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PROGRAM

Overview

A Fresh Chapter heals the emotional scars of cancer by blending meaningful volunteer travel with programs designed to reframe adversity, foster connections, and promote personal growth and development. Through the Peru Odyssey, we want to empower you to expand your story beyond cancer while giving back. You will have the opportunity to learn about a new culture, gain a broader perspective on cancer in other parts of the world, and come home inspired to get more involved in your local community.

You will volunteer side-by-side with local community based projects and you will be placed at a volunteer assignment based on your skills and interests as well as the needs identified by the local community. Our partners will transport you to and from your volunteer assignment at a carefully selected community organization for approximately four to five hours each day.

A Fresh Chapter has a facilitation team on-site to help support the emotional needs of all participants. Throughout the program, A Fresh Chapter facilitators lead a variety of group activities designed to help you heal the emotional scars of cancer and reimagine the next chapter in your life.  These activities could include (but are not limited to) reflections on the impact of volunteering, journaling, group discussions about the emotional impact of cancer, cultural activities designed to promote personal development, and the introduction of other tools and resources to help you build a strong sense of community with each other and the projects you will serve.

Participants

Our Peru program is reserved specifically for patients/survivors. The program will have 20 participants total – 10 participants from AFC & 10 participants from our partner Eli Lilly’s Connecting Hearts Abroad program.   Program participants typically range in age from mid-20s through late-60s. We’ve found this diversity creates a more enriched experience for everyone.

Accommodations

• All program participants will be staying at a retreat center in the neighborhood of Barranco –not at the typical CCS home base. While basic, the retreat center will have everything you need. You can expect to have 1-3 roommates in a room with a shared, en-suite bathroom (each person will have his/her own bed – no bunk beds). Both women and men will be housed in the same retreat center but will not share rooms. We will eat most, but not all, of our meals at the retreat center. While there is Wi-Fi – it is not fantastic – but there are cafes in the neighborhood (including a Starbucks just two blocks away) for those who need high-speed connections.
• Most meals will be taken in the retreat center and will consist of traditional Peruvian food.  This includes rice, potatoes, meat, salads as well as a mostly typical western breakfast.
• Food allergies can be accommodated with advance notice (vegetarian, gluten-free, dairy-free, etc.)
• All transportation to and from our volunteer placements and to cultural activities will be provided. Transportation for optional activities and excursions is the participants’ responsibility.

Itinerary

The international volunteer component of the Peru Odyssey program runs from November 7 – 21, 2020. Selected participants are expected to arrive in Lima, Peru on Saturday, November 7 between 12 p.m. and midnight, and to depart before 11 a.m. on Saturday, November 21.

• Saturday – arrival
• Sunday – CCS orientation and sightseeing
• Monday – Thursday: morning volunteering and a combination of cultural and A Fresh Chapter activities in the afternoon and evenings
• Friday – Monday: fly to Cusco in the Sacred Valley of Peru for a Once-In-A-Lifetime experience at Machu Picchu
• Tuesday – Friday: morning volunteering and combination of cultural and A Fresh Chapter activities in the afternoon and evenings
• Saturday: departure

While there will be some pockets of free time for rest and reflection, we recommend early or stay later after the program if you want free time for exploration in Lima.

Our activities are designed to address the deeper emotional scars of cancer – the emotions around the shared struggles of cancer.  This is not a traditional support group and so there are no organized activities around sharing your specific story of cancer (e.g. on May 5, 2000, I was diagnosed with stage four breast cancer, etc.)  Instead, through volunteering, travel and a variety of activities – such as journaling prompts, individual and group exercises, and opportunities to share pieces of your story – our program will help you to uncover the emotional scars of cancer, start to process and deal with them, and begin to guide you toward a new chapter in your life.  While our programs do not follow the typical support model, there are some elements that may be familiar to those who have attended support groups.

All A Fresh Chapter activities are required, as is volunteering each morning.  There are some cultural activities that can be optional but are recommended in order to have the full experience of the program.  Accommodations can be made for those who need more time to rest such as individuals in active treatment or those suffering from post-treatment fatigue.