2nd Annual Pilgrimage to Huampu Huampu, Peru
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1,000 local villagers, mostly young people, from Livitaca, Velille, and other small pueblos took part in September 2015, including almost all the priests from the Prelature of Sicuani. According to locals, the shrine was built during the 17th Century colonialization of Peru by a rebellious, bad tempered man from Spain who eventually became very religious.
The man had a dream of Mary and she told him to build a shrine in this place, which was on a mountaintop overlooking the Pueblo of Livitaca. He asked for help but no one believed him or wanted to help him.
The man returned to Spain and had another dream that someone would approach him when he returned. Such a person did approach him when he returned and offered him what he thought was a bag of salt. It was, however, a sack of gold and with it he began work on the shrine and finally other people agreed to help him.The leader of Peru was one of the people who helped build the shrine.
Reforestation in Peru
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Grupo de Veinte Foundation completed its first project on reforestation efforts in Peru.
In Velille, Peru, Jim and Cece Simon recently invited two guest speakers to talk to students from Colquemarca and Velille. The first speaker was Emily, who is a Peace Corps volunteer from the U.S. She is working in Northern Peru and discussed tree planting and reforestation.
The second speaker was Eddie, a Peruano and expert on the history of the Inka culture. He spoke of the problems facing Peru with the loss of its natural habitat.
The photos show the children planting trees that are indigenous to Peru; i.e. Queuna and Pine. These native trees will help counter the effects of Eucalyptus which was imported many years ago from Australia. The fast-growing Eucalyptus trees are harmful to the land and use excessive amounts of water in a region where resources are limited.