Three months ago this short bus ride marked the beginning of a journey.  Now the journey comes to an end.

The luggage was unloaded, then checked in at the counter.  Boarding passes, with seat assignments, were issued to each.  One more group photo.  One more chance to say goodbye.  Feeling sad to go, but happy to be going home.

We love you, students.  Be safe.  Travel well.

You are different now — more open, more experienced, more patient, more humble, more wise.  Let yourself stay different as you return to the familiar.  Remember what you have learned as you enjoy the comforting sights, sounds and smells of home.

From our family to yours, Merry Christmas!

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LETTER TO A DEAF CHILD IN PERU

Dear Somebody,

You are a somebody.  No matter how many people treat you like you are less than a person, you matter.  I know your teachers treat you like you are stupid, but you can do anything you put your mind to.  Even though the world acts like it doesn’t want you, God does, or He wouldn’t have made you.

Deaf people can do great things.  They can see more of the world around them – not just because their eyes are sharper, but because their hearts are more perceptive.  You can see and understand things that I never will.  That’s the most wonderful thing about you.  You can show the world how to really see.

I wish you could know how much you add to our lives.  Your laughter is the most beautiful sound on earth.  You don’t hold it in like hearing people or make it sound a certain way.  Your laughter is pure and I cherish every giggle.  I am sorry that your teacher doesn’t sign every word to you.  I wish you could hear the nicknames she has for you.  Mi amor, mi hijita.  She delights at the way you puff your cheeks when you talk about airplanes in the sky, but for some reason she doesn’t let it show.  The signs she knows how to show are “no,” “bad” and “pay attention.”

She keeps a stern look on her face, but that’s because she cannot see and understand the way you do.  She doesn’t know what a sensitive heart you have.

I am sorry that your parents don’t sign either.  It’s sad the way they ignore you.  Mommies and Daddies can be really great.  I promise that even though they don’t use your language they love you and all their thoughts are full of you.

I want you to know that there is a big world out there.  Beyond the walls of this school and out of the box people try to fit you in are endless possibilities.  You don’t have to sit on your hands, you don’t have to turn off your voice, you don’t have to shove hearing aids in your ears.  Keep your mind on those possibilities, dream big dreams for you, leave the box behind.  And when you make it out, and the world is at your fingertips, reach for it.  And then remember that you have something to offer us all.

Sincerely,

Your Hearing Admirer, Anna

IF I WERE A TREE

 If I were a tree,

What kind would I be?

As a falling leaf,

Could I be set free?

Where would I go,

And what would I touch?

Floating through the sky

Seeing so much.

Impossible gravity

Always pulling me down,

And yet always a wind

Blowing me around.

If I were a tree

What kind would I be?

Sky, gravity, wind

And their influence on me.

Benjamin

The post Perspectives appeared first on Peru Study-Service Term.

Topics included:

• Future of Shantytowns
• Flowers of the Rain Forest
• Coffee in Chanchamayo
• But My Baby Can Hear:  CODAs in Peru
• Newspapers of Ayacucho
• The Evangelical Church in Peru
• Tantawawa
• Deaf and/or Special Needs in Peru
• Cocona
• Quechua
• Pets in Peru
• Deaf Stories
• Discipline in Peru
• Trees in Lucre
• Dental Health
• Deaf Education
• The Fertility Fruit
• The Educational Program in the Jardin

After the presentations we discussed service:  which marginalized populations the students served, what motivated the people they worked with and what kinds of challenges they faced.

On Sunday morning we worshiped, shared and reflected.  Then we talked about returning to the US — what will it be like for the students to go back to their home cultures as transformed, bi-cultural people?

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Rosa assists Señora Gabriela, the main teacher of the older group of deaf children.  Ms. Gabi, as she is known here, is intent on teaching her students how to communicate with hearing people.  The children are taught how to sign and, more recently, are learning how to read and write in Spanish.  It should be pointed out that Peruvian Sign Language is its own unique language; each gesture of the hand and fingers forms a particular word.  As such, it is not a tool for simply spelling out Spanish words.  Most deaf children learn some form of sign language to communicate with their parents, whether formal signs or informal gestures.  But learning how to read and write Spanish, with its particular grammar and word order, is a skill that many deaf people never master.

