We have all been touched by this experience. Everyone has been affected in different ways, but each person has gained something positive from this spectacular trip. What is most important, and one of the things we all realized while being here, is that this was not just a trip where we helped kids. We got an impression of the people we have been helping, and we realized that we need to continue to support these projects. To conclude this blog, we have all written a Statement of Intent, where we mention what we have gained and what we plan to do in the future and when we get back to Denmark.



I gained more from this experience than I could ever have imagined. While at Mama Cocha, I realized how important it is that we sustain the centre and continue to give kids who come from desperate situations a safe and loving home. This is important because we cannot let them return to those conditions now they’ve been given a new life. My goal is to raise awareness for the cause outside the CIS community through presentations, and thereby finding sponsors for Mama Cocha. I have also learned that young people can make a difference, and I want to encourage teenagers to do so.

Helena


For myself, this trip has been a whirlwind of amazing experiences, indescribable emotions, and extraordinary people. I will never be able to fully describe the extent that all of these experiences have touched me as well as how much they have woken me up and realized I can, and will make a change. Everything I have seen throughout this trip has really showed me that there is hope and smiling faces even in the darkest of situations. I cannot wait to get back to Denmark and spread awareness about our cause. Thanks to everyone here, I am as motivated and determined as ever to encourage everyone to take the time and support and understand this amazing cause. It really does change lives.

Madison


Coming to Peru has been an eye-opener for me. Seeing the horrific conditions present in Peru and how harsh the life, which is supposed to be a privilege, is in many places within the borders of Peru are has made me realize that I need to make a change. However, I believe that many more can be motivated to help out as well, and not only within CIS and in my own community, but around the world. I will keep donating money and devote much of my time to spread awareness for Kiya Survivors.

Oliver

During this trip, my loyalty towards Kiya has done nothing but strengthened, as I realized, not only by physically seeing and being able to touch everything we’ve worked towards, but by meeting the children, and talking to them as well. After spending 17 unforgettable days at Peru, I am even more inspired to continue to support Kiya. Back at home, I will strive to make sure to get as many people as involved as possible, and convince people that they can make a change, whatever it is.

Silvia



My first set of feelings when first experiencing the reality of Kiya were guilt and depression. However, Benjamin Ward, the team and the sight of how volunteers such as Alex Sund Nielsen worked with the kids showed me that volunteering isn’t about feeling sad for others other wise you don’t get any work done and helped me channel those feelings into positive energy and inspiration. This showed me that I have the capabilities and opportunities to do great things but I don’t try hard enough so as soon as I get back to Denmark I will work harder on school work and my personal skills.

Achille



Coming to Peru would be an eye opener, I knew that before I came, but to really gaze upon the faces that Kiya aids, wow, what an elixir of feelings. Depression, guilt, a sense of helplessness and then an overpowering feeling of zeal. The important part or experiencing these feelings is that you can make them into a good or a bad thing. If one focuses on the bad emotions, it is hard to escape the sensation of not knowing what to do. However, if you use these feelings to fuel yourself you can really make a change to these children. I will offer continuing, long term support to Kiya Survivor and The Next Explorers in my adult life either through my ideal profession or financial aid through my ideal profession.

Sebastian




Seeing Luis was one of the most harrowing moments of my life. I left Mama Cocha very affected, with a lot of conflicting emotions. But in all these emotions, I find overtones of determination and motivation. A lot of the motivation that I leave Peru with is going to be channelled into humanitarian work, trying to provoke concrete and social change. Whether that means working harder in school to get my grades up to a level where I can put myself into a position of power as an adult, continuing working with TPDK, or using my gap year to work with organizations similar to Kiya, I am determined to do it all with fervent dedication. In the long run and in the short run, indirectly and directly, I'm going to keep striving in my efforts for individuals like Luis.

Philip P



When I return, my goal is to spread awareness. I love children and I could work with them, but my energy is better spent in public relations. Getting my point across is what I’m truly good at. And that is what I am going to do. I’m going to support Mama Cocha by getting others to support it, through awareness and long-term support.

