Cajamarca is lovely, day or night. All photos by Scott Gribble © CARE 2001.

Our tiny plane rocked and rolled on to the tiny Cajamarca runway as the recently risen sun spread its rays across the mountains. From the first breath, the country air seeped into our bones and washed us away under the bluest of skies. The CARE Cajamarca staff provided a royal welcome as they greeted us from behind the fence that enclosed the primitive runway. No one imagined it would be this beautiful.

After a quick ride to the hotel located right off the central plaza of Cajamarca, the 3:30 a.m. wake-up call was catching up with us, and most opted for a short nap. We slept hard in the higher altitude of Cajamarca, more than 8,000 feet above sea level.

Cajamarca's beautiful central plaza.

After the energy boost from our naps and a wonderful lunch outside Cajamarca City, it was time to get to know the CARE Cajamarca staff and learn about their work in the region. We congregated in the CARE office and played a game to introduce ourselves. We tried our best to speak Spanish, and the Cajamarca staff even spoke some English as we all got to know one another. After introductions, the director of CARE's Cajamarca office, Maria Elena Fort Meyer, gave a presentation in impressive English, perfectly outlining CARE's goals and projects in Cajamarca.

She also gave us some interesting background figures about the Cajamarca region. She explained that 75 percent of Cajamarca's population live in the region's rural areas; 74 percent of Cajamarcans live in poverty; less than half have access to clean water; and Cajamarca is the second poorest department in Peru. With this background established, Ms. Fort Meyer went on to explain the projects that CARE has in Cajamarca, the projects that we will be visiting in the coming days.

Peruvian youth demonstrate their musical talent at a local boys' and girls' club.

CARE's work focuses on economic and food security, water sanitation, health programs and family planning. When Youth Corps member Tiana Pyer-Pereira asked if CARE ever encounters opposition to its work from local communities, Ms. Fort Meyer explained that sometimes local people mistake CARE programs for government charity, but that CARE always works to help people to help themselves.

After our meeting with the CARE staff, we took our bus to a local youth center, similar to a boys and girls club in the States. A vivacious group of kids of all ages welcomed us like celebrities into their club. While they begged us for autographs and mementos, we enjoyed a variety of performances. They performed dances, sang original and traditional songs and even put on a puppet show.

The center serves as an open home for kids seeking anything from a game of ping-pong to a chat with a counselor about family problems. It was obvious that the center played an important part in the lives of the children, serving as a safe haven from the problems of abuse, drugs and depression.

The Youth Corps dance to traditional Peruvian folk music.

As we danced with the kids, we were able to connect easily with their friendly faces and laughter, sharing stories about life in Chicago, and answering their infinitely curious questions.

Our first dinner is Cajamarca was shared with the entire CARE staff and we danced the night away to traditional Peruvian folk music. Two guitar players and a drummer serenaded us, and between courses everyone got up to dance to the swaying Peruvian rhythms and the beautiful melodies, sung in both Spanish and the native Quechua. It was a perfect introduction to Cajamarca and we all went to sleep dreaming to the tunes of the magical music.