Ms. Gabi wants her students to be truly bilingual, mastering sign language and Spanish.  In addition, she teaches the children how to vocalize particular sounds, focusing on the part of their mouth or throat where the sound is generated.  Rosa can relate to these children — her own hearing impairment makes her particularly qualified to assist Ms. Gabi in the task of teaching hearing-impaired children to pronounce words, using techniques that were taught to her as a child in North America.  Rosa’s personal experience is an inspiration to the students and her knowledge of sign language is a real asset in the classroom.  At Ms. Gabi’s side, she is helping the young boys and girls in her class to both understand and be understood.

Keyonna and Christine are volunteering in Señora Carmen’s class.  Due to space limitations, both classes meet in the same room.   Señora Carmen’s group is younger, and many are both deaf and diagnosed with nearly debilitating mental or physical development problems.  Keyonna has been tasked with giving one-on-one attention to Wilder, a 13-year-old boy who appears and acts much younger.  According to Señora Carmen, Wilder’s parents were willing to give him up for dead when he was younger, seeing his condition as so hopeless that any investment in prolonging his life, or giving him a chance to learn, seemed a waste of time and resources.  Spending time with Wilder, however, reveals a precious, adorable human being — with a great smile.  Keyonna has made slow but steady progress, teaching him how to write several vowels, a tremendous accomplishment given the obstacles to his development.  Her patience and dedication have resulted in a strong bond between Keyonna and her student.

Christine spends her mornings with a variety of children in Señora Carmen’s class.  One reportedly suffered a seizure lasting an hour and now shows little responsiveness to outside stimulation.  Others have learning disabilities that are less severe but troubling nonetheless.  Christine helps the children learn to write, to draw, to work on simple tasks, using sign language to communicate whenever possible.  The individual attention she warmly offers the girls and boys in her class is clearly helpful to the teacher and appreciated by her students.  The children are often scorned or ignored by society, including family members in many cases, and they need all the warmth and love they can get.

Christine, Keyonna and Rosa have opened their hearts and minds to young lives at San Martin School.  They have signed, smiled and found many ways to share what they have with children who live on the margins of society.  And the children have reciprocated, generously giving their trust, love and smiles to the students.  Together, Christine, Keyonna and Rosa — actually, all of our students this term — have followed Christ’s call to “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these” (Matthew 19:14).

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But there is another side to Cusco, a perspective seldom seen by foreign tourists.  Each year countless children are either born deaf or lose their hearing due to illness or injury.  Too often they receive little or no medical attention, and slip quietly into the background of mainstream society.  Many drop out of, or simply never enter, the school system.  Some find work in construction or as street vendors, selling sodas or snacks to passersby.  Many others resort to begging, handing strangers printed cards that explain their disability in Spanish or English and requesting a modest donation to help feed themselves and their families.

Most hearing-impaired Peruvians are, of course, intelligent and capable.  But learning how to communicate with hearing people, or with each other, can be difficult.  Sign language is used by some, though not all, personas sordas (deaf people).  But sign language is seldom taught in schools and, since it is not standardized, signs often vary from place to place.  The Peruvian government realizes that teaching sign language can help liberate and empower the deaf community, but it lacks qualified teachers and interpreters to promote its use, even in cities like Cusco and the nation’s distant capital, Lima.

Anna and Mia are volunteering at Centro Educativa Básico Especial San Francisco de Asís (San Francisco of Assisi Special Education Center), a school and children’s home managed by Catholic nuns with support from the Franciscan order.  All of the children who live and study here are deaf.  Anna and Mia are American Sign Language majors and practiced communicators.  Both are keen to learn the local variations of what is sometimes called Lengua de Señas Peruana (Peruvian Sign Language).  As teacher’s aids at the school, they spend each day in the classroom, assisting with instruction, individual supervision and behavior management.  Some of the teachers are fluent in sign; others, surprisingly, know very little.  Sometimes Anna and Mia find themselves in the role of interpreter, translating basic instructions and lessons from Spanish into sign language.  More often they support the teacher in other ways and give individual attention to children who need help functioning in a formal learning environment.  Anna and Mia are bright, patient and positive — essential qualities for helping deaf children learn and grow.

