I left at dawn towards the province of Canchi – Sicuani district of Combapata to the community of Tucsa. Tucsa is a community far away from the city where car traffic is almost unheard of. But for the Alma Foundation it is not impossible to reach these places as we are always eager to bring education to those less fortunate.
By 6:30am I arrived at Onoccora. I met with Don Francisco, a community member and father. We spoke about the library project in Tucsa. Don Francisco is always mindful about the education of the children of the community of Tucsa. He expressed his deep gratitude to the Alma Foundation for our continued work despite the difficulties we face. We arrived in Tucsa, where the children were making their way towards the project. As usual, they ran to welcome me when they saw me arrive. As I rode in the van, I saw our children enjoying themselves and shouting as loud as they could.
Later, speaking to the kids though, they all expressed sadness over no longer having public school classes due to the teacher’s strike, and I thought, “Why should the children be punished for the ministry teachers abandoning them?”. My visit ended on a positive note though. We entered the room and in a very fun way shared a reading with the project teachers. We also discussed the project timelines.
On the way back I was a bit shaken up as I met a large number of teachers who were protesting at the archaeological center of Racchi. They were furious and shouting about vandalising car tires! I felt rather fearful, so I parked and turned off the engine. When they moved, I restarted the car and without looking back I drove away as fast as I could.
-Octavio
Program Coordinator for Cusco, Peru