Living, Working and Volunteering Abroad: Danielle Lafond Remortgages Her Condo

Some time in July I was watching our local TVmy friend agreed to do this together. We spent the
station, CityTV, and I caught a part of a reportfirst part of our time in Peru travelling, along with my
about a Toronto couple that had remortgaged theirpartner Josh. The three of us were amazed by the
home to start a non-profit community developmentdiversity of the country.We started in Lima, a city of
organization in a small town on the Pacific Coast inover 11 million people, with distinct neighbourhoods
Peru. I didn't catch their name or their contactand cultural practices, then traveled to Arequipa and
information, only the website: I used the contactCusco, Macchu Picchu, Puno, and Lake Titicaca, which
email on the website to try to locate this couple andeach had completely different cultural groups,
to ask them for an interview.I got a response backlanguages and food. Many of the people we met
and met Danielle Lafond, the female member of thewere Indigenous Peruvians who spoke various
couple and co-creator of the project, in a restaurantdialects of Quechua. Many of them spoke no Spanish
in Toronto's Greektown and was struck by herat all. The more we traveled, the more I felt in awe
youthful energy, idealism and commitment toof the strength, resilience and resourcefulness of the
improving this world. The decision to put their ownpeople we met, who had been struggling for many
finances at risk and invest at least a year of theirhundreds of years, but who are also rich in cultural
lives in this Peruvian community had a strong impacttraditions, food, music, art, history and languages.6.
on me and I am delighted to be able to introduce toThis time in South America convinced you to stay
you this delightful young woman: Danielle Lafond.1.involved on a more lasting level with the people of
Please tell us about yourself. Where are you from,Peru. In particular you wanted to do something for a
what is your educational background?I am in my midfishing town called Mancora. Please tell us how you
twenties, and I just completed a 4 year social workgot the idea to create a non-profit international
degree at Ryerson University. Before that, I studieddevelopment organization.After our travels, my friend
music and also worked and traveled for several yearsand I ended up in a small fishing community in
as a tour guide in Canada.2. You have a very strongNorthern Peru, 19 hours north of Lima by bus, and
social conscience. What life experiences have shapedabout an hour south of the border to Ecuador. Again,
your belief system?As a woman of color, I've alwayswe were completely surprised to see another part of
been conscious of issues relating to racism andPeru so different from all we'd seen thus far.
sexism, but I became more politically active afterMancora is in a desert climate, so it is very dry and
moving to Toronto and connecting with others whosunny, and the town has little infrastructure. Many
had similar experiences. I also had many personalpeople don't have running water, and most who do
struggles in my teens which influenced my desire toonly have it a few hours every other day or so. The
help others.3. When you were young you hitch-hikedpower cuts out unexpectedly, and safe clean drinking
across Canada. Please tell us about that trip and whatwater is not readily available or affordable. Also, there
you learned from it.I left high school to travel when Iwere no social services and very limited access to
was 16. My trip took me across most of the country,health care, unless one could afford to pay for it.The
and I met many interesting people who were leadingtown's dependance on a once-booming fishing
very interesting lives, making their living inindustry is rapidly changing to a dependance on
non-traditional ways. It inspired me to follow mytourism. A big El Nino in 1989 caused much grief for
dream of making a life, not just making a living. Also,the town, which was isolated for 15 days, but it also
my faith in humanity, in people, was completelycreated a beautiful beach which is now popular with
restored. I met many people from many walks ofsurfers year-round.As social work students, we were
life, and almost everyone was willing to share, laugh,mostly working with women in the community, and
talk and open their hearts and homes to me. Thewe met an amazing couple who had started a small
experience left me with a sense that all peopleNGO (Non-governmental Organization, or
share an essential goodness.4. Some time ago younot-for-profit organization) to try and help the people
also went to Cuba and taught ESL classes inin the community in various ways. My friend and I
exchange for room and board. Please tell us aboutspent the rest of our time in Peru living and working
that experience.A few years ago, I went to Cubawith them, working and researching what the most
with no plans, and very little understanding of thepressing needs in the community were. What we
sociopolitical situation in Cuba. To me, it was justdiscovered from interviewing Mancorians was that
another island in the Caribbean. I knew I didn't wantthe people in town were concerned about the lack
to do anything typically tourist-oriented, so I endedof affordable/accessible health care, unemployment,
up at the University of Habana in the summeralcohol and drug addiction and domestic
months, where I worked out deal with someoneviolence.When I returned from my trip, I began
working there to give me room and meal tickets indiscussions with my partner Josh, a Toronto
exchange for teaching English a few hours a day. IParamedic, and with a few close friends about
had $500 dollars in the bank, and a return ticket, andstarting a not-for-profit organization in Canada to help
Ithis under-serviced community in Peru. The most
managed to last a few months this way. It was animportant thing for me was to be able to provide
incredibly humbling experience, because I saw for theassistance to the people of Mancora as they saw fit,
first time how people outside North America live, andand not to impose my own ideals on them. The
I was able to meet and learn from Cuban people. Ipeople we worked with last year seemed to feel
learned a little Spanish, and fell in love withstrongly that having accessible medical care was an
Afro-Cuban and Latin music. I had been a musicianurgent need in their community, so this is where we
my whole life, but this trip showed me how musicfocused most of our energy and resources for our
could be used to connect with people acrossfirst year projects.Susanne Pacher is the publisher of
languagea website called Travel and Transitions( Travel and
and cultural barriers.5. Through your studies in socialTransitions deals with unconventional travel and is
work at Ryerson University you spent some time inchock full of advice, tips, real life travel experiences,
Peru, completing the placement for your degreeinterviews with travellers and travel experts, insights
requirements. Where did you go and what did you doand reflections, cross-cultural issues, contests and
there? What places did you travel to in Peru andmany other features. You will also find stories about
what did you learn about the culture?As my thirdlife and the transitions that we face as we go
year placement, I decided I wanted anotherthrough our own personal life-long journeys.Submit
international travel experience, and made plans toyour own travel stories in our first travel story
travel with a close friend. I knew that the experiencecontest( and have a chance to win an amazing
of doing social work in South America was going toadventure cruise on the Amazon River.
be challenging and emotionally trying, so I was glad