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Rebecca and Ame are volunteering at PROMESA, a private school that promises a “bilingual, Christ-centered education.”  The school was conceived as part of a three-pronged effort by workers from Eastern Mennonite Missions — education, health and church development.  PROMESA has been very successful, attracting children who attend the Mennonite churches in San Jerónimo, Huacarpay and Lucre as well as local children with catholic or evangelical backgrounds.  The curriculum emphasizes Christian values and classes are taught in both Spanish and English.  A third language, Quechua, is taught to the older children.  Each year the school adds another grade level and in several years it will offer the full range:  inicial (4 and 5 year olds), primaria (6 grades of primary school) and secundaria (5 grades of secondary school).

Rebecca assists Señora Alicia, the main teacher in the four-year old classroom — school starts here in March and ends in December so most of the children have already reached their fifth birthday.  Rebecca teaches basic English — colors, objects and simple vocabulary.  The hope is that early exposure to English words and sounds, especially when uttered by a native speaker, will give these children a head start when they study the language more extensively at the primary and secondary levels.  As in most parts of Peru, proficiency in English is seen as an important tool not only for communication with the myriad travelers who visit here each year but as a qualification for finding a job in a variety of sectors, including education, commerce, tourism and hospitality.  Rebecca is calm, patient and kind, characteristics that are invaluable in the classroom as she interacts each day with a lively group of four-year-olds.

Ame has been asked to teach English here as well, though in her case the assignment involves helping teachers at several grade levels, e.g. Ms. Bethany in the 3rd grade class.  Ame also assists in the library, spending time there at the close of each day helping students locate books, check them out for the evening and return them to the stacks the next morning.  The library has many titles in English as well as Spanish and keeping everything organized and orderly takes time and persistence.  More recently, Ame has been asked to work on a special assignment, helping to prepare the set for the upcoming Christmas drama, an adaptation in Spanish of “The Best Christmas Pageant Ever.”  Carrie, a long-time volunteer with the school, is designing the set and has asked Ame to help construct and paint the large panels that will  provide the backdrop.  Ame’s good-natured attitude and willingness to help out where needed make her a great fit for this assignment.

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Leanna volunteers with PROSIM, a health project founded by the Iglesia Evangelica Menonita del Peru (Mennonite Evangelical Church of Peru).  She lives in Huacarpay but travels widely … very widely.  In fact, Leanna may have set a record for the number of kilometers logged while on service in Peru.  She has accompanied PROSIM staff on multiple-day trips to Quechua-speaking communities high in the Andes with names like Colquemarca, Colca and Cotabambas.  The purpose of these visits is to teach basic health, hygiene and nutrition to families, mostly mothers, who continue to live off the land much as their ancestors did centuries ago.  While she is not traveling, Leanna assists medical staff at La Fuente Centro de Salud Integral (The Source Holistic Health Center) in nearby San Jeronimo.  Leanna’s adventuresome spirit and willingness to go anywhere is a blessing to the health professionals she accompanies each day and a demonstration of God’s love to our brothers and sisters in need.

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Brian is volunteering on a farm owned by elderly members of the church, Teodora and Victor, and their daughter, Margarita.  He has helped out in a variety of ways since he arrived in October.  Margarita is a pioneer among the villagers — she was the first to accept the offer of peach tree seedlings in a project established by the local government to diversify agriculture in this traditional farming community.  The rootstock of each young tree is grafted with a tasty variety of peach that has a good market among consumers and 160+ trees have been planted in one of the family’s fields near the river.  Brian helps to remove the leaves from the rootstock of each tree to favor the leaves that have emerged from the scion, or graft.  He has also planted potatoes and removed weeds from the corn planted among the trees to provide food for the family this season — the peaches won’t be ready for at least three more years.  To protect the field from intrusion by animals or thieves, Brian has planted a large number of spiny pakpaka plants on the fence row.   And when he is not busy in the fields, he does a little home improvement (e.g. the construction of a new floor in the second-story of the family’s adobe home), plays soccer with the children at Promesa School and spends time with his little brother, Jared.  Brian has a great attitude and a willing spirit and his host family appreciates the time and energy he has shared with them, both on their farm and in their home.

