YAVs as Justice Leaders
A Letter from Jenny Valles and Jed Koball, mission co-workers serving in Peru
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Dear friends,
I need you to hear what the young people of my country are learning in often painful ways: the colonial project never ended. Colonialism rages on.
Earlier this year I met Milagros. She is a 28-year-old university graduate in Psychology. She comes from Puno in the southern Andes of Peru. We were put in touch because she had applied to be a Young Adult Volunteer. Beneath her bright smile, there were deep wounds that quickly surfaced during our initial conversation. Milagros is grieving. Just over one year ago her older brother was shot in the back and killed by the National Police. To date, there has been no justice.
Her brother was one of 60 people killed by the National Police of Peru in the protests of 2023. Most of them were among the thousands of indigenous peoples from the Andes mountains who were protesting the imprisonment of the former president of Peru who was also from the Andes. While many did not agree with his leadership, they recognized that he was up against a political establishment that considered him an outsider and often criticized him with racist language. And so, when he was removed from office and imprisoned, the peoples of the Andes rose up because it was clear that the elites of the country would do anything to suppress their voices.
Milagros’ brother was a doctor who was attending the protests to help those who might get hurt by an aggressive police response. While he was tending to a person who had been beaten with batons, he, himself, was shot in the back. The police who participated in his killing have received immunity.
Milagros did not consider herself to be an activist prior to the killing of her brother, but out of her grief, a voice for justice emerged. Today she is a leader from the Andes seeking justice for the families who lost loved ones at the hands of the State. She understands the risk she is taking. She experiences the loneliness that comes with leadership. She yearns for a community to embrace her.
I thank God that the Young Adult Volunteer (YAV) program together with global partner AETE (Evangelical Theological Education Association) can be that community for Milagros!
This year marks the fourth year of having Peruvian volunteers in the YAV program. While we still encourage the participation of young adults from the U.S., I am excited that this year, including Milagros, we will have six young women volunteers from Peru.
What excites me more is that the six represent the diversity of Peru. They come from the Coast, the Andes mountains, and the Amazon jungle - places that have been historically divided and exploited by colonial powers. They will serve in regions of Peru they do not know and help one another grow in their understanding of our diversity – an important place to begin in the unlearning of a divisive colonial narrative.
The truth about Peru and its people is that if one is not of Indigenous blood then they are of African blood, meaning all of us have ancestral roots that tie back to the original peoples of this land and/or those who were enslaved and forced to this land. Yet only 25% of the population identifies as Indigenous, and only 5% identify as Afro-descendent. The rest identify as “mestizo,” which is a word to imply mixed-race but identifying more with European ancestry. In other words, most Peruvians have been taught to ignore their Indigenous or African ancestry; thus, there is little justice for the Indigenous and Afro-descendent identifying peoples of this land - people like Milagros and her brother.
When I officially invited Milagros to be in the YAV program, tears flowed down her face. She could not believe that the church was embracing her. This is precisely what I need you to hear.
We, the church, have work to do. For far too long we have participated in or ignored the oppressive and divisive colonial project that rages on. It is not too late for us to welcome and walk with young people like Milagros and her fellow Peruvian YAVs who will spend this next year growing in their understanding of themselves and forming bonds of solidarity that will carry them forward.
I urge you to hold them in prayer and to continue your generous support of this work that ties us all together in a common journey to repair the harms of the past and build a future for all.
With grace and gratitude,
Jenny (and on behalf of Jed)