Multimedia Reporting (Bradford-Utsler)

Study Abroad programs allow students to learn about a topic of interest while at the same time exploring a different part of the world. One such experience offered to The Unversity of Kansas students is called Study Abroad in Peruvian Culture and Disabilities, lead by Dr. Glen White, professor in the Applied Behavioral Sciences Department.

The main goals of this trip are to show students services that are available to those with disabilities in Peru, and to give students more knowledge about some difficulties those with disabilities have in Peru. These goals will be accomplished by visiting different facilities that help those with disabilities and by listening to various lectures given at Universities in Lima discussing disability in Peru.

While Study Abroad programs are not uncommon for KU students, a trip to Peru is a bit unique. Common destinations for summer of 2006 Study Abroad programs include: Costa Rica, France, Germany, and Italy. Because Peru is not a popular location of travel for Study Abroad students the cost of such a trip for the students is high at $4,200 per person. This trip was originally planned for the summer of 2006, however, cost issues surfaced pushing the date back to summer of 2007.

So why go all the way to Peru? White himself said there are people with disabilities everywhere. He has known others who have gone to Peru and has made friends with some who live there. Being handicapped himself, White has done work with the Christopher Reeves Foundation in Peru. It has been an area of interest to him for awhile. In order to prepare for this Study Abroad program White has visited Peru two times, one with an undergraduate student and the other with a graduate student.

To gain a better understanding about people with disabilities in Peru, the agenda for the trip includes many visits to different disability services, both privately owned and publicly owned, in the cities of Lima and Cusco. Time will be spent at Centro Ann Sullivan del Peru (CASP), a non-profit organization that helps people with disabilities in Peru and conducts research and training programs. Students will be able to observe the facilities and include themselves in the work that is being done there. White encourages students to directly interact with workers and those with disabilities.

White said this trip will not focus on a certain type of disability or on a certain age of people with disabilities. He said students may work with children who have developmental disabilities or cognitive disabilities. They may also work with people who have sensory disabilities such as blindness.

The trip won’t be all work. White has planned to focus part of the Peru experience on learning about the history and culture of the country. While in Lima, the group will experience folk dancing, see the Colonial, and explore archeological areas which the Incas inhabited.

Learning the history and culture of Peru will not be the only new knowledge students will be able to bring home with them. White said that by visiting a country in a distant part of the world from the United States students will experience international differences among countries. Peru is a developing country that is different than what some students may be familiar with so the trip may give them an “awakening of sorts,” White said.

Zach Coble, Winfield, Kansas junior, has experienced disabilities within Kansas and works for the Kansas Youth Empowerment Academy, an organization that Coble said provides leadership and cultural types of activities to high school aged people with disabilities. Coble said he wants to go on this Study Abroad trip to Peru in order to experience disabilities in a different part of the world.

Study Abroad in Peruvian Culture and Disabilities is scheduled for the summer of 2007. White said undergraduate and graduate students of any major are able to join this Study Abroad trip where they will learn about and work with people who have disabilities and also have fun while experiencing a society in a different part of the world.