Bring Peruvian Students to Canada to Educate Youth

Last week we saw Mosqoy's 2012 Student Ambassadors, Ebhert and Elvira, off at the airport. They had an amazing and productive trip - and left Canada with many new friends. Between attending English Language classes at the University of Victoria, Ebhert and Elvira gave lectures about Quechua culture and their experience in the Mosqoy program, attended Canadian Cultural events, gave presentations at various high schools on Vancouver Island, and hosted educational workshops. Its been incredible to see them share their stories and hopes for Mosqoy's future, which they continue to work with in Peru as Student Leaders. 

But while we could recount their experiences, we think the story is best told in their own words! We've shared their accounts of their time in Canada below. Over the next few weeks we will also be posting photographs of their travels, testimonials from the ESL teachers who worked with them, and musings from our volunteers on what it has meant to spend time with Ebhert and Elvira in Canada. We are looking forward to welcoming next year's ambassadors in 2013. In the meantime, please enjoy what Ebhert and Elvira had to say about their time as the 2012 Mosqoy Ambassadors - using their newly honed English Language skills.

Ebhert's Story:

Hello, my name is Ebhert Florentino. I arrived in Victoria on January 5. I started to study at UVic on January 9^th. I have had a nice experience here because I have learned a lot of English and I know new friends from other countries, for example Saudi Arabia, Taiwan, Chile, China, Japan and many countries. I studied for 12 weeks and yesterday I had the final dinner with my friends and teachers. It was a nice dinner.

During my schedule in Victoria, every day I went to class. The class is in the morning from 8:30 until 12:45. On Saturday and Sunday, I went to play soccer with my new friends. Sometimes I went to a Mosqoy volunteer’s home to make food together or sometimes we went hiking in the mountains. I saw a hockey game and we also went to the opera and had many other activities at UVic.

I visited 3 high schools to explain about Mosqoy and Q’ente and I did one presentation at the First People’s House at UVic. In two weeks, I will go back to Peru, but I am very happy because I introduced many people here to the life in Peru and the difference between Peru and Canada.

Elvira's Story:

Hi, my name is Elvira I has been a good experience studying English at UVic because every day I learned new words and culture. It was exciting. I learned a lot of English. Many people helped me. At UVic I had a class from 8:30-12:45. I was never absent from my class. Every day, I spoke English with everyone. I also learned that some people have a lot of money. It is amazing!

My experience in Victoria is wonderful because I learned about Canadian culture and I saw the beautiful forest. I also learned about the daily life here. It is very different from Peru but I’m so happy because I could learn about Victoria and meet very good people. I’m lucky I also met volunteers who work for Mosqoy and Q’ente.

We participated in presentations at high schools and the university. I’m happy because I have talked about my life and my culture to almost 200 young Canadians. It was exciting because I used to be nervous speaking in front of an audience but now I’m not!

When people ask me about Peru or Indigenous communities, I’m really happy because they want to know about my culture. Thank-you to all the people who helped me. Now my dream is real. Thank-you, my time here has been great.

In our last progress report we were excited to announce that we had met our fundraising goal to sponsor the 2012 Mosqoy Ambassadors to Canada, Ebhert and Elvira. The next few months were quite busy arranging their living accommodations, booking flights, sorting out Visa's and ensuring that we were ready to welcome them to Victoria, British Columbia. 

We are pleased to announce that both Ebhert and Elvira arrived safely in Victoria last week and are quickly adjusting to their new situations. Both have homestays with lovely families and have started their English as a Second Language Classes at the University of Victoria. Their participation in the English Language Program is not only an opportunity to improve their English, but to meet and connect with students from all over the globe. Their presentation schedule has also been confirmed, and once they feel more comfortable with conversational English Ebhert and Elvira will begin a series of presentations at high schools and post secondary institutions. These presentation be an opportunity for Canadian youth to learn about Quechua culture, international not for profit organizations, and some of the economic and social challenges facing Peruvian youth at present. The presentations will also provide an opportunity for Ebhert and Elvira to develop their confidence in public presentation and speaking, both skills that will be useful in their work in the tourism industry in Peru. 

Mosqoy volunteers in Victoria and Vancouver were very excited to meet and greet Ebhert and Elvira earlier this week. It has been wonderful for everyone to meet in person. For Ebhert and Elvira to witness operations and work in Canada first hand is another step towards continuing to build trust and commitment amongst those involved in the organization in both Canada and Peru. It is also an amazing learning opportunity for both Canadian volunteers and our Peruvian collegues, as we share, build connections and work together to vision our goals for the organization. 

We have many exciting events planned for Ebhert and Elvira over the course of the three months, and look forward to sharing photos and anecdotes over the course of their stay. If you are interested in following Ebhert and Elvira's time in Canada you may be interested in checking out our facebook page, where both Ebhert and Elvira have been posting about their stay at http://www.facebook.com/mosqoy. For example, they recently posted the following:

Hello guys, how are you? What's new? I hope you're well. I am learning a lot about Canadian culture to share with you and I hope that you like it because it is beautiful. People are very friendly. On Monday and today I met a lot of people from China, Japan, Korea, Saudi Arabia. Take care and study a lot, like I am doing to fulfill my purpose. Bye. Greetings to all! - Elvira

Hello everyone! Thank you for all the support. I am now in Victoria and very happy and excited to learn Canadian culture. I hope you have a nice weekend! See you later! - Ebhert

Because Ebhert and Elvira have only been in Victoria for a week, we do not have any new photos to share at the present. However, there will be lots in our next progress report, which they will pick especially to share.