How YOU can help teenage girls in Peru!!

Coming up in a month or two, the Peace Corps Volunteers of Ancash will be putting on a weekend long over night girls camp for adolescent and teens from our communities. The camp will focus on self-esteem, leadership, and sexual education; topics that are very important for the growth of teenage girls but are also very seldomly focused on in Peru. In order to do this camp, we need donations from our friends and family in the US! This is one of the only things we do as Peace Corps Volunteers in which the Peace Corps actually allows us to ask for donations from people in the US.

If you wish to donate or would like to learn more about the camp please visit: https://donate.peacecorps.gov/index.cfm?shell=donate.contribute.projDetail&projdesc=13-527-013

Any donations of any amount are GREATLY APPRECIATED!! 

¡¡Muchas Gracias!!
Thank you very much!

A trip back to Ecuador!!

For those of you who don't know, I spent 6 months living in Quito, Ecuador during 2011. I was studying abroad and volunteering at an orphanage and also just having a fabulous time traveling around and getting to know Ecuador. I totally fell in love with Ecuador and everything about and I made so many amazing relationships with families and friends while I was there so thankfully Peru isn't too far from Ecuador ;) This past week I went back to Ecuador for a week to visit and I brought along a Peace Corps friend of mine. It took us about 30 hours on the bus to get to Ecuador from where we live in Peru but it was totally worth it! We had an amazing visit! In a matter of 6 days we went to the beach, the sierra, and to the jungle! I love my beautiful Ecuador <3

We spent our first few days visiting my favorite little beach town Montañita:

  Then we reunited with my amazing artist friend Adriana and headed to her brother's house in the beautiful jungle in a little town called Cielo Verde! 

Adriana makes art out of recycled products and things she finds in nature.

A tree that produces rubber!

Such beautiful girls!

Nature walk sin the jungle :)

Jungle fruit!

I adore them so much :) They are my family!

I love the jungle!

Then we spent a few days in Quito, one of my favorite cities in the entire world:

Quito lovin' <3

My favorite park :)

My friend and I bought some artwork from my friend Adriana :)

The beautiful historic district of Quito!

 While in Quito we also visited the orphanage where I volunteered. The kids are as sweet and precious as always!! :) 

 Here are some photos of my last night with my "family" in Quito. I love them so much!! 

  And of my "family" in Guayaquil (the big city on the coast of Ecuador :)

On the bus leaving Ecuador!

Heading back home! Entering the border into Peru. 

Beautiful Faces of Huallanca

Nestled in the mountains, I am constantly surrounded by beauty here in Huallanca. But the beauty is not only of the mountains and nature, it is also of the local children and people who live here.

I wanted to share some photos of the beautiful faces of children and locals that I work with or just see in the street on a daily basis here in Huallanca :)