Gaining Momentum (p.s. this is long...read it anyway)

As most of you already know, one of the projects I have been involved in down here is a music ministry in the very low income district of Trujillo called El Porvenir. You can click on the right side of this blog to read more about the structure and goals of the ministry. Over the past year, Ronald Serrano Moreno, the founder of the program, another volunteer, Rachel Jurkowski, and I have been working towards organizing and expanding the project.

We recently have some good steps towards the organization of the project by becoming an official NGO, as well as deciding on our official name- CompArte Perú (a fusion of two spanish words- comparte meaning share, and arte meaning art). We also are currently trying to build a website in order to share photos, stories, and post concert dates, etc. as well as giving our project plan, mission statement, history, and other things that we are pulling together right now.

Also, another exciting milestone for us was about 2 weeks ago, Ronald, Rachel, and I were interviewed by the Trujillo Newspaper "La Industria" about CompArte Peru. A large article was printed in the Culture section of the main newspaper of Trujillo, meaning that we are also gaining more recognition in the city. Please continue to be in constant prayer and support of this music project and especially for the children who participate in it, that the program will benefit the kids, their families, and the community as well.

Here is the translated article, as well as a color copy of the photo that accompanied the article:

"Proyecto 'CompArte' lleva el Arte a Niños Pobres- Cuando la música cambia el fulbito por los violines- dos chelistas estadounidenses son parte de importante trabajo cultural

"Project CompArte takes the Arts to poor children- When music changes soccer for violines- Two US cellists are part of an important cultural work"

Something is changing in El Porvenir. Now, in some corners of this heavily populated district, in place of traditional games of fulbito (soccer played on a court), children come together to play violin, treating it as if it were a small party. The motive? The results of an innovative new project called “Comp-Arte Peru” that well-known Trujillo violinist, Ronald Serrano Moreno directs.

“The idea,” says Serrano Moreno, “is to give children and youth with little economic resources the opportunity to accomplish their goals through music. Obtaining that kind of discipline, that confidence in the work they put into music can then be applied to other aspects of their daily lives as well.

The results are easy to see. Not only have the children accomplished learning a musical instrument, but now they also look at the future with much more optimism. “The purpose of the project is to stimulate and motivate the lower class children using music. They come underprivileged, they don’t have many toys or games, but through music, we hope to help them set higher standards and reach their goals” explains Serrano Moreno.

However, the motivation does not stop there as the most outstanding students of the project advance to be a part of the Teófilo Álvarez Dávila Youth Orchestra (Orquesta Infantil Juvenil Teófilo Álvarez Dávila), a group that has already given commended musical concerts around Trujillo.

For Love of the Arts
The project has even pulled in two young volunteers from the United States who have been working in our city (Trujillo) for over a year- Gillian Baikie and Rachel Jurkowski.
Gillian Baikie is a cellist who graduated from the school of Education (correction: School of Interior Design) at Anderson University of South Carolina. Before living here, she had already visited Trujillo and had seen the condition of some parts of Trujillo and wasn’t shocked by the poverty of the area. Her only problem upon arrival was in fact the language barrier, a stumbling block that she has overcome, as she is already speaking like a “Trujillana.”

Gillian teaches cello to the children and youth in El Porvenir and is happier for the experience she has had. “It’s been great, a child gains confidence and then that ability in music serves as way for him or her to set goals for his or her life, a way to grow as a person,” says Baikie.

Above all, she takes pride in seeing the progress of her pupils. To watch them as they are able to play beautiful notes on their instruments and to see the smiles on their faces. “They want to play, they love it and that love is contagious,” recounts Baikie, “I remember one Saturday, some girls from the neighborhood found out about our project and came by because they wanted to part of our group. The kids in the project are an example for the other children.”

Miss Baikie came to Peru with Peru Mission (Misión Reformada en Perú) and now, in spite of the meager state of the area, wants to stay another year and continue working with the children of lower income families. It has been here in Trujillo that she has made many friends who have helped in everything, even in procuring a cello for her to continue practicing her passion.

“This project gives children the opportunity to rise to greater heights, to appreciate music more, to discover talents and to be an example for the other kids,” she said convinced.

Likewise, her compatriot, Rachel Jurkowksi, who graduated from the University of Notre Dame in Indiana with a degree in Music and Philosophy, came to Trujillo with the intention of doing volunteer work.

“Ronald told me about the project and I told him ‘Sure, let’s go see,’ reflects Jurkowski.

The beginning, as with everything, was difficult. Jurkowski was quiet, shy and the economic disparity was an obstacle for her assimilation in Trujillo and with the children. However, with time, she and her students began learning. “They loosened up a lot,” she says, “Now they laugh, converse, and there is a connection between them that allows them to learn more quickly.”

In fact, the majority of the children in the same position have a common, passionate desire to learn more and more about music.

“These children work so much harder because it is all they have; and for that, they dedicate themselves wholeheartedly to practicing,” concluded Rachel.