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Micah volunteers at a small Christian elementary school called Colegio William Thomson.  Founded by his host parents, Pastor Dionicio and Elizabeth, the school’s motto is to “forge a new generation with values”.  Micah teaches English to each class — 1st grade to 6th grade — on a rotating basis.  The lessons are relatively simple, focusing on greetings, vocabulary and pronunciation.  Micah, referred to here as “Mike,” also assists with physical education classes each Thursday, helping the instructor maintain order during karate class and keeping the ball in play during soccer matches.  The teachers appreciate having an aspiring teacher to assist them in their classes and help with a variety of other activities (e.g. “Can you hang these streamers on the ceiling?”).  Micah’s can-do attitude and his playful manner go a long way here.

Andrea volunteers at a private Christian preschool at the edge of town.  Her host parents, Raquel and Maximo, founded Institución Educativa Privada Inicial Vidas (Life Preschool) several years ago to give a head start to children in this poor neighborhood.  Andrea volunteers in both the younger (2-3 year old) and older (4-5 year old) classes.  She teaches basic English (“Can you name this color?”) in the hope that early exposure to English words and sounds will help the students learn this difficult language once they reach their teens or even twenties.   She also gives individual attention to these attention-starved children, most of whom have little opportunity to spend time with their parents given the economic and social realities of life on the margins.  Andrea’s friendly, patient demeanor is an asset in the classroom and the children adore having her in their midst.

Benjamin’s assignment is at Iglesia Evangélica Presbiteriana Emanuel de Ayacucho (Emanuel Evangelical Presbyterian Church of Ayacucho).  Emanuel is Hebrew for “God is With Us”.  Pastor Juan has asked Ben to assist with a wide variety of tasks — in fact, Ben is given an updated schedule each week to help make sure he is in the right place at the right time.  In the mornings he moves from class to class in the primary school adjacent to the church teaching what so many Peruvians want to learn:  yes, English.  During recess he interacts with the children on the playground.  After school, Ben assists with office work.  Recently he was asked to type the lyrics of a 170-page book of praise songs into a Word document — in Quechua!  The church staff could not believe how quickly he accomplished this task.  Near the end of the day Ben teaches English to others, including youth from the church and the pastor himself.   And then there is the unexpected:  on the day we visited the street outside the school was packed with people attending the funeral of a mother and son who attended the church, a tragic event that rocked the congregation.  Ben’s sensitive nature and willingness to be involved however he can suit him well for this work.

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Ana volunteers at an organization called AFADIPH that was founded several years ago to provide services to the families, especially the children, affected by the armed conflict — many still struggle to make sense of their move from their farms and rural villages to this growing city.  Ana supports program staff, teaches English and works with a group of youth that is focused on leadership development.  She has been asked to design a workshop for women and another for children to help broaden their perspectives.  Ana is eager to help and has found a variety of ways to engage with the organization’s constituents and staff.  On the day we visited she and one of the lead staff members, Pastor Samuel, pulled out their guitars and sang us a song written about a battle fought on Huanta’s main plaza two decades ago.  It is hoped that acknowledging the pain of this period in Peru’s history in an honest and dignified way will help those who were present move forward and, God willing, keep history from repeating itself.

Danae volunteers at the Iglesia Evangélica Presbiteriana y Reformada en el Perú — Cristo Rey (Christ the King Presbyterian Reformed Evangelical Church of Peru).  The pastor and staff of this congregation have invited her to assist in a variety of activities.  In the mornings she works as a teacher’s aid in the preschool that serves neighborhood children.  She begins her day with the older (3-5 year-old) children and afterwards spends an hour or so with the toddlers — this group is particularly adorable.  Given the high student-teacher ratio, Denae’s calm presence helps bring order to the day’s activities.  In the evenings she is involved in programs for youth as well as for women from the church.  And in the afternoons Danae teams up with Ana to teach English to neighborhood teens — this group is anxious to learn and overflowing with energy.

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