My first meeting with Living Heart 2/20

On the morning of 2/20 I went to the office of Living Heart, the project I am volunteering with, www.livingheartperu.org and met with Ineke who manages the office in Urubamba. Because I had been here before, I took the bus to the office and had no trouble finding it. Fani the director was attending a training of the cooks who would be preparing the food served to the children who live in the communities that Living Heart serves.
The Living Heart Peru project was founded by Sonia Newhouse who left England in 2002 at the age of 71 and lived in the Sacred Valley where she learned about the severe malnutrition suffered by the children due to a diet of only potatoes, she opened Hearts Cafe in 2007 in Ollantaytambo, a site of Incan ruins and many tourists. The profits from the Cafe support the projects of Living Heart. The children in 5 highland communities, about eleven to fourteen thousand feet high, receive 2 hot meals twice a day during the school year and the food is prepared by local cooks who have been trained by Living Heart.
Rita, a nurse, Living Heart employee, and a native quechua speaker, the first language of the community, spanish is the second and taught in the schools, measures the children at the beginning and end of the school year to track their development.

I attended the training session teaching the cooks to prepare fresh vegetable and salads and also teaching them about local herbs that are readily available. I also ate the food and am attaching a picture.
At the end of the training session, we were treated to traditional Andean music on the flute played by Emilio one of the school principals in attendance and a strong supporter of Living Heart´s work in his community. He played traditional Andean airs as well as ´Chicadita´ by Abba.