We recently received a few more blog entries from the Peru team! We hope you enjoy reading all about the team’s last few days in the village!

Thursday, July 16th

Day two and the Youthlinc team have made the deepest connections with the best people. Everywhere you look, Peruvian children are intertwined with the students in the sweetest hugs.

Today consisted of construction work–building concrete sidewalks as well as painting murals. We are so excited to paint the Amazon River engulfed in a beautiful sunset on the side of one of the concrete buildings!

Business lessons were also a go today; chicken coops are well on their way!

Many of the students taught their English lessons, one of them being about Penguins! The Peruvian children love learning English as much as the Youthlinc students love learning Spanish, despite how funny we sound doing so.

Today we had the first two home visits with many more to come. Home visits are very intimate and allow students to connect with the villagers and learn about their daily activities in ways they normally wouldn’t.

The vocational committee taught the women in the village about soap making and sewing, a skill they picked up very quickly. The women soon began to out-sew the team, whipping out outfits here and there for their children!

It’s amazing to see the Youthlinc team bond and grow together through this experience!

Monday, July 20th

We’re busy busy busy.

The community health committee taught the villagers to brush and wash their hands in clean water today. The kids absolutely adored the lessons and were each given toothbrush and soap kits. Female and male maturation were also taught. Each women of the village got their own care package and a bead bracket to track their menstrual cycle.

Wednesday, July 22nd by Kausha

A monumental home visit occurred today. The group assigned to the visit had to climb “massive stairs of death” in order to reach the villagers home, located “high” up off the banks of the Amazon River. The group exchanged photos of their home with the villagers who loved to idea of tall buildings and a busting city.

More English lessons were taught today. The kids loved the aspect of paper airplanes, balloons (which quickly turned into a water fight) and bubble gum.

Now that the outside of the main gathering building is painted, Youthlincers have now started to paint the inside. We hope to finish in the one full day that we have left in the village.

Time has gone by so fast and we are sad to say goodbye in what seems like a very quick two weeks.

Friday, July 24th

The last day in the village was not a somber one, but rather it was a day to celebrate our accomplishments and relationships.

The Youthlinc team has helped build two bridges, taught the locals health practices and English lessons, painted murals and laid concrete sidewalks.

What a neat experience we have had. We will forever treasure the bonds we’ve formed and the lessons we have learned.

We’ve learned to love, to completely emerge ourselves in the Peruvian culture and to get a little dirty.

Happy parting. -Kausha LeBeau, Peru Service Year Student