By: Dr. Liccet Suarez A. – Founder of Nassf Travel
The Nassf Travel Ecovolunteers developed the social activity “Clean and Sustainable Neighborhood” for the local inhabitants of the La Cumbre community, located in the Nueva Rinconada sector in Pamplona Alta in the San Juan de Miraflores District; this as part of the Ayni Social Project, a project that brings together different civil society organizations from the Soy Voluntaria Network, at the same time, promoted by Programa de Naciones Unidas para el Desarrollo – UNDP-DIPECHO with the aim of contributing to a sustainable development and strengthening the community resilience of vulnerable areas affected by disasters.
Based on the diagnosis of the problematic reality of the La Cumbre Community, prepared by TECHO (Un Techo Para mi País), who diagnosed that the area has housed more than 77 families since 2000 and that 51% of the families are made up of women; likewise, they do not have potable water and drainage service; with the palliative that 74% of families did finish high school. Due to the manifested realities, the organizations of the Red de Soy Voluntaria decided to intervene with the Ayni Social Project in that area.
On Earth Day, April 22, 2018, to pay tribute to our planet and recognize the earth as our mother, the Nassf Travel Ecovolunteers began the first training as part of the Ayni Social Project, between walks, intense sun, greeting to the inhabitants of the area, visiting the local houses, and also greeting different pets that welcomed us with joy; after climbing a cracked hill.
Surrounded by many wooden houses, we arrived at the communal area of La Cumbre to start training in solid waste management. The Nassf Travel Ecovolunteers taught the community in a practical way how we should take care of our nature, our Pachamama, as they call our land, because without caring for the environment, no matter how much effort we make, if we continue to pollute, we will lose our nature, our “land”. For the same reason, we teach them how they can separate their solid waste: glass, paper and cardboard, plastic, styrofoam and organic. Based on this, they were trained in how they can develop their enterprises with recycling and that, at the same time, it can be a generator of economic income.
Likewise, the participants were explained how to be part of our program “Meeting Entrepreneurial Families”; which consists of generating fair work for them based on their family culture and their entrepreneurship that day after day work to improve their quality of life and that of their generations; They were made to understand that this has a unique value for the tourist with responsible consumption who travels with social and environmental responsibility; which, at the same time, seeks to contribute to a family in a vulnerable area.
After a nice sharing with fruits like bananas, tangerines, apples; and thanks to “NutriShake Andino” who donated Vegan cookies, made from quinoa, for all the participants. The residents together with the Nassf Travel Ecovolunteers form recycling brigades to start cleaning the community and collect the waste we find along the way; For this, we put on our gloves and each one with green bags, we joined in cleaning the neighborhood to achieve the goal of collecting the waste for recycling and later delivering it to the formal recyclers in the Pamplona Alta area that belong to the “Ciudad Saludable” organization.
Thanks to the work with this organization, Hilda and Pedro, as representatives of this Environmental Recycling Association, came to La Cumbre to take more than 15 bags full of recycling material in their van; their smile and their comments that it is not garbage, but recycling, reinforced our message that they are proud recyclers and that it is their means of generating economic income. With that shared joy, we managed to conclude the event in the La Cumbre Community and, at the same time, say that this will continue.
Finally, we trust that our allies, eco-volunteers, collaborators and suppliers continue to contribute and join the sustainable development goals and together work for a sustainable and inclusive economy, in this way generate a social impact to improve the quality of life of those who need it most, valuing the abilities and talents of the communities; as well as caring for the environment for the common good of our land and its people.
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