Madventurer Overseas crew blog - Rachel Nicoll 2011

Our Madventurer projects in Ayarmaca village in Peru are almost completed! We set out to build 15 toilets for the villagers to make their lives a little easier. Before they were making do in bushes which was not ideal. We have had help from our builder Victor and other local tradesmen, president of the village Fredi Mescco, owners of the new toilets and of course our fantastic Madventurer volunteers.

Each afternoon at about 4pm we would have a group of kids come to our garden and we would teach English for an hour and a half and play games. We also did things like milking cows, taking walks in nearby countryside, visiting nearby villages, playing with the kids between lunch and in the afternoons. The only problem with the teaching is, the school in the village only has 12 kids and they are all very young and finish school at two pm so it was most convenient for us to teach in the afternoons. However, in the afternoons many kids have to take their animals out into the fields and work so they usually ended up coming a bit late and by the time we were quite tired and it was getting cold. It is SOOOO cold in the evenings and in the month of August, there is quite a lot of wind in the afternoons. But we still managed to do the best we could with teaching English and spending some valuable time with the kids.

The food was absolutely fantastic well done Yrene, and the volunteers were amazed at the standard and range of food we were served, it really kept morale up as we often looked forward to meal times. Breakfasts were cereals, bread and jam, scrambled eggs or pancakes. Lunch was the main meal of the day, usually meat at least 3 times a week and served with rice or potatoes. In the evenings we would have various soups, usually vegetable. Also served was popcorn, jelly or puddings/cakes. We had the opportunity to try a lot of Peruvian food, which the volunteers all loved. Being in the village also meant we had the opportunity to eat guinea pig for the first time!

Accommodation was of a good standard and was on the main street of the village, with a huge garden. When we first arrived the house had no toilet so we had to cement the floor of the bathroom and put in a toilet and also the house had no glass in the windows so we fixed that as well.

For weekend travel our volunteers have managed to visit the Amazon, Machu Picchu, Lake Titicaca and in Cusco for the Inti Raymi Inka Festival. Enjoyed by all and also had quite a few good nights out to get a break from village life.

More Updates - This week we finished off all the toilets including the roofs, walls and painted a mural with volunteer's names. We also had a nice afternoon out with the president who took us on a drive and to see some ruins, a beautiful lake and some old churches etc.

On Thursday we had a big party to celebrate finishing the toilets. They decorated their bathrooms with flowers and leaves around the door way and hung a bottle of wine or chichi. Each of the volunteers had to smash the bottle with a hammer then we had to drink beer and chicha as a present from each of the owners. We gave out loads of presents to all the kids, jelly and pop corn and the village cooked as a huge lamb BBQ. We had a big bonfire, more speeches and presents given to us and then loads of crazy dancing. A perfect way to end the project!

At the end we headed back into Cuzco for a final night out to celebrate before each volunteer (and me) went out separate ways. A few sad farewells and hopefully life long friends! A massive MAD thanks to all the locals who helped out including Victor, Yrene, Fredi and all the local families who helped feed us and welcomed us into their homes.

Without the incredible hard work and enthusiasm from Bethany, Edward, Owain, April, Connie, Gabrielle, Laura, Claire, Lucy and Heather the 15 toilets would never have been built so well done to everyone, and thanks! It been great being your Mad crew leader!

If you fancy helping out in a traditional Peruvian village then just get in touch with Mad HQ on 0845 121 1996, or team@madventurer.com with any questions!

Mad Crew Rachel signing out……..x