Nikkei

Opening thought was given by Anndrea Miller today, Nov 17-last day in Lima. She read the Paradoxical Commandments. Here are a few I wrote down:

1. If you are successful, you will win false friends and true enemies. Succeed anyway.
2. Honesty and frankness make you vulnerable. Be honest and frank anyway.
3. If you do good, people will accuse you of selfish ulterior motives. Do good anyway.
4. Honesty and frankness make you vulnerable. Be honest and frank anyway.

I really enjoyed these and had never heard of this. It set the stage for our visit to the Japanese Peruvian Center.

In Peru, the Japanese Peruvians call themselves NIKKEI- Peruvians with Japanese roots. This term was introduced in the eighties and there are around 8,000 Nikkei;almost 6 generations but not all are identified. Here the focus is on 3 areas: Maintaining identity, total integration, and transformation. From what I could understand, the idea is that Japanese Peruvians are Peruvian first, they are encouraged to speak perfect Spanish, learn English and maybe a little Japanese. By doing this and participating in various other cultural activities, they are promoting their country, Peru, where they live, work and play. 

The Executive Director of the center put it best when he said, "if we have to choose between Peru and Japan, we should choose Peru. We are Peruvians in the way we act, look, dress, live..." "In supporting the development of Peru, we must strengthen each other."

The center hosts a Policlinico, a general clinic with services from x-rays to pharmacy that serves the community. As we walked through the clinic we saw a variety of people and staff that encompasses the diversity of Peru. Additionally, there is a theater that seats 1,000; opened in their 50th year anniversary. The Johnston YMCA can appreciate the large active adult program with around 500 participants, I saw an intense game of Cricket! Other programs include free cultural classes and martial arts. The Center also runs and operates a hospital, Centenario, near the YMCA.

The Director had a lot of questions about the YMCA, our religious focus, the relationship of our board members and how we are funded. It turned out to be a rich discussion that went way over our allotted time.

What I learned from this visit is that although you your best attempts at strengthening your community may be met with opposition, Attempt it anyway!!

INTERcultural

First let me say how exhausted I am right now! I'm two days behind on the blog but I'm committed to the account.

Thursday, November 15- CEDET

On Thursday, our focus was on the afroperuvian population in Peru. Up until this day, the afroperuvians seemed like a mystery. We rarely saw them in the city, I think we counted 5. What we know is that African slaves were brought to Peru by the Spanish and they live in communities in the southern regions of Peru, although many work in Lima.  The CEDET is the afroperuvian agency that advocates for afroperuvians in Peru through education (teaching pride in one's race), human rights, publishing books on the topic and a focus on women. The CEDET has been in place for 13 years. The books and marketing material they publish are well written and published, high quality.

The first conflicting information we heard had to deal with the percentage of Peru's population that is afroperuvian. We had heard and read 2%, the number is closer to 6-10%. We met before with INDEPA, the government agency working through the Minister of Culture to advocate for indigenous and afroperuvian populations. CEDET is saying that the group has done little to resolve the issues that afroperuvians face. CEDET is working to change the textbooks that are used to teach so that they portray a positive image of afroperuvians as well as change the images on tv.

We asked: Is it hard to get an afroperuvian to identify as such? The executive director, Osfaldo, answered yes; explaining that the government structure makes it hard. The thing he said that struck accord with us was that there are no whites in Peru.  He said there is my identity and the one I want to portray. He says, there should be a national identity; he's Peruvian first but he has African feelings, emotions and physical features. He talked about the concept of Intercultural education, I learn about you and you learn about me since we are all connected.

I could relate to this concept, this idea that we are all interconnected. Especially since I'm studying Genesis and learning where we came from and how we spread out. I agree with Osfaldo, it starts with teaching the youth to take pride in their identity and the identity of others appreciating our differences but realizing how much can be learned from one another. Susana Baca always called every afroperuvian she met Primo/Prima, which means cousin. Osfaldo called us that, kind of like brother or sister in the black community in the States, when he said it, I felt at home and warm. The afroperuvians are my primos/primas and we've had similar struggles. I'm definitely bringing back this concept to my life and my job. Thank you primo Osfaldo!

Back in tha day!

How many of you remember the song by Ahmad, that goes Back in the day when I was young, I'm not a kid anymore, but sometimes I sit wish I was a kid again. I was singing this in my head as I was thinking about our time in Lima Centro, the YMCA in a small, meager neighborhood in Lima. We spent the day, and I mean the day, painting a mural and getting to know the parents, children and staff of the Ah-Say-Hauta (ACJ) but you have to pronounce the letters in Spanish to get the feeling behind them.

