Our plane climbed into the sky as we departed for Lima in the bright Cajamarca morning. Leaving Cajamarca for Lima was almost like going back to the States, back to commercialism and malls, back to pollution and fog. No one was happy to be saying goodbye to the campo.

Looking out the plane window, we spotted peaks that rose through the clouds and above our plane. Snowy and immense, they dwarfed our metal bird and made us feel powerless. We all hoped the pilot knew what he was doing.

As we walked down the stairs off the plane, the air in Lima felt different, much drearier than in Cajamarca. Back in the hotel where we stayed the first few nights of our journey, everyone took a nap and freshened up for our interesting afternoon at the U.S. Embassy.

As we arrived at the mammoth fortress that is the U.S. Embassy, we couldn't help but compare this part of our trip to the time we spent in Cajamarca. After the comforting shelter of the campo, the U.S. embassy - with armed guards everywhere and millions of dollars worth of security - definitely did not make us feel safer or more comfortable. It was hard for everyone to understand the function of such an intense American presence after traveling and living as Peruvians for over a week.

We did have the opportunity to meet with three officials from the Embassy, including the head of USAID in Peru and the Chargé, or temporary acting ambassador. After the representatives gave presentations on the way the embassy works and its function in Peru, the Youth Corps members were able to ask some very interesting questions.

Many of the questions came directly from their experiences in the field. Sophie asked how USAID distributes aid to people in Peru and if the organization is able to maintain CARE's mantra of helping people to help themselves. In response, the director of USAID explained that much of its work is actually outsourced to CARE and other non-governmental organizations, and also that sustainable development is something very important to USAID. When asked about the rainforest and conservation efforts in Peru, embassy officials discussed the U.S. efforts to conserve and protect the rainforest as well as how U.S. policy is changing as a result of the new presidential administration.

The rest of the weekend in Lima, we continued to learn much about Peru. We had the opportunity to learn about CARE's huge micro-enterprise programs that are extremely active in Lima.

CARE's program, Edyficar, aids Peruvian entrepreneurs. All photos by Scott Gribble © CARE 2001.

CARE created its own lending organization, called Edyficar, in order to provide loans and assistance to small-business entrepreneurs who would otherwise find it impossible to acquire a loan. Most of Edyficar's loans are less than $100. At such small amounts and dealing with people with little or no capital, Edyficar provides amazing opportunities for thousands. Each loan comes with much needed business advice and strategic planning, so Edyficar effectively invests in the Peruvian people by helping them to stimulate their economy starting at the smallest level. With ongoing advice and care, Edyficar also helps people's businesses grow to where they can employ many people in their communities and ship their wares overseas. Going from business to business, we saw firsthand how Edyficar helps people get their businesses off the ground. We also learned a lot about Edyficar's work by speaking with the people for whom its assistance has been most beneficial - the proud entrepreneurs of Lima.

The other highlight of the weekend was spending time in a community outside Lima called Villa Salvador. Enrique Montellanos, director of programs for a group called Cross-Cultural Solutions, gave us a tour of this very interesting area. His group brings many volunteers to Villa Salvador to work with the local people in several areas of development. Cross-Cultural Solutions has recently joined with CARE to establish a short-term, Peace Corps-like program, that will send people to work with CARE in Ayacucho.

Enrique Montellanos of Cross-Cultural Solutions gives the Youth Corps a tour of Villa Salvador.

A native Peruvian, Montellanos served as our guide through this extremely poor, but increasingly thriving town. The government relocated the people of Villa Salvador to this area from the land closer to metropolitan Lima where they were squatting. Now, the town is thriving because of its amazing community -- a community full of leaders.

When they arrived in the early 70's, many of the community's first leaders were women. While men went to the city for work, women were in charge of maintaining their community and their families. Driving by a memorial to these women, we all found it fascinating how they were able to create such a sense community amidst urbanization and a lack of fertile land. By staying together and maintaining the sense of community they knew from the campo, the citizens of Villa Salvador were relatively thriving, finding aid and success without any help from the Peruvian government.

The urban poverty felt different than what we saw in Cajamarca. When people are not able to cultivate the land, they can easily lose the center of their community. The people of Villa Salvador seemed to be working hard to conquer this obstacle and to keep their community together. Although it's sad to see the dilapidated houses sunken into the dreary desert, it was certainly impressive to see the bustling, commerce-filled streets of the tightly knit community of Villa Salvador.

The rest of the weekend blew by in a whirlwind of shopping and city touring. Everyone was happy to be back together, but almost all of us missed Cajamarca more than Chicago. On our last night, as darkness descended upon Lima, it was impossible to believe that we would be watching the sunrise over Miami on the plane ride home.

The people of Villa Salvador are working hard to keep their community together.

We sadly bid goodbye to the Peruvian winter that had welcomed us warmly and hoped we wouldn't ever lose touch with its magic embrace that held us close for fifteen days. Boarding the plane at 1 a.m., we took off into the darkness, just another blinking light in the Lima sky. Not even tempted to watch the movie, I hardly slept because the only place where I wanted to wake-up was in the mountains of Cajamarca.