AMBASSADORSHIP
“Education is a luxury that not all people have easy access to. By bringing students from Peru to speak with Canadian youth, we are making a significant contribution to the education of both groups.”
– Graham Miles, Mosqoy Intern
Our student ambassadors travel to Canada biennially, allowing further opportunities for Peruvian students to gain valuable knowledge and professional skills.
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What is an ambassadorship?
Mosqoy partners with the University of Victoria to send two of the most promising graduates from the Mosqoy Youth Program to Victoria, Canada, to give them the opportunity to learn valuable language and professional skills. While in Canada these students also raise awareness among a new generation of Canadians about Indigenous cultures and traditions, acting as Quechua cultural ambassadors.
Connecting with Canadians
During their stay, students attend English Second Language (ESL) classes at the University of Victoria, while living with Canadian homestay families. They also host presentations to local high schools and university classrooms, and participate in intercultural indigenous youth knowledge exchanges. This gives Canadian youth - including First Nations youth across British Columbia - the opportunity to learn about Quechua culture, international non-profit organizations, and some of the economic and social challenges that are now facing Peruvian youth.
Our 2012 Ambassadors, Ebhert and Elvira
Ebhert and Elvira are two Mosqoy Alumni who, through the Ambassadorship Program, travelled from Peru to Canada in the winter of 2012. Both were involved with Mosqoy since its inception in 2006. Since successfully graduating from their post-secondary studies, they have have shown inspirational dedication and integrity through their volunteer work as student leaders. We were excited to be able to select them as our student ambassadors in 2012.
While in Canada, Ebhert and Elvira attended ESL classes at the University of Victoria (UVic), which gave them a chance to practice their English skills and meet a number of international students from all over the globe. As they became more comfortable with their newly honed English skills, they began hosting a number of cultural exchange events including traditional Peruvian cooking classes, and presentations about Quechua culture and their lives in Peru.
Elvira’s Story
Hi, my name is Elvira. It has been a good experience studying English at UVic because every day I learned new words and culture. It was exciting. I learned a lot of English. Many people helped me. At UVic I had a class from 8:30-12:45. I was never absent from my class. Every day, I spoke English with everyone. I also learned that some people have a lot of money. It is amazing!
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My experience in Victoria is wonderful because I learned about Canadian culture and I saw the beautiful forest. I also learned about the daily life here. It is very different from Peru but I’m so happy because I could learn about Victoria and meet very good people. I’m lucky I also met volunteers who work for Mosqoy and Q’ente.
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We participated in presentations at high schools and the university. I’m happy because I have talked about my life and my culture to almost 200 young Canadians. It was exciting because I used to be nervous speaking in front of an audience but now I’m not!
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When people ask me about Peru or Indigenous communities, I’m really happy because they want to know about my culture. Thank-you to all the people who helped me. Now my dream is real. Thank-you, my time here has been great.
Ebhert's Story
Hello, my name is Ebhert Florentino. I arrived in Victoria on January 5th. I started to study at UVic on January 9th. I have had a nice experience here because I have learned a lot of English and I know new friends from other countries, for example Saudi Arabia, Taiwan, Chile, China, Japan and many countries. I studied for 12 weeks and yesterday I had the final dinner with my friends and teachers. It was a nice dinner.
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During my schedule in Victoria, every day I went to class. The class is in the morning from 8:30 until 12:45. On Saturday and Sunday, I went to play soccer with my new friends. Sometimes I went to a Mosqoy volunteer’s home to make food together or sometimes we went hiking in the mountains. I saw a hockey game and we also went to the opera and had many other activities at UVic.
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I visited three high schools to explain about Mosqoy and Q’ente and I did one presentation at the First People’s House at UVic. In two weeks, I will go back to Peru, but I am very happy because I introduced many people here to the life in Peru and the difference between Peru and Canada.
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Thank-you to everyone for everything and for the opportunity to come to Victoria and study at the university.