Monday
It is my turn to go to a town near to where we are staying called Huaro. I went the square in the town and caught a collective taxi, this basically means you get in a taxi that goes to and from Huaro all day and wait for it to fill up (literally fill up, boot included). When I got to Huaro I had no idea where I had to go so I walked down to the square and saw a lady sweeping up in front of the church. I decided to ask her where the organization was. Luckily, she was the one who has to open the doors to the building where the organisation is based in Huaro. So, I sat inside and waited for people to come having being told to be there at half 8, nobody came until about half 9. I met the teacher that works there and the lawyer who I had met previously and who I am going to be working with. She showed me around the building which has the same set out as the one where we are staying except for one room, the “lutería” where they have a project with a famous opera singer making instruments. After we went to the office and she told me about a case she was dealing with where an 18-year-old girl was pregnant by her father and this happened when she was underage. She told me all the details of how she is trying to help this girl but the justice system doesn’t want to do anything. Throughout the day lots of people came asking for help and telling their story which was interesting but very sad at the same time, I had to hold back tears a few times.
The organisations building in Huaro
Instrument workshop
Tuesday
The next day I was able to go with the boss to a meeting at the town hall to create a network against human trafficking. Lots of different organisations came from all over the province and after hours and hours of discussion they created the network. We also went to the RENIEC which is a state institution that deals with identification cards, they transferred us a case of an old lady who is trying to access a state program that gives money to those over 65 but they need this card. In order to get the card, you need your birth certificate and other documents to corroborate. This ladies birth certificate didn’t coincide with her christening certificate, the date of birth actually reads “4 days since birth” instead of an actual date. The plan is to get hold of the vicar who initially wrote this certificate and see if he will modify it.
My seat at the back of the meeting
Wednesday
We stayed in Urcos scanning acts during the morning and in the afternoon the piano player we went to see in Cusco the week before came to do a workshop with the kids. He had some of them help play different songs and as many had never even seen a piano before it was really exiting for them. We also met the psychologist who helps in the organisation, he is Spanish and has been here since February, he gave us some tips on what to do during the weekends.
Workshop with Juan José Chuquisengo
Unwritten Adventures 