Carmen Mescco Uñapillco

Culinary Arts

Home Community: Tanccac

Cohort: 5

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Carmen graduated from Mosqoy’s scholarship program in 2016 with a Culinary Arts Degree from the Khipu Institute. In high school, she came from a family that could not provide her with financial or emotional support, so she began working as a waitress in a local restaurant to pay her own way through high school. Through this experience, her employers became her mentors, and she fell in love with the art of cooking. By the time she graduated, she knew she wanted to pursue culinary arts. Carmen was a shining light in Casa Mosqoy, with extreme discipline and ambition, and a true friend to her housemates during her three years in the program. Within less than a year of graduation, Carmen opened her very own restaurant in her hometown of Ollantaytambo, Apu Veronica (named for a sacred mountain that overlooks the town). Mosqoy is helping her with business advice and marketing, as she pursues this huge dream of hers. Carmen’s partner believed in her so much that he sold his car to take out a loan for her restaurant; they started with eight chairs and one table, and could barely make ends meet. Now, a year later, they have a continual stream of happy clientele, great reviews on Trip Advisor, and a beautiful baby girl, also named Veronica.

Lisbeth Monica Chavez Monge

Accounting

Home Community: Ollantaytambo

Cohort: 3

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Lisbeth was a member of our third cohort, and graduated from our program in 2012 with a degree in Accounting from the Khipu Institute in Cusco. She is from Ollantaytambo, where her parents are agricultural workers and artisans. During her time with Mosqoy, she was chosen as one of the most promising female leaders and offered a scholarship to participate in a year-long leadership and mentorship program with Visionaria, an organization that provides leadership training for promising women and girls. Upon graduation, she obtained a job as an accountant for a hotel outside of Machu Picchu, before being offered an Ambassadorship to study English for a semester at the University of Victoria in January 2016. During her time in Canada, she participated in an international Indigenous youth knowledge exchange, sharing her Quechua wisdom with Samburu youth from Kenya, as well as Nuxalk, Kwantlen, and Stölo First Nations youth. Upon her return to Peru, she was offered her dream job in the Finance Department of the Ollantaytambo Municipality, working for her home community.

Rolando Auccapuri Iturriaga

Official Tour Guide

Home Community: Pachar

Cohort: 1

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As part of the pioneering Andean Youth Program and formerly a member of the Mosqoy Peru Board of Directors, Rolando has remained involved in Mosqoy since his graduation. In 2010, he was selected for the Mosqoy Ambassadorship Program and travelled to Canada to study English and represent the Andean Youth Program. He also worked as a communications assistant for Mosqoy in Peru between 2011-2012. Since finishing his program in Official Tour Guiding at the Americana Institute, Rolando worked for tour agencies, Tucano Reps and Puma Trek Peru, but has since founded his own agency called Willka Travel. Rolando hopes to work with Mosqoy by donating a portion of his travel agency’s revenues to the Andean Youth Program.

Elmer Valdez Solis

Computer Science

Home Community: Pachar

Cohort: 3

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Elmer was a lively presence during his time at Casa Mosqoy, keeping other students laughing and dancing through his jokes and improvised dance parties. During his time with the T'ikary Youth Program, he also supported in the construction of the Q’enqo library project and the Bombon weaving center through his Kallpa K’oj community service participation. Today, Elmer is working at a computer-software company that is responsible for all of the documentation and coding for SUNAT, the Peruvian federal government agency responsible for taxation and exportation. He is based in Cusco city. Elmer is also serving as a community leader for the youth of his home community, Pachar. Elmer remains active in the Andean Youth Program, regularly visiting Casa Mosqoy for dinners and acting as a mentor for new students.

Elvira Huaman Guerra

Hotel Administration

Home Community: Tanccac

Cohort: 1

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Elvira was part of our first cohort who started in 2006 and graduated in 2010. She graduated with a degree in Hotel & Tourism Administration from the Americana Institute in Cusco. Elvira is from the campesino (rural subsistence farming) community of Tanccac, outside of Ollantaytambo. Her parents are both farmers, and she is the first professional of her family. She was a leader in Casa Mosqoy, and was one of the founding students, helping us establish the key values and norms that we still use for the T'ikary Youth Program. Upon graduation, she received a semester-long scholarship by the University of Victoria as a Mosqoy Ambassador to study English as a second language, while sharing her culture and experience with Canadian youth. She is now employed with Inca Rail in Ollantaytambo, one of the main railway companies offering services between Cusco and Machu Picchu, and thoroughly enjoys her job. She continues to volunteer for Mosqoy, as the president of Mosqoy's Peru Board of Directors.

Adrian Jimenez Suma

 Official Tour Guide

Home Community: Mandolista

Cohort: 1

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Adrian is from the small community of Mandolista, which is home to about 80 families who operate small-scale farms, growing products such as potatoes, corn, and beans. He has three younger siblings, and his younger sister, Karina, is also a Mosqoy graduate. Adrian was in Mosqoy’s first cohort of students and studied tourism because he likes to share his culture and teach his native language, Quechua, to visitors. Since he graduated with his Official Tour Guide designation in 2009, he has obtained a series of paid positions in the tourism industry. He has worked as a tour assistant for Threads of Peru, a fair-trade social enterprise that supports weavers near his hometown, and he also has experience with the responsible adventure tour agency, Apus Peru. His dream is to open his own travel agency, where he can employ his classmates and other graduates of the Mosqoy program. He had always dreamt of going to Canada and therefor was very excited to be selected as a 2016 Mosqoy Ambassador, studying English at the University of Victoria and presenting guest lecture to youth across British Columbia. Adrian is also a talented musician and plays the quena, a traditional flute from Peru. He is saving his funds from his recent employment to study traditional music in Cusco, and is often hired as a musician for folkloric festivals and ritual events in his home region.

Karina Jimenez Suma

Hotel Administration

Home Community: Mandolista

Cohort: 4

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Karina graduated from the T'ikary Youth Program in 2016 and is happily working in her field of study in Ollantaytambo at a beautiful bed and breakfast, Apu Lodge. Karina not only speaks Spanish and Quechua, but is constantly working to improve her English and her Portuguese. During her time with Mosqoy, Karina participated in the Visionaria Institute, a Rotary Global Grant Project that provides leadership and empowerment workshops for young women. In 2017, she was nominated to serve on Mosqoy's Peru board of Directors as its youngest member. 

Johnny Rojas Huaman

Official Tour Guide

Home Community: Quiswara

Cohort: 3

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Johnny is an ambitious alumnus of the Official Tour Guide program at the Khipu Institute from Mosqoy third cohort. He thoroughly enjoyed his experience in the T'ikary Youth Program, particularly the tight-knit family he was part of while there. In 2016, he started his own tour agency, Johnny Travel Agency, and is excited for the autonomy that this allows. He currently lives in Phiri, outside of Ollantaytambo, where he boarded with his godparents to complete his high-school education. He serves as a mentor for younger T'ikary Youth Program students who are studying to be official tour guides, supporting them in their searches for internships and work opportunities.