NEW ROCHELLE, NY — Westchester’s only all-boys K-12 Catholic institution to make the “Best Catholic High Schools in New York State” and “Best Private High Schools in New York State” on Niche.com, Iona Preparatory recently sent a group of students and chaperones on a life-changing service immersion trip to Peru. They visited the country’s most impoverished areas to gain first-hand knowledge of a completely differently way of life and survival, as well as a better understanding of how to better advocate for change and tackle global issues such as poverty and injustice at their sources.
“This time spent is invaluable in both character and faith formation for our students,” said Sean D’Alfonso, Assistant Director of Campus Ministry. “This type of trip puts all of the values we teach into action. You can tell the young men are truly impacted from seeing these difficult situations up close, and finding the courage and strength to do something about it.”
Students worked together to lay concrete for the building of a home in the impoverished barrio of Jicamarca in the City of Lima. They also visited Cenaculo, an orphanage in Villa Salvador that is run by a group of Italian nuns and lay volunteers for children up to 3 years old who have been abandoned.
The group went to a medical clinic that serves some of the area’s most impoverished people and dropped off five suitcases worth of medical supplies that were collected from students during Mission Peru week at the school. The young men also visited with children at a daycare center, who were cared for while their parents tried to look for work.
The service immersion concluded with visits to the Sacred Vally, Machu Pichu, Inca ruins and home tours of Saint Rose of Lima and San Martin de Porres to round out their experience.
