In an effort to reinvigorate a preexisting youth group in Poroto, I’ve been working with a Peruvian NGO to develop the leadership in the group and begin to plan activities to benefit the community. One of the first activities we plan to do is a chocolotada in Huayabito, the furthest and most isolated caserios in the district. A chocolotada is a Christmas activity where chocolate, cake, and presents are given to children and community members in need. Today we woke up early and travelled to the caserio with about 6 teenagers who are involved in the youth group. The trip to Huayabito is about 3 hours walking, but in addition to walking the boys also brought a donkey and a bicycle to assist with our travel. The donkey was not a happy camper, so he needed quite a bit of encouragement to continue up the steep passageways and winding roads, especially when two of the girls decided to ride him. Additionally, the bike wasn’t of much help to anyone as the trip was primarily up hill.
When we finally arrived in Huayabito under the warm morning sun we travelled around to the different houses in the community to inform them of the Christmas event we were planning as well as to generate a list of children’s sex and ages for our gift preparation. It was a beautiful day, although a little sunny. The caserio is far removed from the main center of Poroto and remains isolated from many of the resources available to the rest of the population. For this reason, I think it’s important for the youth of Poroto to acknowledge how others within their community live. The youth seem enthusiastic about reaching out to those in need, and I think this activity should be a good opportunity for them to see a different part of their district. Although poverty is evident throughout Poroto, there are definitely areas with fewer opportunities.
As we were returning from our trip we were all pretty tired from the long walk and early morning. As we descended, two boys were riding their bike down the steep rocky road when they hit a rough patch and tumbled off. Bleeding but laughing they examined the damage sustained by their bicycle, which literally broke in half. From that point the unhappy donkey was forced to carry the bicycle pieces as we scampered down the remaining paths.
Following our morning trip to Huayabito we began preparation for our surprise party for Joshy, my host sister who is turning 17. I made an enormous chocolate cake that turned out much better than my last attempt. They don’t really use mixers here, and my host mom was convinced that a fork wouldn’t be sufficient, so I ended up using my hands to mix the cake batter. I was literally up to my forearms in gooey chocolate cake batter, but it was pretty delicious. We sent Joshy off with her friends as we decorated the living room with streamers, balloons, snacks, and a piñata. As 8:00 approached and we were awaiting her arrival very few people had shown up. In typical Peruvian fashion, all of her friends arrived just moments before her and it was quite a struggle to keep 20+ teenagers quiet in the dark as we anticipated her return. Luckily she was surprised and the party was a success, complete with dancing, lots of food, and music.
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