Casa Acogida

Happy Fourth of July from Cusco, Peru! It is weird being in a foreign country on such a big American holiday and I will miss the fireworks and cook out that usually fills this summer day with family back home.

I went to my new placement on Friday morning at Casa Acogida, the shelter for girls who have suffered sexual abuse and been taken from their homes. They ranged from age 13 to 18 and were the sweetest girls I have met yet during my time here in Peru. This was the placement that I had wanted originally and for my entire time here in Cusco because of what I am interested in with my career path in social work and the work I have done with my internship at Sexual Trauma Services in Columbia, SC. Unfortunately, due to lack of available volunteer space I am now only left with a week with the girls. There are only about 25-30 or so girls that live there and Maximo Nivel has the time slot of 9-11 am to have 3 volunteers do their visits. During the rest of the day other volunteer programs send people out so that it is organized and not too overcrowded for the girls.

I arrived at the shelter with a staff member from Maximo around 9:30 am. The shelter is just about a 10 minute walk from the main plaza but since it is down to the last week and I am running low on money, I think that I will have to resort to taking the combi in order to save money because they only cost .60 cents while a taxi is 3 soles. When I arrived I was introduced to about 8 of the girls who had just finished playing volleyball and they were now resting and making beaded jewelry under some rafters that let a little bit of sun shine through. I met the other two volunteers there, one who is from Oregon and the other from Holland.

The shelter was a lot larger than I had expected. I was let in the locked front door into an open courtyard where laundry was hanging to dry. To the left was another huge open area with a small statue and all of the girls rooms were circled around that area. The psychologist office was at the end of the courtyard and outside it had uplifting jokes, the daily schedule and recommendations for how the girls can keep their spirits up. I was sitting with the girls in the volleyball court and there was a kitchen connected where some of the girls had started to cook lunch. They were making rice with onions and French fries and some orange fruit punch to drink.

I had my camera out and they all wanted me to take their pictures while they prepared lunch. Afterward they were so excited by their pictures that they made me promise to print them off copies to being back for Monday. I can’t wait to go back on Monday to continue to get to know the girls and learn how sexual assault is handled in the Latin American society with a very “machismo” attitude.

I will get to teach the girls English, make jewelry with them, do exercises and sport activities, etc. I am hoping to get a chance to talk with the directors at the shelter to find out how the girls come to live at the shelter, whether they are brought in by the police, their other family members or come voluntarily. It would also interest me to know about their treatment and how long they are able to stay. I am wondering if they have similar procedures as in the United States in dealing with these cases. I will write back next week after I visit the shelter and hopefully get some of these questions answered.

-Hillary-