Peruvian Youth Work with Partners Traveling from Minnesota, Texas Chapters

Minnesota-Uruguay Partners of the Americas welcomes back Mandy Mattke, vice president of the Minnesota chapter, from her summer exchange in Peru. 

Mandy joined with Iliana Queirolo-Diaz, president of the Texas Partners of the Americas chapter, in mentoring the Youth in Action program, which Iliana organizes to empower youth to actively serve others through volunteer programs in their home communities and abroad. 

Texas Partners of the Americas enjoys a lively trilateral partnership between Texas, Peru, and Mexico. 

Mattke, who takes over as president of the Minnesota chapter next year, said she was "honored" to have the opportunity "to learn directly from such a dynamic, multi-faceted, and tireless leader" within the Partners of the Americas network. 

The Texas chapter has been partnering with Alamo colleges, Accenture, CUSO International, and USAID in its programming. 

During the three-week exchange, the American Youth in Action group joined with Peruvian alumnus from past Youth in Action exchanges to secure local government commitments to develop future projects in water, sanitation, and healthcare, to construct a local community center, and to teach English and enrichment courses to local youth.