Deborah is entering her senior year of college where she studies Fashion Merchandising, and she is particularly interested in sustainable fashion. She spent the Spring 2019 semester studying fashion Florence, Italy and then decided to intern at an NGO in Peru to get real hands on experience at a sustainable fashion company.
I chose this program because I have a strong fashion for sustainable fashion and I really like the mission of Huaywasi. Huaywasi works with seven local artisans and I liked how small and local this program was.
Since Huaywasi is part of the Light and Leadership Initiative, it was very nice to also be able to teach art classes and get other opportunities to learn, not just about fashion.
The Light and Leadership Initiative assisted me with putting me in contact with the company's managers and answering any questions that came up along the way. I had to organize my travel plans to Peru, but LLI provided airport pick up and a tour of Huaycan the next day. They also greatly assisted me with my training once in Huaycan, and explained all of my responsibilities very clearly.
As a student, I had to organize obtaining credits on my own through my university, which was a bit of a long process, but it was not a difficult process at all. LLI also provided me with the necessary documents to show to my university, detailing my internship with them.
I know at least for me, when I saw this internship posting, the job itself sounded perfect, but I did not know if I wanted to live in Peru. Now, I truly believe that if you love what you do, you can do it anywhere, with anyone. I met so many amazing people through this organization and was able to travel to so many beautiful places that I had no idea even existed. Peru has so much to offer and the people are so welcoming and accepting you will have no trouble making it feel like your home away from home.
LLI is an organization that has a Kid's Program, Teen's Program, Women's Program, and Huaywasi, their fashion brand. As a Huaywasi intern, I would travel to different areas of Lima to complete different tasks. For example, I would go to Gamarra, the textile district, to get fabrics and materials to bring back to the artisans in Huaycan. I would also go to Barranco for photoshoots.
When I was not traveling, I did a lot of work in the office or at home, but mostly on my own schedule. For example, I did a lot of photography and editing, so I would edit a lot of pictures at night. During the day sometimes I would assistant teach in art classes with kids and then go to the Huaywasi office to meet with artisans or go over new designs.
I had a lot of fears when I was first going to Peru. I was worried that I would not know anyone, I could not speak Spanish very well, and everyone warned me that Peru can be dangerous.
My fears were soon overcome when I met all of the volunteers with amazing and outgoing personalities and I was able to fit right in and make Huaycan feel like home. Although my Spanish still is nowhere near perfect, I definitely learned a lot while being in Peru and everyone was willing to help me learn and get better. While Peru can be dangerous, anywhere can seem dangerous if you are not familiar with your surroundings. If you take the necessary safety precautions when you arrive, you will feel comfortable and safe walking around.
I have so many favorite parts about working with Huaywasi that I don't know if I can exactly pick just one. However, I truly enjoyed the sense of freedom and responsibility I was given with Huaywasi. The team worked so well together and everybody's ideas and opinions are taken into consideration, so I really felt that I was personally making a difference. It can be hard to feel beneficial to a company when it is so big, but because Huaywasi is so small, everyone feels appreciated and considered.