Rudy and Lauren are volunteering in Ayacucho, a historic city located in a scenic valley about 2,761 meters, or 9,058 feet, above sea level in the Andes mountain range. Rudy and Lauren are enjoying their service assignments and host families and also are taking time to explore a city of 151,000 people known for its colonial architecture, 33 churches (one for each year of the life of Jesus Christ) and religious observances.
Lauren and Rudy stroll in the Plaza Mayor in Ayacucho.
Spanish conquistador Francisco Pizarro founded the city in 1540 as San Juan de la Frontera de Huamanga and intended it to be a bulwark against a possible Inca rebellion. The city is celebrated throughout South America because of the critical battle for independence that was fought in 1824 in the nearby highlands of Quinua, which later became known as Ayacucho or “dead corner” in the Quechua language. General Antonio José de Sucre, who had been appointed by South American liberator Simón Bolivar, commanded troops that defeated Royalist forces, setting the stage for independence of Peru and the rest of South America. In honor of the victory, Bolivar changed the city’s name to Ayacucho. A statue of Sucre in Ayacucho’s main plaza commemorates the battle and its significance for the Americas.
Bloodshed and conflict returned to Ayacucho 156 years later with the advent of the violent revolutionary movement known as the Sendero Luminoso (Shining Path). Abimael Guzmán Reynoso, a philosophy professor at the San Cristóbal of Huamanga National University in Ayacucho, founded the Shining Path and launched a conflict that spread throughout the country. More than 70,000 Peruvians died in the 1980s and 1990s. Ayacucho was the departamento (state) that suffered the greatest number of killings – by the Shining Path as well as the military and police. That sorrowful era is remembered at the Museo de la Memoria, which relates the stories of the victims and the survivors, “so this never happens again.”
Lauren divides her time between three small, private schools: Colegio Apostol Pablo, a primary school; Institución Educativa Privada William Thomson, a primary school; and Institución Educativa Inicial Privada Vidas, a preschool. Lauren assists in classes, models English pronunciation and takes lots of pictures. She uses her communication skills to add photos to and improve the web pages for the schools. Many of the students come from the low-income neighborhoods around the schools. Teachers and students alike appreciate Lauren’s gentle demeanor and her ability to be flexible (she has to jump into whatever activity is going on each day – coloring, baking bread, singing, counting in English…).
Lauren teaches the children about numbers.
Rudy rises early in the morning to volunteer at the Centro de Salud San Juan Bautista. It is a large clinic located in the San Juan Bautista neighborhood of Ayacucho. Nursing student Rudy has assisted the nursing staff both in the emergency room and obstetrics unit, where he does intake tasks such as weighing and measuring newborn babies. The staff is grateful for his help; the area has a shortage of healthcare workers. The patients are both Spanish and Quechua speakers. Rudy has learned a few Quechua phrases in addition to his Spanish, but it is sometimes hard to communicate! Still, he makes connections with his friendly smile and professional manner.
Rudy at work in the clinic’s emergency room.
After work, Lauren and Rudy like to hang out with their little host brother and sister or study on the roof of Lauren’s house, under the deep blue Ayacucho sky. Lauren is living in the home of Nieves, a single mother who supports her son by selling shoes at a booth in the market. Rudy lives next door with the family of Nieves’ brother. Rudy’s host parents, Dionisio and Elizabeth, have five children. They are founders and administrators of the schools where Lauren works. Dionisio is also a pastor. Rudy and Lauren have enjoyed becoming part of this busy, extended family.
