It was International Youth Day yesterday, 12th August, so we thought we would post to acknowledge the day and let you know a little of what we get up to ‘behind the scenes’…
Amongst our other contributions to the local community and sustainability (see this link for details of our projects https://www.apus-peru.com/responsible-travel/community_projects.htm ), Apus Perú have worked to support a Mosqoy student here in Cusco and we have in our current employment an ex student of Mosqoy, Adrian.
We thought it would be a nice idea to offer Adrian the opportunity to give his side of the story. But first, here’s a little about the Mosqoy organisation… Mosqoy means ‘Dream’ in Quechua and was founded in the Peruvian Andes in 2006, by Canadian and Peruvian youth. Their mission in Peru is to “help break the cycle of poverty that impacts the indigenous Quechua people of the Andean mountains by providing post-secondary educational opportunities for the region’s promising youth”. Their mission links in very nicely with our approach of seeking out projects which recognize that insiders (Andean Peruvians) and outsiders (foreigners) all have strengths and weaknesses – and that by working collaboratively we can reach best practice. As Mosqoy appropriately quote ‘hand-up instead of a hand-out.’
For many of the higher Andean communities the cycle of poverty is escalating while their traditional way of life is increasingly threatened. Mosqoy´s aim is for this to be alleviated by providing students in Peru with opportunities for advanced education, enabling Andean youth to possess the tools necessary to be local leaders and role models! A philosophy that is core to our commitment to making a positive and sustainable contribution to the quality of life for rural Andean communities.
And now over to Adrian:
Hello my name is Adrian Jimenez Suma. I’m from Ollantaytambo and live in the community Mandolista. I have 3 brothers, I studied tourism in 2006 with the help of the NGO Mosqoy.
It was a beautiful experience to be a part of Mosqoy, they helped me a lot in my life and that is why I always stay in touch with them. I was with Mosqoy for four years; three years as a student and one year as manager of the students. My job was to organize trips with students, to support social aid work in the communities of Rio Mapacho, and one of the trips was to Rumira Sondormayo it was there where I met Apus Peru!
When I finished my contract with Mosqoy I spent a long time without work and then I found an adevrtisement for Apus Peru, I contacted them the same day and the next day began working!
I have now been working with Apus Peru for 1 year. My work is in the area of stock preparation equipment for treks and I have occasionally worked with Threads of Peru (www.threadsofperu.com) as a Quechua to Spanish translator. What I like about Apus is that my co-workers are friendly and they all work well as a team, we all help each other and I like traveling with Threads, because I can show my culture by speaking Quechua. I am also studying English and would like to join Apus, not as caretaker but as a guide, I hope to have that opportunity.
Thanks for making me part of Apus Peru. Thank you Adrian for sharing your story!