Benjamin VD



This trip has woken me up from the “hibernation” I’ve been in for the past six months. It has made me believe fully in the concept of teenagers being able to make a difference in the world and it has made me want to fight more for the children in Peru. In particular, I want to fight for the children at Mama Cocha since they truly were my greatest source of inspiration. Therefore I intend to support the idea of “The Next Explorers” in any way I can when I get back to Denmark. I also intend to, through various methods, make people understand the way I felt in Peru – as I believe this would persuade people to want to help more than a simple presentation.

Sara




It is so hard to even begin or describe the massive impact this trip has had on me, while the lessons and unforgettable experiences I have had will stay with me, forever. Being at the centers, interacting with the kids, and seeing the physical developments has just been so inspiring, and has motivated me to fight even harder for Team Peru and Kiya Survivors. Seeing some of the horrible conditions in which many of the kids have come from, I have made a sort of list of personal goals and things that I would like to work on when I return to Denmark. Firstly, Spreading awareness about this cause is a number one, but finding a permanent sponsor for the Mama Cocha Center and the Rainbow Center, is one of the things that I will try to work on. Secondly, is to act as a sort of representative for the “Next Explorers” as the voice of a teenager, to show how young people are and can make a difference. Finally, a personal thing that I would like to work on, is to try and personally raise the money to support Alicia every month, to ensure her safety and keep her in Mama Cocha and out of the streets.


Philip S




It cannot be described. It being everything I have experienced on this trip. This trip has been a slap from reality, a wake up call that has made me and the amazing people around me realize that we can make a difference. I therefore intend to keep the bond between the group strong, because together, we can and will make tangible change.


Olivia




This trip has left a massive impact on all of Team Peru, and no one can truly express or reflect upon the emotions we have shared here in a piece of writing. We can however show it in our dedication and devotion towards Team Peru, and what Team Peru stands for. This is why; when I get home I will fight to achieve the personal goals this mindblowing experience brought upon me. I will strive to create a method to gain the communities support at the centers even further, and to work with improving the community so that the children at both centers also feel home, in their home. I will educate myself fully to gain a high power to therefore inforce my impact on the children down here.
 Their weakness is not our weakness but our strength can be their strength. 
From this trip I will of course also try to hold up the unique bond we in Team Peru have had. Never have I been in sucha large group where everyone trusted each other. We worked together, we cried together, and we laughed together. I have learned to care less for actual matter and more for the peace of mind and soul. Materials truly don’t matter aslong as you have good friends and a set of parents, which trust you enough to send you to Peru. This trip has changed my life, but right now all I have left to say is Mom and Dad I hope you’re reading this and I love you both with all my heart, see you tomorrow.


Fred





Peru has opened my eyes and made me more greatful towards my life. My main goal is to get people to understand that giving a little changes a lot and u really want to get people to care as much as we do. I want to show people how powerful Team Peru and Kiya Survivors are and how they better the life’s of children. I want to get more people involved and make them see the state that these children are in and how they are desperate for right-now help and long time support. I really want Team Peru’s family to grow.


Bea



People live in poverty, hunger, and abuse in too many places on our globe. It is unethical to take these people out of this hard and hopeless life just for a period of time to later send them back to where they came from. Sustainability is the only decent way to work with human rights. In this case, special needs children in Peru who are looked upon as God’s Curse. Through Team Peru, I will work to secure the sustainability of Kiya Survivors as it is a safe haven for abandoned Peruvian children.

Charlotte Zeeberg


To provide students the opportunity to learn through doing is, I believe, the most valuable education possible. The highlight of this trip for me has undoubtedly been the 13 Team Peru students: the pride they take in their work, the care and love they have shown the children at Kiya Survivors, the maturity displayed when times got tough and the lengths they have gone to make the impossible possible.
My future as an educator has been shaped forever. My promise to the world is to spend my time and energy to create student led opportunities for students from around the world to work collaboratively on projects that require them to look at themselves and discover the world they live in, to learn through sampling the different perspectives of the billions of people who live in Earth and to be able to see the rewards of their hard work. It will be a long long road.

Daniel Cooper


From reading the previous statements, you can see how powerful the will of young people can be when they want to help and have the opportunity to do so. Therefore, I will dedicate my life to provide a platform for young people to make the change they desire. I will do this by founding “The Next Explorers”: an organization with the mission to develop a dynamic learning community to inspire youth to take positive action towards real, sustainable change in the world. I will travel across the globe spreading the message that young people can make change, whilst giving them the support to see that change become a reality.

