Visiting Schools

One of the purposes of the OAT program is to introduce travelers to the people of the area. The people who started OAT also began a foundation to help the local people with projects. One of the chosen places is a school in Urubamba - a fairly large city on the way to Machu Picchu. When we arrived, the children in third and fourth grade came running out to meet us. Luana grabbed me, and when she found out Don was my esposo, she grabbed him, too. We were taken to a classroom where we were asked to sit down in very short chairs. Then after introductions, we drew pictures to teach words to the children and then for them to teach them to us. Luana really liked to color and draw . . . and we learned more than two words! Afterwards, we went outside to dance the Hokey Pokey, and I ended up leading it. It was quite fun, though I was fairly winded afterwards - I haven't done that at 9000+ feet in a long time - if ever! The children were very cute and happy, but their supplies and resources were very slim. I didn't see many books, though they had plenty of paper and crayons. Interestingly, one project that has been done in many schools is to build shade structures over the play areas to prevent cancer, and this school had one. The next project for the Foundation is to build a dining area. Being in the school brought front and center the educational needs of the small towns in Peru - and other third-world countries.