Peru is a country where the trees have two trunks.

Svalorna Latinamerika in Peru works according to a method called logical framework approach. Among other things, it is a method for involving the target groups in identifying issues that need to be addressed and, above all, root causes to the problems. This is an important process, both to ensure that any measures taken are well founded among the people concerned and to separate consequences from an underlying problem. For example, one problem may be that women are subject to domestic violence. An underlying cause of domestic violence may be alcoholism, an underlying cause of alcoholism may be poverty and an underlying cause of poverty may be unequal power structures.

The problem that the target groups or stakeholders identify will be put into a so called problem tree where the root causes make up the tree’s trunk while the consequences of the root causes will be identified as the branches of the tree. Here in Peru, Svalorna works in a program that runs from 2007 to 2011. This means that all the activities that they support during this period aim to fulfill goals that are set up for the program.

Before setting up the program, Svalorna conducted a large set of workshops in the regions where they work to identify problems and root causes. Through these workshops they found that the trees in Peru have two trunks; that there are two main root causes of the difficulties that the target group faces. The first root cause is the distance between politicians and the people, which means both that the target groups have few means to participate politically and that politicians often have a poor understanding of how their decisions affect the lives of the target group. The second root cause is concerned with poverty and lacking opportunities. This root is essential to address to enable people to participate politically, because how are you going to be able to get involved in a local community group if you have to work 12 hours per day to support your family?

Personally, I believe that every tree has two trunks that share the same crown. Human rights are divided into two separate covenants that cover civil- and political rights on the one hand and economic-, social- and cultural rights on the other. Even though they are divided into two separate documents they are indivisible and necessary to fulfill the ends of human development and equality.

Arequipa – the city of alluring mountains

Ah, Arequipa. At last I made it here and by now I'm pretty settled together with my flat-mate and co-worker Ida. Life is quite beautiful to be honest. We're close to the sky, close to the sun, close to virtually everything. Since I got here Ida and I have mainly been chilling out and working on making Arequipa our home.

There is a special scent here in Arequipa... I recognize it from Córdoba but I can't really describe it. It is pleasant though, and make me feel like I've come back (home?) to South America. Altitude sickness has been a little bit of an issue making both Ida and I short-winded from not really straining at all. Today we went to a dingy but friendly gym, which really was a huge effort, at least for me.

The weather here is pleasant but temperatures change over the day. At midday you could go out in short and a t-shirt if you wanted whereas in the afternoon you'd be better off in long trousers and a shirt and at night a summer jacket is definitely a good idea. A lot more comfortable than minus three Celsius.

Arequipa is a city full of secrets. So far it has been effectively hiding its mountains from me by covering them in a misty haze. Sometimes it's hard to tell where the mountain behind the clouds end and where the clouds begin. In the morning, before it gets too hazy, you might catch a glimpse of them filling you with awe of how enormous they are. It really is fascinating though that I still haven't got a proper view of Misti. I mean, seriously, how hard can it be to spot a 5800m tall volcano?!

In Lima. With love?

After getting through immigration, I had to retrieve my bag to go through customs and then check in again to continue my domestic flight. While waiting for my bag I realize that I have lost my jacket. Good job! Just barely landed and already loosing things. I abandoned my place in the line to go looking for it and managed to get the security staff involved in my worries about my jacket. Unfortunately without results. So I resumed my place waiting impatiently for my luggage when I see a security counter across the hall with something that looks very much like my jacket lying on the counter. Win! Thank you security man for finding my jacket.

My bag was not so successful. It arrived very late. By the time I had cleared customs I had already missed my continuing flight, but they rebooked me to a later one. At first I was kind of upset, stressed out after having tried to rush to my flight, feeling dirty and sweating. When I passed through security the official called me “Miss Bonita” which I really didn't feel like at all at the moment.

But after having freshened myself up in the bathroom, changed to clean clothes and found a functioning Wi-Fi life is not so bad. I am in Lima, I can see a palm tree from here and my plane will leave in a bit over an hour.

Between here and there

So, here I am in Madrid, Barajas, with 5 hours to kill before my plane to Lima departs. Transit land. No man's land.

Sometimes I wonder why I just don't chose the easy way out and stay at home. Although this is the third time that I set out to the other side of the planet for an extended period of time it never really gets easier. I hate goodbyes. I hate having to leave my friends and family. I hate not being able to be with the people I love.

Often I feel torn between several places, wishing I could be everywhere at once. In Sweden I have this urge to travel and miss friends that are spread out over the world. When I am away I miss my friends and family in Sweden, although I must admit that I've always felt that it is worthwhile to go.

But here, in transit land, I am neither here nor there.

What is this all about?

I am going to Arequipa to work as an intern for the NGO Svalorna Latinamerika. Svalorna is a Swedish NGO that supports long-term, capacity building efforts in Peru, Bolivia and in Nicaragua and work together with local organizations in carrying out the projects or programs. My role will be primarily to work with information; I will write articles for Svalorna's home page (http://www.svalorna.se), write entries for the intern's blog (http://www.svalorna.blogspot.com), write somewhat more journalistic articles for http://www.latinamerika.nu as well as running this blog (although it will be more of a spare time project).

I will also be involved in the evaluation and planning of the programs that Svalorna is responsible for, although the other intern, Ida, will probably be more involved in this than I am. Right now is a very exciting time to go because the office in Peru is in the process of finishing and evaluating a program that has been running from 2006-2011 and about to start up a new one come 2012.

The purpose of this blog is both to blog about my job and about my journey in itself. Hopefully you'll get to see some of the marvels and challenges I'll meet through this blog.