The Plaza Mayor in Ayacucho features this monument celebrating the independence of South American countries, which was won at the Battle of Ayacucho. The Plaza Mayor has this statue of General Antonio José de Sucre, who in 1824 commanded troops that defeated Spanish forces, setting the stage for the independence of Peru and the rest of South America. The Basilica Catedral is one of 33 Catholic churches in Ayacucho.A procession in honor of Nino Nakaq, an image of the Christ child, which is venerated in Ayacucho.A banner carried by the faithful in a procession for the Nino Nakaq.Nearly 50 people are needed to carry the float with the image of Nino Nakag.The Nino Nakaq, a representation of the Christ child.A priest leads prayers during the Nino Nakaq procession.Men strain to carry the Nino Nakaq float.Men carrying the Nino Nakaq float.Men carrying the Nino Nakaq float.The Nino Nakaq float and procession.Rudy with his host parents, Elizabeth and Dionisio Bautista Gomez, and their children. Dionisio Bautista Gomez, Rudy’s host father, wearing a stylish Goshen College shirt.Lauren with her host mother, Nieves Bautista Gomez, and her host brother, Javier.Rudy and Lauren with Lauren’s host mother, Nieves Bautista Gomez, and her host brother, Javier.The view of central Ayacucho from the roof of the home of Lauren’s host mother.Lauren and Rudy with Lauren’s host brother, Javier.Lauren and Rudy with their host siblings, Wendy and Javier.Rudy volunteers at the Centro de Salud San Juan Bautista.The entrance to the clinic in the San Juan Bautista neighborhood of Ayacucho.The clinic offers a wide range of services.The Centro de Salud main hallway.Rudy with his clinic supervisor, Dr. Raul Palomino.Rudy near the clinic’s emergency room.Rudy at the entrance to the emergency room.Rudy pauses outside the Centro de Salud.Rudy at work in the clinic’s emergency room.Rudy with Varinia Martinez Camadro, a nurse at the Centro de Salud.Rudy with (from left) Varinia Martinez Camadro, a nurse, and Estefania Lisana, a technician, at the Centro de Salud.Lauren has spent time working at Institución Educativa Inicial Privada Vidas, a preschool. The Institución Educativa Inicial Privada Vidas, a preschool, has a strong Christian emphasis.A classroom at the Vidas preschool.Lauren assists Raquel Sumari in teaching children at the Vidas preschool.Lauren teaches the children about numbers.Lauren enjoys working with the children.Teacher Raquel Sumari helps some children.Lauren provides some personal attention.Students are taught some magic words, including “thank you,” “excuse me” and “please.” Lauren connects with a child at the Vidas preschool.Wanda, Rudy’s host sister, focuses on her assignment at the Vidas preschool.Wilfredo Villavicencio, Goshen College’s service coordinator in Peru, assists a child at the Vidas preschool.Lauren teaching at the preschool.The logo of the Vidas preschool.Children at the Vidas preschool take a lunch break.Lauren can’t resist taking photos of the children at the preschool.The exterior of Institución Educativa Privada William Thomson, a primary school in Ayacucho.The exterior sign at Institución Educativa Privada William Thomson, a primary school in Ayacucho, notes its partnership with Goshen College.The inner courtyard at the Colegio William Thomson.Students at Colegio William Thomson.Students at Colegio William Thomson.A scenic view of Ayacucho.A scenic view of Ayacucho.SST Peru co-directors Judy Weaver and Richard Aguirre enjoy a scenic view of Ayacucho.The Arch of Triumph of Ayacucho.One of 33 Catholic churches in Ayacucho.A seven-foot tall ratablo (or framed box) depicting the life of Jesus Christ.Detail from the retablo, this section depicting the birth of Jesus Christ.Another scene of the ratablo, depicting the condemnation of Jesus Christ. One of the guards wears Andean clothing.Lauren and Rudy stroll in the Plaza Mayor in Ayacucho.Lauren and Rudy enjoy a break in Ayacucho.SST co-director Judy Weaver with Rudy and Lauren.The Museo de la Memoria relates the painful history of Peru’s “Shining Path” conflict of revolutionary fighters against the government in the 1980s and 1990s.Another exterior scene of the Museo del la Memoria depicts the suffering many people endured during the Shining Path conflict.The Museo de la Memoria was opened in 2005 with the goal of ensuring such a tragedy will not happen again.Lauren and Rudy listen to a museum guide describe the death toll – more than 70,000 people – in the “Shining Path” conflict.A sculpture depicts a scene repeated many times during the “Shining Path” conflict – a soldier arresting a man, while a relative tries to save him.Detail from the sculpture depicts a woman crying as a loved one is arrested by a soldier.A museum display shows the exhumation of a grave of a victim of the “Shining Path” conflict.The Museo de la Memoria features the stories and possessions of some of the people killed during the “Shining Path” conflict in the 1980s and 1990s.Among the more tragic artifacts in the Museo de la Memoria is this shirt, which was recovered from the makeshift grave of a young man killed in the Shining Path conflict. His mother identified her son’s body because she recognized the shirt, which had been wrapped around his head.A stunning piece of art in the museum notes that victims died because of the cruelty on both sides – by the Shining Path revolutionary fighters as well as by the police and soldiers of the Peruvian government.A retablo in the museum depicts the experiences of the victims and survivors of the Shining Path conflict.A scene depicting the suffering of the victims and survivors of the Shining Path conflict.Photos of the men and women who lost family members during the Shining Path conflict. They established an association that created the Museo de la Memoria in hopes such a tragedy will never be repeated.
