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JUNE 2006 NEWSLETTER

This month the volunteers:

helped with construction work on the Grade 5/6 classroom
planned and taught classes in Art, English and Sport
shopped at the first ever Pumamarca Parents Group Exhibition
lead information sessions on hygiene and nutrition
enjoyed the Sacred Valley tour, and
offered some beer to "Pacha Mama" or Mother Earth.

Lot's of little helpers

This month it was time to fix up the outside wall and walkway of the Grade 5/6 classroom and the doorways.

The volunteers got stuck into sanding, plastering, mixing cement and painting. We had lots of little helpers which got our work done in half the time.

We painted the wall a plain white so the master artist Ciaran could get to work on his masterpiece – a day in the life of Pumamarca school and community.

With the start he has made, the kids are already pointing out things they recognise.

Playing with the parachute

With some much construction already completed at Pumamarca, we decided for the next couple of months to focus on classes in English, Art and Sport.

Each week the volunteers do a great job in thinking up fun and educational classes as you can see from the photos.

It is hard enough to take classes with the little kids in Spanish let alone trying to make them concentrate on one activity for 45 minutes.

Each week the volunteers manage to succeed and now, before each class starts, the kids are running up to the volunteers, jumping up and down and chanting "arte, arte, arte ...” – our volunteers are heroes in the kids eyes.

This month we have also been making use of the big colourful play parachute that was given to the school by Getaway – the travel program from Australia that visited in May.

Their stories on Peru’s Challenge will go to air in Australia in January 2007. Exact dates will be sent to everyone closer to the time. Those who do not live in Australia can view the show via the Getaway website.

The kids get so excited when they see the volunteers bringing out the parachute and they are learning some great team skills while also having lots of fun.

Pumamarca Parents Product Exhibition

This month, the Parents Group decided that it was time to host the inaugural Pumamarca Parents Group exhibition. For the last couple of months, the parents have been working very hard in producing quality products that they can sell to volunteers to make an income.

With the weaving machines donated by a previous volunteer, the parents have been learning to make tapestries. They have also been working hard with their ceramics (fired in a home-made adobe brick kiln), and card and jewelry making.

The parents also came up with the great idea of selling their produce at the exhibition. It was like a mini produce market with locally made honey, eggs and fresh vegetables such as onions, spinach and broccoli.

The volunteers were welcomed by the Parents Group and thanked for all of their support in providing materials and expertise.

Our Social Worker and the Group’s President, Señora Maria also gave speeches on behalf of the entire Group to show their appreciation for the support of the first exhibition of their work.

After the formalities, it was time for the volunteers to shop! Lots of presents for friends, parents, nieces and nephews were bought although the volunteers wondered if they might end up keeping the things for themselves.

The inaugural Pumamarca Parents Group Exhibition was such a success that the Group has now decided to run an exhibition for the volunteers every month.

We have also received great news from Peregrine Adventures (a travel company that supports the work of Peru’s Challenge). Their travel groups are going to visit the Pumamarca community three times a month to see the work we are doing and purchase products. Therefore, from January 2007, the Pumamarca Parents Group will run one exhibition each week.

Currently, Peru's Challenge covers the cost of all materials but starting next year, we will no longer do this as the Group needs to be able to sustain themselves without the assistance of Peru’s Challenge.

They are already well on the way to achieving this and with the regular exhibitions each week, we will no longer be needed. Of course, our volunteers will still assist with ideas and suggestions on products and designs that are more likely to sell.

Hygiene and nutrition help

The Parents Group gets together three afternoons a week to work on their products and learn new skills from the volunteers. But every now and then we organise a surprise information session on something that is important to the community.

Usually the sessions relate to health and social issues. So far, since the Group formed, we have run sessions on alcoholism and domestic violence.

Our Social Worker organises these sessions with local professionals that bring videos and props to make the sessions interactive and interesting. If our volunteers choose to, they can also take some of these sessions, especially if they have prior knowledge.

This month, Georgette, a community nurse from Australia, stepped up for the challenge. She organised an information session on hygiene. Most of the members of the Group were very aware of good hygiene practices but the issue was and still is: are they following good hygiene practices in their homes?

As part of our House Challenge program, our volunteers randomly visit houses with our Social Worker within the community. Here we assist with any social or health issues that we come across. From this month onwards we will also help the families adopt good hygiene practices within their homes, which may include the purchasing of kitchen supplies and utensils.

A week later, Georgette then spoke about nutrition. Georgette spoke in English and then I translated her words into Spanish for the Group.

The Group was very interested in her information, particularly on which fruits and vegetables can help with general health problems.

What was so good about this session was that Georgette started with the basics. She held up actual examples of the foods she was talking about so the Group realised that they were recognisable and easily accessible.

Sacred Valley and energy drinks

The two-day two to the Sacred Valley of the Inca’s is always one of the most popular tours within our program. The volunteers come back as if they have been gone for a week and have made great friendships within the group.

This month was no different except maybe the interruption of the World Cup in Germany – the boys didn’t miss a single game and this was not about to change just to go shopping at one of the most famous artesianal markets in all of Peru!

The boys decided to forgo the markets so they could watch Brasil v Croatia a local restaurant. But the girls made up for it and managed to shop up a storm and poured enough soles into the Pisaq community to keep them going for at least a year!

Selvy always takes the volunteer group on this tour as he loves it and never gets sick of it. Every month he even purifies himself in the Princess Bath … hmmm … he might be upsetting the Inca kings I think.

Part of the tour is also watching how the locals brew chicha – home-brewed corn beer, or as Selvy’s would say “The Red Bull of the Inca’s”.

Chicha is drunk by all locals particularly when they are working in the fields. It gives them energy to continue working and can also make them quite drunk it they drink enough of it.

We made sure our volunteers didn’t just watch the process of making chicha, they had to taste it too. I don’t think it was as popular as the Pisco Sours were.

After a few sips, Selvy taught the volunteers how to play ‘Sappo’ (meaning frog) – a traditional game involving a metal frog with its mouth open and gold coins.

The aim is to get a coin into the frog’s mouth and you will receive 5000 points. The first to 21,000 wins. Selvy is so good at the game after months of practice, we all think he should no have to play left-handed.

Celebrating the 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 viewed the festival along-side thousands of other visitors and Cuzco locals. This year the group actually joined in on the celebrations and walked with the procession from the centre of town all the way up to the ruins of Sacsayhuaman. They even saw a llama being sacrificed (they were hoping this was a pretend one).

It was such a nice day to have a beer in the sunshine and share it with the locals, but little did Ciaran (one of our volunteers) know that drinking alcohol is forbidden at such an important event.

Rather than smiles from the locals, Ciaran received lots of frowns and shakes of the head. All he could do it pour it out onto the ground as a giving to Pacha Mama (Mother Earth) after which the locals then gave him a few nods of appreciation and thanks – you’re still in their good books Ciaran!