Over the February break, grades 7-8 students visited the Peruvian town of Ollantaytambo to learn more about the area’s culture and traditions, as well as find new ways serve marginalized international communities. New to Harker’s global education initiatives, the Peru program immersed students in the local culture by matching them with homestay families, providing the students insight into everyday life in Ollantaytambo. While with their homestays, many students learned that connections between people can be made despite language barriers.

Working with an organization called Ayni Wasi, one group of students visited the community of Soccma, where they learned how to make stretchers from available resources, and assisted a farm outside Ollantaytambo. They also visited a local school to socialize with the students and worked with a cooperative that sold goods made by area artisans.

For more details and photos from Peru, visit the blog kept by students as well as faculty who chaperoned the trip.