Ben Ward

Being at the Rainbow Centre was amazing, touching and very eventful. However, I was star struck when I saw Mama Cocha. It was a mixture of seeing the raw conditions that the centre finds itself in and witnessing the part of Peru that is neglected by its government and the rest of the world. Mama Cocha is an oasis in the midst of all this darkness and that is what struck me. I had taken part in building this centre and through my donations as well as Team Peru’s support, this centre is able to exist and sustain itself.
Oliver Petersen

In the midst of raw reality lies a house, an oasis full of love and laughter. The contrast between the barren streets of Los Organos and the compassionate Mama Cocha house is striking, and can be spotted even with an ignorant eye. Although not forgotten, tramautizing pasts are not to haunt the purity and happiness of this sanctuary.
Olivia

The hardest part of the day was meeting Louis’s mother. To give a bit of context, Louis is a child with Cerebral Palsy who was recently moved into Mama Cocha due to the conglomerate efforts of several of the Team Peru parents. When he moved into the home last week he was 11 years old and he weighed a meagre 12 kilograms. He was on the verge of death. Amazingly he is doing better, but nevertheless had he not been moved into the home last week he would have been dead by now.

But, to my story: On April 1st, I was sitting with Louis and chatting with the surrogate mother: the one overseeing Louis’s recovery. Then the surrogate mother told me that this lady I was sitting next to was Louis’s mother; and I was stunned to silence. I looked at her and made eye contact with the mother for nearly five full seconds. Anger: that was my first thought. I wanted to yell at her. To scream and make her understand what injustice she had done by abandoning her child. To show her she was in the wrong.

But I caught myself. I realized she had no comprehension or awareness of what had been done wrong. To her no social injustice had been committed. And we sat in silence: my head spinning. The world stopped and my heart skipped a beat. I looked down at Louis. Gazed at his frail body and his hollow eyes as he laid there fighting off the Reaper.

Then I looked back up at his mother and managed to choke out, at a barely audible pitch: “Tienes un hijo bonito”. In English: “You have a beautiful son”. The only thing my wasted soul could do after that was stand up and walk out of the room.

How could she do this? Even a mother can be made to forget the pain of her own child with enough ignorance. My only hope is to one day eradicate this ignorance. To make people understand that disabled children are not a curse or part of some Divine Will.

And he is beautiful. I meant it. I can only hope that Louis’s mother will one day come to understand that.

Ben VD

A giant he sits,
paralyzed by ignorance.

Care grabs his small hand,
a testament of Man’s hope.

Soon the cripple moves,
after passing through nightmares.

Now he laughs all day,
Jose Antonio plays.

Seb G

Jose Antonio was discovered three years ago, and has been living at Mama Cocha for two years now. Fighting cerebral palsy, Jose has made stunning improvements. Having started off not being able to move his limbs at all, it was incredible to see him finally be able to feed himself, after intense therapy. His immense achievement was awe-inspiring to everyone at the center.

- Silvia Allikmets

Yesterday, we arrived at Mama Cocha full of energy to work on the painting we had started the day before. We finished painting the walls of the courtyard, which immediately brought life to the place, as it was bare and a bit dull before. It is amazing what a bit of bright-colored paint can do!

After a morning of hard work in the heat, we had a surprise celebration, organized by Suzy, the kids and the staff at the center. They gave us a huge cake that said “Gracias, Team Peru” and handed us certificates for our contribution. We presented them with pictures that the PYP children had drawn, and gifts for the center, such as clothes, stuffed animals and equipment for arts and crafts. We enjoyed the kids’ company and expressed our appreciation towards the staff for putting so much energy and dedication into the center.

When we got back to our amazing beach house, we had a barbeque with Suzy and the Kiya volunteers to celebrate all the effort we have put into Mama Cocha. Although we are very proud of all the work we have put into the center over these past eight months, we are determined to keep supporting this project. In the two days we were at Mama Cocha, we made some amazing connections with the kids and it was incredible to see how we made it possible for them to be happy and have a positive future.

Today, we are processing all our thoughts and experiences of the trip, as there is a lot to take in. It has been an eye-opening experience for everyone.

Bea & Helena