This trip has been interesting from a tourist perspective, this the first time I've traveled to a Spanish speaking country with people that don't speak or understand Spanish. This really stuck out to me that day when we blessed our lunch, I'll talk about the new fruit I had in a minute, in English and then had a loose translation of that prayer in Spanish. It was the first time I realized that not only did we not understand our friends, they didn't understand us!!! Ok, so for dessert we had this sort of cross between Flan and sponge cake that was the flavor of the fruit that was cut in half on top. It's called Aguaymanto. It is smaller than a cherry tomato, orange, with tiny seeds inside, really tart and I learned that it has more vitamin C than kiwi! It was fabulous, if we had these in the States, I would eat them like grapes.

The best part of this day was spending time with the children and watching them take in our names and the cities and states we are from. CHEECAGO?! Is what they would say every time they heard it, la ciudad de chicle (the city of gum). Doesn't make sense in English but in Spanish HILARIOUS!! I finished the day with a game of Chipitaps, which I later learned is Pong; which I'd never played before.

So on this day, I didn't have to wish I was a kid again....I got to be one for an entire day!

How do you self identify?

Self identity- the way in which we categorize who we are. Sometimes we define ourselves by our career, our family, our city, our friends, our style. Whatever you choose, in the United States it most always includes a color that is very static and singular; black, white etc...

Today we visited several dignitaries; Gustavo Zambrano, Executive Director of INDEPA (Institute for the development of indigenous and amazonic cultures) as a part of the Ministry of Culture, Richard "Dick" Smith & Maria Rosa, the Institute of Common Good (founded on the need to care for common resources for the commonwealth), the Evaluator from the Ministry of development and social inclusion (focused on social inclusion as ensuring that all have the essential capacities to take advantage of opportunities created by economic growth).

In Peru, this question has different responses and depending on who you talk to may not even have an answer. What we know/have been told is that there are around 5 classifications in Peru- indígenas, mestizos, criollas, blancos, afroperuanos. Depending on the year, day, time and audience, a Peruvian may be any one of these. Nester, a Peruvian professor, said that Peru is a country that is multicultural and multiethnic.

The #1 question we are having is how does a Peruvian self identify? So far, we have heard a different answer from everyone; by their language, how they dress, where they live, the customs or beliefs. One thing is for sure, it is hard for us to imagine why defining oneself into an ethnic group is so complex/variable.

So today, we set off in another direction....helping to paint and revitalize on of the YMCA branches, Lima Centro.

Discovery

Today was such a heavy day. We visited the YMCA Peru and had a tour of their facilities. I wish I could upload the photos! The YMCA had all of the things you would expect, a check-in desk, a teen center, a gym, a pool. And some things you may not expect, a cafeteria and a YMCA pro shop run by women who learned how to sew at the Y through an outreach program that teaches women how to be entrepreneurs. And now those women have their own business making YMCA apparel for staff and camp.

There are just some things that are part and parcel of a YMCA. The Pueblo Libre is the main branch of the YMCA Peru association. This branch has two main focuses; formal and non-formal programs. Formal programs are the academic side of the YMCA, with 3 schools and around 1,000 students. Non-formal programs are all of the recreational activities that we associate with healthy living and youth development.

The YMCA Peru has a strong faith based mission and vision, believing that it is our responsibility as Christians to reach out and help our community. I saw this very clearly today when we were invited to the opening ceremony for a new "branch" in the slums in Lima. The message was heavy with thanks to God first and foremost. It was overwhelming the reception of the Peruvians of our group into their ceremony. This center is for the development of early learning, like preschool, and will serve nearly 500 kids per day through learning and education as well as nutrition. The Senior leaders attended and led the opening with a blessing of flower petals that we were allowed to throw on the building as a symbolic baptism or renewal of the center. Additionally, as a part of the opening we were asked to give hugs of blessings since a hug is a blessing for yourself and someone else.

I have a different perspective of social responsibility now for sure.
Until next time-

Day One- travel

I finally made it to Peru! There are 14 of us from 10 different states; Missouri, California, Louisiana, Ohio, Georgia, Illinois, New York, and two from Washington. We are pretty diverse ourselves; Peruvian, African American, Asian, Native American, and Spanish.

Already we've had chica morada, a maize drink that is dark purple and sweet. It was good at 2:00am! Our hosts are Donato, YMCA employee, and his mentee who is in the líderes like Leaders Club.

Tomorrow we visit the YMCA
Here's a picture that sums up today!

MD ILI- Developing Global Leaders

I leave for Peru in three days with 16 other YMCA professionals from across the country and I think it just hit me. I'm so humbled and gracious for this experience that has truly been a surprise to say the least. I've completed all briefing calls, received my reading materials and had a pre-trip interview on what I hope to learn and what makes someone a global leader. That interview got me thinking more about what I hope to gain from this experience. I was asked what are the three skills or traits that make someone a Global Leader versus just a Leader. I have to say that this one stumped me but I gave the following three attributes:
1- Broad Perspective/Mind
2- Inclusive nature
3- Influence

I was just thinking that a Global Leader probably has had a Global Experience as well!!

After the interview, I am focused on these three skills and how this experience will equip me as a leader.

Stay tuned for more!!
Khalilah
Check out the YMCA in Peru where we will be.
www.ymcaperu.org