Marie, a Sacred Heart volunteer from France, talks about her year volunteering in Layo, near Cusco, Peru.
My name is Marie Cuvillier; I’m French and I’m 22 years old. I spent a year in Layo, near Cusco, Peru—a small village in the Andes—doing volunteer work with the sisters of the Sacred Heart of Jesus. I was in charge of running the parish’s toy library, which welcomes children ages 3 to 11 three afternoons a week. As a natural-born facilitator, I absolutely loved getting to know the children and setting up different projects tailored to each age group: entering the world of wonderful fairy tales for the youngest children, who were under 6; embarking on adventures with the 6- to 8-year-olds to earn badges; and setting off to discover many countries with the 9- to 11-year-olds on a trip around the world.
I also set up a “street library” every Monday afternoon—market day, which is also a day of festivities for the village where residents sell their goods: vegetables, fruit, clothing, livestock, and more. There, I invited the children to come listen to stories, choose a book, and look at the illustrations. Every Thursday afternoon, I led a drawing and painting workshop open to all children over the age of 7. It was wonderful to be able to put my skills into practice and share my passions! Over the course of 10 months, the children made tremendous progress, and the year ended with an exhibition of their artwork.
Accompanied by a nurse from the health center—who became a friend—I also visited families and isolated elderly people living in communities around Layo. This experience enriched my volunteer work and, in a way, opened my heart even wider—a heart already filled with joy thanks to the relationships I’d built with each of the children at the toy library and with the people of Layo.
“Service” and “love” are two words that came naturally to me to sum up my year of volunteering, during which I rediscovered myself and opened my heart in a very special way to my fellow human beings and to Jesus. I will cherish this year for the rest of my time on earth!
THANK YOU, LAYO – Cusco, Peru!
Section |International News|RSCJ International Volunteers
Province |Belgium/France/Netherlands|EURO-NIL|Peru|Rosa Filipina Sur
