Chesterton youth spends summer caring for Peru's orphans

July 10, 2004  

By Diane Kubiak
Post-Tribune correspondent

CHESTERTON - To say that travel broadened Tom Shumate would be cliche. More accurately, it focused him.

Shumate, 19, returned from the inten se experience of helping the deaf and handicapped orphans of Cuzco, Peru, with more than a poncho, some alpaca scarves and a cowboy hat for family members.

"The week was short. I didn't want to leave," said Shumate, a 2002 Chesterton High School graduate who works as a security guard.

To say that Shumate spent the week playing in the orphanage with the children would be misleading, said Kimberly Haley-Coleman, spokeswoman for GlobeAware, a not-for-profit organization based in Texas which arranges working vacations around the world for volunteers.

Shumate found her group while surfing the Internet for volunteer vacations.

The "play" with the children in Cuzco is intentional, she said.

"They need one-on-one. When we're not there, they don't get it. We give basic care and do se lf-esteem building exercises," she said.

Of all the trips her organization arranges, the Cuzco outreach she finds the most emotionally inten se .

"The children just come up to you and hug your legs," she said.

Deaf and mentally handicapped children are abandoned in Peru, where parents feel they cannot properly care for them, said Haley-Coleman. Because of a social stigma involved in signing away rights to the children the parents don't, leaving the children in a legal quagmire.

"Even Peruvians can't easily adopt them," she said. The parents show up once a year for a perfunctory visit to maintain their rights and save face.

The children are taught Peruvian sign language, but do not get any vocational education and often are released into the streets to beg for a living, she said.

"We're trying to change that," she said.

Part of the fee Shumate paid for room and board goes to projects for the orphans.

"We put in hot water heaters," he said. Prior to that, infants were being bathed in cold water, he said.

The trip has increased his desire to make a difference and he can't wait to get back.

"I'm just waiting to hear from the company," said Shumate, who wants one day to be a police officer. He thinks the experience also will make him a better policeman. "It helped me relate to people a lot more and to be more caring. I'd be more in touch with the community."

If so, Shumate will have helped Globe Aware fulfill its mission.

"These are life-altering programs," Haley-Coleman said. "It's rare we have someone come back who isn't changed. They've radically had something happen to them.

The group hopes volunteers will better appreciate the obstacles other countries face in meeting the needs of their citizens. They also hope participants have a good time, she said.

"Cuzco is beautiful with its cobblestone streets. You'll see llamas and women wearing bowler hats," she said.

Participants also receive free passes to area Peruvian sites, including the nearby Inca ruins at Machu Picchu.

"Our motto is, 'Help people; have fun,' " she said.