Volunteering abroad is something Santa Fean Lyndi Martinez has always wanted to do, and come the first week in April, she will take her first trip with Cross Cultural Solutions to volunteer at an orphanage in Lima, Peru.

"I've wanted to do this forever and I feel like if I don't do it now, I'll probably never do it," said Martinez, a Santa Fe High School graduate and daughter of Ava Alaniz of Santa Fe and William Martinez of Demeng. She will take off for two weeks beginning April 2, 2011. Currently, Martinez is raising funds for her trip. Her goal is approximately $4,000.

Cross Cultural Solutions was a perfect program for her, because she's a mother of two small children ages 2 and 4. Though the program matches people to assignments all over the world, the time length ranges from one week to several months, so the amount of time spent volunteering varies.

A representative from Cross Cultural Solutions suggested Peru because of Martinez's background in education. She served as an educational assistant for seven years at both Albuquerque Public Schools and Denver Public Schools in Colorado.

Martinez has volunteered with local organizations in the past such as Bridging of Worlds and fostering animals for the Santa Fe
Animal Shelter.

"This will be my first time volunteering in a school environment and at an orphanage," Martinez said. "I do have the experience working with children, so I'm thrilled about that. My Spanish is not so good, so I'm a little concerned about that. I'm going to really have to brush up on my Spanish."

Martinez also expects the trip will both humble her and make her grateful for her blessings.

"I've never been exposed to poverty like that," Martinez said, noting that oftentimes people only express thanks once a year at Thanksgiving. "When I see what I'm going to see, it's going to make me so grateful and appreciative of the luxuries I take for granted every day."

Though Martinez is looking forward to the volunteer aspect of the trip, there is a personal aspect as well. Martinez's sister, Kami Martinez, died two years ago. At the time she died, she had a picture of Machu Picchu in Peru in her bedroom.

"My sister had a fascination with places like Stonehenge and the pyramids," Martinez explained. "She dreamt of traveling to places like that ... They just fascinated her. (Machu Picchu) is the seventh wonder of the world. It's a breathtaking place."

Martinez didn't even remember the picture until after she had signed up to volunteer in Peru, and when a representative from Cross Cultural Solutions suggested she take a trip to Machu Picchu, Martinez said the trip was meant to be.

"I'm taking a crematory locket with me ... that contains a pinch of my sister's ashes," Martinez said. "I'm going to release her ashes at Machu Picchu."

Though she is raising funds for both the volunteer trip to Lima and the trip to Machu Picchu, she wants people to understand that it's not just a personal trip.

"I don't want people to think that they're helping me fund a personal trip to honor my sister's life," she said. "That part blossomed from the original idea. I was going to go anyway, this happens to be an additional blessing that I'm going to get from this trip."

She is raising funds for both the volunteer part of the trip (donations are tax-deductible and can be made at https://my.crossculturalsolutions.org/sponsor/Sponsor
shipPercent.aspx?username=lyndimartinez&spIndirect=y); and for her trip to Machu Picchu (for which donations are not tax-deductible). For more information about how to donate to the personal leg of the trip, e-mail lyndimtz@hotmail.com.

"I know it's a bad time of year because it's so close to Christmas," Martinez said. "I'm just going to remain optimistic."

Martinez is looking forward to the trip and "the sense of gratification, honor and integrity associated with helping a community in need," she said. "That in itself is going to give me a sense of achievement and a sense of pride. I just know that I'm going to come back a changed person. I just know it."

Contact Ana Maria Trujillo at 986-3084 or atrujillo@sfnewmexican.com.