Inti Wawacuna Elementary School and Home, so that the local NGO could provide the students with warm, protein rich foods during the day. This encouraged the families to send their children to school for education, rather than keeping them at home for chores.

Amy Huang, participant.