Volunteering at La Casa de Panchita is a rewarding experience. The dedication exhibited by the staff has created an organized and welcoming environment that serves as a refuge to many local domestic workers of all ages. During my three weeks at La Casa de Panchita, I was able to observe personal growth, increasing confidence, and a strong sense of community among the domestic workers I encountered. Most of my time was spent working with adolescent girls and women whose strong levels of leadership and empowerment appeared to be a direct result of the time they spent at the  organization. La Casa de Panchita provides a forum where they are free to express their ideas, thoughts, and opinions and each voice is respected and important. The positive experiences domestic workers have at La Casa de Panchita, be they in English and computer classes, cooking and dancing workshops, or just relaxing and communicating with one another often lead them to become promoters of the organization themselves.

This generous quality of wanting to give something back is what struck me most about the domestic workers I spent time with in Lima. I learned during an English lesson on prepositions that most of the women start work at 7 AM and finish at around 9 PM. Yet, they still possessed so much motivation to come and learn as much as possible in their time off and to encourage others to do the same so that all could improve their situations. In the classroom, the students all had very different levels of proficiency. The women who were more comfortable with the material patiently helped their shyer, less advanced neighbors in understanding the lesson, rather than becoming exasperated by the slow pace at which it proceeded.

I was equally impressed with the behavior of the adolescent girls. They demonstrated a mature and insightful level of understanding of their situation and were able to offer an in-depth analysis of the challenges they face on a daily basis and policy recommendations that would benefit all domestic workers in the future. Many of the adolescents also helped in facilitating projects for younger children in their communities at the Biblioteca (Library) or Ludoteca (Play and Learn Center), evidence of their commitment to not only improving their own situation, but also helping others in similar circumstances do the same.

La Casa de Panchita promotes an environment of respect and comfort. This atmosphere allows for the discussion of difficult topics, like abuse, and potential solutions. If necessary or desired, a psychiatrist is on hand to provide therapy. Despite the evident poverty of the population it serves and the limited resources of the organization, La Casa de Panchita is able to inspire hope that positive changes are possible. This hope, in turn, leads to the creation of passionate individuals dedicated to carrying out its mission of advocating for human and labor rights for domestic workers in the community.

Amelia y Nick (from Colby College)

Amelia y Nick tienen la joven edad de 20 años y un largo camino por andar. Ambos estudian en el Colby College, universidad estadounidense ubicada en Maine donde Nick se especializa en Literatura Inglesa y Amelia en Antropología. Como parte de su currículo académica, llevan un curso de Español (Spanish Departament), a través del cual conocieron nuestro programa de voluntariado y se animaron al instante a viajar al Perú para practicar su español por unas semanas, oportunidad que pasó de ser un aprendizaje del idioma, al aprendizaje de una pequeña parte de nuestra cultura y sociedad, y una experiencia que motivará los siguientes pasos en sus vidas.

Llegaron en los primeros días de este caluroso enero a La Casa de Panchita. Luego de la presentación inicial y bienvenida al equipo, tuvieron que responder la pregunta del millón: ¿te gustan los niños?… y así  fue que durante las tres semanas que permanecieron en Lima llenaron sus dí as con las sonrisas de las niñas y niños de Pamplona Alta (San Juan de Miraflores) con los que compartieron domingos veraniegos, juegos en el parque, divertidas conversaciones en español y, sobre todo, una tierna amistad.

Antes, Nick y Amelia ya habían participado en algunos voluntariados con niños de su localidad, pero no con menores procedentes de una realidad como la de Pamplona Alta. Parte importante de nuestro programa de voluntariado es que los y las jóvenes que nos ayudan, nacionales o extranjeros, conozcan ‘in situ’ el lugar donde viven nuestros pequeños traviesos, para que comprendan mejor su manera de ser, sus necesidades, su visión de la vida, la difícil realidad de su presente, sus sueños del futuro…

Con la nostalgia anticipada de dejar a sus nuevos amigos y amigas en Lima, Amelia partió rumbo a Quito con la idea de llevar un par de cursos en la Universidad Politécnica Salesiana y Nick regresó a casa a pasar lo que resta de sus vacaciones con la familia. Sus experiencias han quedado plasmadas en el blog (http://lacasa2.livejournal.com), al cual llamaron January in Lima, Peru. Working with La Casa de Panchita, y que crearon especialmente para contarle a todo el mundo lo que estaban viviendo con nosotras. Y en La Casa de Panchita, esperamos volver a verlos pronto.

¡¡¡Buen viaje!!!!