JUNE 2005 - Newsletter

Highlights for June included:

• A month-long visit by volunteers from Unite for Sight
• Geckos and Peregrine visits to the Picol School
• Luc Clara being accepted into San Martin
• Picol kids learning to wash their hands, face and clean their teeth
• Dancing the night away at the Yutto Community Festival
• Seeing a 1000 year old Mommy that had just been discovered
• Celebrating the biggest festival of the year in Cusco

Reading glasses becoming trendy in rural Peru

Over the months of May and June, Peru's Challenge organised for six volunteers from Unite for Sight to come to Cusco to conduct eye examinations to over 600 adults and children.

The group donated more than 400 pairs of glaswses and a month of their time to complete eye examinations. Follow-up consultations within the six communities around Cusco were also conducted.

A big thank you must go to Jennifer, Founder of Unite for Sight, Optometrists Raj Hanspal and Rajwinder Sangha, and their assistants Laura, Sarah, Marc and Hemesh and for their tireless work during the month.

Thanks also to our staff member Jesús for looking after the group and consulting with each community.

We would also like to thank all of the companies including the Canadian Lions Eyeglass Recycling Centre that helped the group through donating glasses.

Together we are now organising Phase II - a visit from Unite for Sight volunteers in December and January. In consulation with See International, a group of Opthalmologists will visit Cusco for a week to conduct cataract surgeries and pass on modern techniques and equipment to eye surgeons in Cusco. Volunteers through Unite for Sight will stay on in Cusco for two months to monitor the surgeries and assist all patients.

For more information, click here.

Half-a-days work makes a big difference

A couple of times each month, Peregrine and Geckos travellers from Australia come to visit our projects for a couple of hours on their free day.

During this time, they help with whatever needs doing. This month Ineke, Jeff, Gabby, Jo and their guide Paola came to help out in the vegetable garden.

A note from Jeff: "Hope all is well - thanks for the opportunity of giving a tiny bit to the kids - we all had fun testing our building skills. Hopefully what we did is still standing!"

Yes Jeff it is still standing and the kids are enjoying fresh vegetables from the garden for every lunch. We look forward to meeting more Geckos and Peregrine travellers and welcome your interest.

Little Luc Clarita making new friends

Luc Clara is seven years old and was born with Down's Syndrome. Facilities for children with needs such as Luc Clara are non-existant within the Peruvian general education system. Fortunately for her, San Martin in Cusco is an excellent school catering for kids with special mental and physical needs.

Because it is such a good school, it is very hard to be given a position. But with our help, we were able to get Luc Clara accepted and she has never been so happy. She is now pronouncing some words correctly and has a constant smile on her face.

Peru's Challenge has made a continued commitment to pay for her registration, fees and necessary materials. A big thank you must go to Teisha, one of our volunteers, for providing Luc Clara with a new school bag, books and a new pair of clothes for her first day at school.

Shiny and smily faces

This month, the volunteers taught the kindergarten kids how to wash their hands before lunch and then to wash their faces after finishing eating.

Each kid was given their own hand towel and toothbrush which were donated by our volunteers.

The kids all love this part of the day and wait patiently in line for their turn.

We are also going to start daily showers for the kids in July.

Volunteers invited back to the Yutto community

For the second time in six months, our volunteers were invited back to the rural agricultural community of Yutto to celebrate a local festival.

To receive an invitation to a local community celebration is a great honour, one which most visitors to Peru would never experience.

There was plenty of dancing fueled by the local Inca beer - Chica, and the offer of Cuy (guinea pig) for dinner.

Peru's Challenge will start working with the Yutto community in August 2005 with our volunteers teaching classes twice a week in English, Art and Sport.

The festival provided a great chance for the community members to meet our volunteers and for the volunteers to dance and play with some of the kids from the school.

Stumbling across a 1000-year-old Inca mommy

Each month our volunteers enjoy a two-day trip to the Sacred Valley of the Incas.

The June group were particularly lucky during their guided tour of the Pisaq ruins. As they were walking past the ancient Inca cemetary a man appeared holding a 1000 year old mommy which he had just discovered.

The mommy is believed to have been around four or five years old when he/she died.

Inti-Raymi - Festival of the Sun

Every year on the 24th of June, Cusco celebrates the Festival of Inty-Raymi.

This day marks the winter solstice where by the Sun is at its furthest distance from Earth.

The Inti-Raymi Festival includes both a ceremony to call back the Sun to Earth and a celebration of the Sun's New Year, honouring the Inca God of the Sun - Wiracocha.

Our volunteers tried to find a spot on the hill along with thousands of other visitors to catch a glimpse of the amazing Festival.

A big thanks to our volunteers who left in June

It was only just over two weeks for you Katie and Daryl, but thank you for giving your time to our projects.

My maths teacher from secondary school, Penny (Ana), thanks for your help setting up lesson plans for the kids.

Michelle for medical advise and ideas on how to improve our medical care for the kids.

Rebecca and Marta for your continued help with all our projects.

Mags, for your continued interest in Peru's Challenge and finally being able to join us in Peru.

Corinne, our Fairy godmother, who wanted to take every kid home and for her great hair cutting skills.

Dave for all your constructive ideas and helping at the Huandar project.

And for keeping us all laughing, Jez.

Kindergarten kids washing their hands

Some of the kids at Yutto

Waiting for their eyes to be tested

All the girls busy while Jeff watches!

Luc Clara wants to be an astronaut

Corinne taking Luc Clara for a ride

Washing their face after lunch

Some of our volunteers at the Yutto School

Yutto kids catching sweets

Volunteer group at Pisaq ruins

Penny and Corinne found a spot to watch

A meal of potatoes at a local home