Pan-American Road Trip Memories 11 – Visit to the HoPe Foundation
The Pan-American Road Trip began in December 2011. A road trip through South America with 83 classic Volvos. Over 35 days and 16,000 kilometres, these Volvo enthusiasts drove from Buenos Aires in Argentina, southwards to Cartagena de Indias in Colombia. Over the coming weeks, we’ll be sharing memories of this memorable journey on our blog.
The visit to the HoPe Foundation
Sunday 1 January was the day on which we, together with a large group of Panamericana participants, visited one of the HoPe Foundation’s projects. HoPe was the charity linked to the trip. For us, this was a unique opportunity to showcase some of the projects we have been working on for over 20 years.
A welcome from the mayor of Cuzco
We’d love to take the group to one of the projects high up in the mountains. To one of the 200 schools that HoPe supports in the Peruvian Andes and, in most cases, has built itself. HoPe believes that a good education is the foundation for the development of the community we work for: the Highland Indians. However, the villages are situated high up in the mountains and can only be reached via a journey lasting several hours along winding mountain roads, mostly alongside deep ravines. We didn’t want to put the Volvo drivers through that, so we opted to visit a project that was on the day’s itinerary. In Cuzco, the group was to be received by the mayor.
A warm welcome in Racchi
On the way, we passed through the Racchi community, a village where HoPe has been working since 1997. The HoPe staff and the residents of Racchi had been busy for weeks making sure our visit would be an unforgettable one. The school grounds were large enough to park all the Volvos. Here, we were warmly welcomed by a large delegation from the village.
The programme was presented by young people from the Patacancha indigenous community. There were also young people who have been taking part in HoPe’s programmes since day one – that’s 21 years now. We were treated to a lovely programme featuring speeches, dancing and a light meal consisting of indigenous potatoes and guinea pig! The participants were pleasantly surprised by the welcome: we saw many tears of emotion!
A significant moment for the HoPe Foundation
The visit offered just a brief glimpse behind the scenes at HoPe. Nevertheless, it was an important moment for our foundation. It is the only way we can show and let our sponsors experience who HoPe is and what HoPe means to the indigenous people.
Walter Meekes, founder of the HoPe Foundation
Book a Pan-American Highway road trip
The book ‘Panamericana Road Trip’ has been published as a memento of this memorable journey. The story is told through the stunning photographs of travel photographer Thijs Heslenfeld, accompanied by a selection of the many stories written by the heroes of this journey. For anyone who didn’t make the journey, this is a wonderful book to lose yourself in. The proceeds from the book will go towards the special projects run by the HoPe Foundation. This organisation – founded by Walter Meekes – focuses primarily on developing education in the remote mountain villages around the Peruvian city of Cuzco.
More about LatinAmeriCar
Would you like to join one of these exclusive road trips yourself? Then take a look at our LatinAmeriCar page. Do you have any questions about a unique trip of Latin America, would you like a bespoke travel proposal, or would you like to arrange an appointment at our office? Please feel free to get in touch with us. Send an email to info@sapapanatravel.nl or call +31 73 610 62 04. We’d be happy to help.