The children at the school thank Jhetsamyra for the library.

This past year, Awamaki had the privilege of hosting the Youth Ambassadors Program with South America (YAPSA), a program of the U.S. Department of State. This program sends youth from the U.S. to Peru and Bolivia, and youth from Peru and Bolivia to visit the U.S. We have enjoyed facilitating the exchange of experiences with the groups of talented youth ambassadors who visited us. We have also enjoyed getting to know the Peruvian ambassadors who visited the U.S.

 

One of the requirements of participants is creating and implementing a project that contributes to the improvement of their community. On January 28, one of our Peruvian ambassadors, Jhetsamyra Baca, inaugurated her finished project in Amaru. The small indigenous community above Pisac celebrated the dedication of a new interactive library for their primary school. Yovana, our president, and Laura, who oversaw the YAPSA program, attended the happy event.

A big part of Jhetsamyra’s project was the promotion of gender equality. Before the dedication, she went up to the primary school to do a workshop with the students. At first, the children were indignant – especially the young boys who were made to take care of baby dolls. By the end of the workshop, even the most stubborn child got caught up in her/his activity.

At Awamaki, we loved seeing a young person from a rural village in Cusco go out into the world and bring something back for her community. We think this is just the beginning for Jhetsamyra!