I left London in the midst...

By Ruth Van Dyke

I left London in the midst of a long cold spell and arrived in Lima on February 5th 2009 at the height of summer. I quickly changed my winter coat and boots for shorts and a t-shirt, before making my first trip to Nevo House, a five minute walk from my host family. I marvelled at my transformed world as I walked into the cul-de-sac of brightly painted houses, surrounded by tropical flowers. Hummingbirds darted about and green parrots chattered to each other overhead.

The welcome I received at Nevo House was a constant during my entire stay. I came here regularly for Spanish classes, cultural activities and on weekends to meet up with other volunteers and to use the computer to email family and friends. Most of my time was spent elsewhere in Miraflores with Capital Humano y Social Alternativo (CHSA), an NGO dealing with the trafficking of Peruvians.

I came to Peru in order to take a break from my job as a senior lecturer in social policy at London South Bank University. Serendipity played a part in my Peruvian adventure, as about the time I was thinking of taking a leave of absence, Carolina Benevides and Ximena Querol, the directors of Nexos Voluntarious came to see the professor of development studies that I shared an office with. I heard their description of the voluntary programme they offered to students and asked if there were opportunities for academics. They told me about the career break scheme and three months later I wrote and asked to join the programme. I committed to the Nexos ethos of westerners making a contribution to the development of Peru, but at the same time learning more the country they lived in as a volunteer – its history, its languages, its culture.

Based on my interest in equality and human rights and my very limited Spanish, a project undertaking research on the trafficking of Peruvians to Europe was negotiated with CHSA. I worked at CHSA from Monday to Thursdays and spent the first few weeks reading a range of documents on human trafficking in Latin America and Europe, and contacting a wide range of organisations who dealt with victims of trafficking in Europe. I also started investigating the factors that push Peruvians to migrate and the factors that encourage them to come to Europe. As a result of my research I became aware of how a range of actions in Europe are fuelling human trafficking. These included immigration policies that limited the migration of less skilled workers to Europe despite the economic need for them, particularly in Italy and Spain. Also the growth of the sex industry in Europe increased demand for cheap sex workers. Peruvians were only one of many nationalities caught up the complex network of factors that have fuelled human trafficking. At the end of my two months voluntary work I was able to produce a 30 page report identifying the destinations of victims of trafficking of people from the Andean community, some of the reasons underpinning their being trafficked to Europe, and some recommendations for action.

As a social policy academic I wanted to know more about how Peru dealt with social welfare. Prior to coming to Peru I did some research and obtained a number of academic texts that I took with me. The World Bank Report on social policy within Peru raised a number of questions that I wanted answered – why did the government spend so little money on health, education and social services compared to other Latin American countries? Maricarmen Valdivieso arranged for me to meet a number of people to find out more about Peruvian politics and why there is so little government support for social welfare measures. The opportunity to find out more about aspects of Peru of interest to specific volunteers is a strength of the Nexos Voluntarios programme.

Nexos Voluntarios also organised a second voluntary experience for me and my daughter in the northern city of Piura. The two of use worked as volunteers in the Parrish of Sacristimento for almost one week. An American priest has presided over this Parrish for fourteen years, and in this time has used his American contacts to create a number of donor schemes which have funded a wide range of social welfare activities within Piura. We worked with a number of different Parrish staff (social workers, builders, the nurse) on different projects. We bought animals at the market and delivered them to families. We brought food packages or new cook stoves and charcoal to other families. We built a house for a woman and her children who had recently left a women’s shelter. We worked with the nurse in providing care for some elderly people in rural villages.

Undertaking these activities was an eye opening experience. It provided insight into how many Peruvians live, and the way in which voluntary programmes can be very important for meeting basic needs or for helping people improve their economic position. It was also a humbling experience, as our small contributions were greeted with great thanks and we were effusively welcomed into many homes.

Being a volunteer for Nexos Voluntarios was a life transforming experience for me and my family. I learned many things about Peru, on a continent I had never visited before. I made a first real attempt at engaging with another language – Spanish at my ‘advanced’ age of 55. I had a great time undertaking the many trips and workshops with my volunteer friends Lily and Sofia. A highlight was swimming with sea lions. I have gained some knowledge of social welfare within Peru which is professionally valuable. Finally I both learned about and contributed to the understanding of trafficking of Peruvians to Europe for Capital Humano y Social Alternativo.