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| Bio Casa Javier House |
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Porfirio Quispe
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Porfirio Quispe
(26 years old) – came in April, 1999 from an orphanage in Lima. A native of rural Cuzco in the mountains southeast of Lima, Porfi’s parents passed away years ago, leaving only two of their twelve children living. Porfi, the younger, was more than his aged grandmother could handle. In his remote, rural village, there was no school. When he was twelve years old, he was sent to live with an “aunt” in Lima. Since the native language in the mountains (Quechua) is unknown in Lima and he did not speak Spanish, he was ridiculed by the children of his new family (his cousins). He ran away from home and wound up in a city-run orphanage where he began his schooling. Since he had to leave the orphanage when he reached “14,” he came to the Casa Javier. When we actually found his birth certificate in the summer of 2000, he was found to be two years older than previous thought. Porfi has excelled at his studies. In his second year here, he finished two years of grade school and the first year of high school—all in one year! Then he matriculated in the Jesuit, Colegio San Francisco Javier from where he graduated in December, 2004. After 18 months of preparing for the entrance exam, he entered Lima’s San Marcos University in August, 2006, majoring in literature, language, and history to be a teacher. He would like to return to his native Cuzco to teach. He loves languages, speaks English, Quechua and Spanish fluently. He travelled to the United States in January, 2004 on a student exchange in Cincinnati and did promotional work for the PLF. He is currently working at the Copper Mountain Valley Ski Resort in Colorado for the winter months (his summer vacation ). He will begin his third year of college in April. |
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