Back to the Office!
After several months of quarantine, the staff of Proyecto Peru was finally able to return to the office! Proyecto Peru can now work behind closed doors on administrative work. Everyone was very happy to return to the office. At the moment Proyecto Peru can not receive clients in the office, but we are looking forward to welcoming students again to Cusco! In the meantime, we continue to follow the updated corona safety regulations.
Lockdown in Peru: a summary
In the beginning of March, Peru confirmed its first case of the Coronavirus. Peru responded quickly and declared a State of Emergency with a domestic lockdown. This all happened very quickly and there were several students of Proyecto Peru still in Cusco when all borders closed. Luckily, there were several repatriation flights and during March most students were able to get back home. Some students also decided to stay in Cusco, hoping that they could continue their project or travel plans after the lockdown.
This turned out to be an optimistic idea, as Peru stayed in quarantine till the end of June. The domestic lockdown meant that people were only allowed in the street for essential reasons, such as buying groceries or medication. As in most countries, people started to excessively shop for food, this resulted in empty shops which seemed a bit worrying in the beginning. However, it soon turned out that the shops had more than enough supplies and that excessive food shopping was unnecessary.
During the lockdown, the Peruvian government tried several systems.´ They for example introduced a system where men were only allowed in the street on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays and women only on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays. This system did not have much success and the government soon switched to a system where 1 person per family was allowed to do food shopping.
In Peru, many people don’t have a registered job, this means they earn money per day, for example by selling souvenirs, snacks or food in the street. The lockdown has had a huge impact on poverty. Many people who used to live from the money they earned the same day on the street, were suddenly without income. The Peruvian government has tried to support its communities by providing financial bonuses. Moreover, people were able to take out money from their savings and pension funds.
Most people seemed to be hopeful when the quarantine was lifted in June. Shops started opening again and the government introduced a 4 phase plan to re-open industries. As industries were slowly re-opening, national flights were also allowed again. People were happy to economically start again. However, the corona cases kept rising in Cusco.
In spite of all the optimistic recovering plans, Peru returned to a lockdown in the beginning of August. Luckily, this time the quarantine was not as strict as the first time. Restaurants stayed open and businesses were able to operate under certain regulations. International flights are expected to start again this October. As the Peruvian government continues to monitor the situation and make decisions accordingly, locals and tourists alike are hoping that restrictions will soon be loosened.
Proyecto Peru Hike
In August, some members of the Proyecto Peru team went on a hike! This is an amazing hike of 3 / 4 hours which you can start from the city centre for free. Coen has also guided this hike a couple of times for our volunteers. It is a great hike to get some fresh air without going too far from the city centre.
Afterwards, Dora cooked one of her famous dishes: Ají de Atún! This is one of her personal recipes, a delicious alternative to the traditional Aji de Gallina.
Positive developments of the lockdown
The spread of the corona crisis has had, and will have many serious consequences. It does not only affect people’s health, but world economies, poverty and more. However in this article we will take take a look at some positive developments of the Corona crisis
More efficient online systems
The worldwide lockdown has forced people and companies to look for new solutions. People started working from home and so online systems became even more important. Businesses and even governments were forced to further improve their online systems. This is causing much more efficiency than before. In Peru, everyone knows the ´challenge´ of waiting in lines for hours or days to get a paper, to get a bank account opened or to get your visa signed. Because of the corona crisis, the government was now forced to change this system. They introduced a new ONLINE system and people are now able to make payments, request cards, papers and more online! On the long-term, this will be a huge advantage and it is a step towards more efficient systems!
Source of creativity
Worldwide, people and business are becoming more creative. This crisis forces people to think differently, to evaluate the current lifestyle and to look for alternatives. As many people were stuck at home, they had time to re-evaluate their life. To pick up creative hobbies and to start thinking out-of-the.box. People found creativity in themselves they thought they did not have. People started online businesses, restaurants quickly adapted with delivery services, online cooking classes and more!
We can conclude that the importance of digital services has risen significantly in the past months. And though it takes time and effort to adapt to change, some changes will be a huge advantage on the long-term.
Medical Spanish programme
Proyecto Peru offers an extensive medical Spanish program to improve your medical Spanish skills. This program consists of 3 courses, from basic to advanced Spanish!
The program powers up your medical Spanish skills, such as specific vocabulary, grammar structures, greetings and introductions, medical conversation exchange, diagnosis, treatments and more! It teaches students how to interact and express themselves in a medical setting.
People of Proyecto Peru
Meet our staff: Coen Bosch, general manager and owner of Proyecto Peru
Initially, Coen stumbled upon Proyecto Peru while seeking to learn Spanish during his travels. After back packing through Australia and Asia, he travelled around South America and like so many other travellers, he realised some Spanish would be helpful. First Coen fell in love with Cusco, the city and the people. Later on, Dora (owner of Proyecto Peru) was another reason for him to stay in Cusco!
Coen is Dutch and has been part of Proyecto Peru for more than 10 years. He actually studied and worked as a Biomedical electrical engineer before coming to Cusco. However, in Cusco he realised there was so much more he could do. He could drive real change by supporting and helping Peruvian families, volunteering projects, Spanish teachers and more. So here he is, more than 10 years later, working on the same mission: being part of driving change and improvements.
Proyecto Peru now offers a 40% discount on all online Spanish classes and a first free class. Contact us now!
- info@proyectoperucentre.org
- Linkedin: Proyecto Peru Centre
- https://www.instagram.com/proyectoperu/
