Mariana Gledhill from Wellington, N.Z. spent 7 months, in 2005, in Peru doing voluntary work. She shares her experiences.

I had better talk about my despedida in my work. Despidida kind of means goodbye party in Spanish. I had a really good one that was combined with the day of the youth and the theoretical first day of spring here (the weather is still sullen though). They turned my work into a disco party for me and we were dancing until 1 in the morning. It was the best despedida that I could of hoped for.

Racial prejudice is founded on a lack of awareness; we fear what we do not understand. It occurs in varying degrees, from throwaway remarks, to the increasing number of brutal attacks on ethnic people in New Zealand.

By Daniel Dearnley

A 16 year-old Tennessee boy, Zach, recently ‘came out’; he told his parents he was gay. Naturally, his parents only wanted to help their child in any way they could. They sent him to a Christian fundamentalist ‘refuge programme’ to try to counsel him out of his homosexuality. He is still there, being treated as though homosexuality is a mental illness.

Prejudice: 1. an unreasonable or unfair dislike or preference 2. intolerance or dislike of people because they belong to a specific race, religion, or group 3. the act or condition of holding such opinions.

By Cameron Walker

Imagine being thrown in a filthy prison, where your cell mates mysteriously ‘disappear’ overnight, just for waving your country’s flag. For many years this was a reality for my West Papuan friend Fransiskus Kandam.

By SARAH ROBSON

The scrutiny of the security guard or assistant in your favourite shop; the scowls of supermarket customers towards checkout chicks; murders blamed on the P-smoking youth… Prejudice towards young people is alive and well in our society.