Mancos is an Andean village located in the foothills of Peru's highest peak, Huascaran. Chelsea is working there with her host mother, Noemi, to develop an after school arts program for children in the community. Our hope is that she will be able to bring opportunities for artistic expression, including new techniques and media, to the students with whom she meets each week. Chelsea has also begun assisting the English teacher at the local secondary school in the mornings, a steep kilometer's walk down the hill from her home.

Izamar and Krista live further down the valley, called the Callejon de Huaylas, that divides two mountain ranges. They are working on a new project developed by the municipal government of Caraz to promote sustainable tourism in this region. They assist the office of business and tourism with a variety of projects each morning, from tabulating visitor data to updating a directory of tourist services and facilities.

In the afternoons Izamar and Krista teach English to students at a local secondary school and a nearby institute, helping those who will one day interact with foreign visitors learn necessary vocabulary and useful expressions. The hope is that North American and European visitors looking for an authentic Peruvian experience that is off the beaten track will choose to spend some of their time and money in Caraz or the small farming communities that surround it. This economic activity could help stem the tide of migration from this scenic valley to larger cities as people search for work and opportunity.