AYP: Hellos, Goodbyes, and all in between

April, 2013: Casa Mosqoy is experiencing some very exciting times, and would like to welcome two new volunteers to the house:

Leah with some students on her last night

Kristina and Maggie. Kristina is the new Andean Youth Program Manager, and Maggie is the new Textile Coordinator and Community Liason with the Qente Society.  The past few weeks have been focused on allowing them to settle in, getting to know the house and students, and their prospective jobs. As two new volunteers enter, we are sad to be saying goodbye to three dedicated volunteers who have offered so much of their time and energy to the entire Mosqoy organisation: Jose Luis, the Resident Advisor, is staying until the end of April when he beings a new chapter in his life. Adrian, the current program administrator, is in the process of moving on from Mosqoy to his professional career in Cusco. Leah, the Textile Coordinator and Community Liason is heading back to Canada at the beginning of May to spend the summer working on Salt Spring Island.

The students are also experiencing their own changes: Mosqoy 5 students have all officially started their studies and are extremely excited to be starting their post-secondary education while Mosqoy 3 are wrapping up. The students have completed their theoretical courses, and have only one course left to gain their titles. We are exceptionally proud of these students and what they have achieved, and we are excited to include them in our upcoming alumni network. Mosqoy 4 students are continuing on in their schooling and participating actively in Mosqoy events.

(L to R) Leah, Luzmila and Maggie on
the highway in Huaran

The most recent large volunteer project was the Annual Qente Encuentro, hosted by Leah and Maggie in Calca. On April 8, all six weaving communities joined together in Calca in the Sacred Valley to share knowledge and participate in a fair-trade pricing workshop. Leah worked hard to have the CBC (Centro Bartolome de las Casas) offer the successful workshop, which was offered entirely in Quechua. Four of the Mosqoy 5 students traveled to Calca early in the morning to volunteer, they helped in the set up and acted as the cooks and one, Raul, was the translator

During the Encuentro, Mosqoy had the pleasure of meeting a representative from Global Giving: Carla. Carla attended the Encuentro in Calca, and also came to the Mosqoy house for dinner on Tuesday night where we had a little despedida (goodbye party) for Leah, who left on Wednesday to do some travelling before heading north. Mosqoy is excited about new connections, with a focus on increasing visibility in Peru and developing our capacity building programs. We look forward to sharing any new relationships and initiatives developing for Mosqoy in Cusco and the Sacred Valley.from Spanish to Quechua and vice-versa during the morning presentations by Leah and respective communities. Clayda, Carmen and Marilyn made a delicious menu including squash soup and a chicken stew. We were fortunate to have been loaned a beautiful garden to host the event by Sra. Antonieta, a friend of the Qente Society.

During the Encuentro, Mosqoy had the pleasure of meeting a representative from Global Giving: Carla. Carla attended the Encuentro in Calca, and also visited the Mosqoy house for dinner when we had a despedida (goodbye party) for Leah, who left to do some travelling before heading north. Mosqoy is excited about new connections, with a focus on increasing visibility in Peru. We look forward to sharing any new relationships and initiatives happening in Cusco and the Sacred Valley!

(L to R) Raul, Jose Luis, and Leah listening to
weavers give presentations during the Qente Encuentro