SEPTEMBER 2005 NEWSLETTER

This month, our Peru's Challenge volunteers have:

• started a new community project,
• given the Yutto kids a kangaroo mascot,
• modeled clothes made from the Pìcol Mothers Group,
• provided fresh water to Picol families,
• become local celebrities at the soccer,
• visited Lake Titicaca and Arequipa, and
• hosted a great masquerade party.

Our new project at Pumamarca

This month, we have started a new community project - Pumamarca, located near Cusco.

This community has over 300 children wanting to attend school but is not receiving enough teachers or materials from the Department of Education.

For full details on the project, click through to our projects page.

To start off, our volunteers have been assisting the local fathers in repairing the roof before the rainy season starts. They have also been helping in the classrooms by preparing class activities in Art and Sport and themed work sheets for the Pronoei (kindergarten) kids.

The community welcomed Peru's Challenge and all our volunteers with a special meal of fresh trout, potatoes and salad. The meal was then followed by a presentation where the President of the community and the school Director made speeches and each volunteer was given a bunch of freshly cut flowers. We were overwhelmed with their generosity, particularly because we are here to help them and do not expect such gifts.

The volunteers gave each member of the community a blue hat which had been donated by a previous volunteer. In return, the volunteers got to try on their hats for size.

Sports program for Yutto

Classes at Yutto have continued throughout this month in English, Sport and Art. Paul, one of our volunteers from Australia has put together a great sports program which can be modified for any age group.

The program aims to encourage the development of gross and fine motor coordination, teamwork and good sportsmanship, while also providing the volunteers with a manageable program based on the limited resources we currently have.

The 15-lesson program is cultural specific to Peru and includes ideas and instructions on how to teach minor games, athletics, dance, skipping, soccer and volley ball.

Picol Fashion Show 2005

The Mothers Group in Picol thought it was about time to organise a fashion parade to show off all of their hand-made products. The volunteers were invited to watch, but little did they know that they were to become the models for the show.

Each of the volunteers were dressed up by the mothers and had to parade along the runaway in front of 60 guests. The alpaca jumpers and ponchos were a hit, while many jewelry pieces and ceramics were sold. All in all a great fundraiser for the Mothers Group.

Safe drinkable water in Picol

Over the last three months, Peru's Challenge has been lucky enough to have a group of volunteers that have been dedicated to providing short and long-term solutions for access to safe water in the Picol community.

Team Agua has worked tirelessly, often with frustration but always with patience, to develop an Action Plan that we can now use as a model for all future communities we will work with.

The Action Plan firstly addresses the idea of gathering information and consulting with the local community regarding water access and quality. Team Agua spent a lot of time talking with local Picol families, conducting focus groups within the Mothers Group, and visiting houses within the community.

We worked closely with local biologist Nadia, to test water quality from different outlets throughout the community. The worst sample (the only access to water for 10 families) contained a parasite level 300 times over the safe drinking level.

As a short term solution for the 10 families, Team Agua distributed 2 x 20 litre containers with measured amounts of clorax to each of the families and explained how to collect water, add the right amount of clorax and how to regularly clean the containers.

Lucia, the first mother caught on so quickly, that she then visited the other houses with Team Agua to directly explain the process.

The next stage is to continually monitor the quality of treated water within targeted families. We are working closely with Nadia who is able to complete accurate analysis of the water to ensure high quality and low parasite count.

Peru's Challenge will continue to advocate with target families for their location Association to meet with and negotiate a long-term solution with Sedapal (the government water board) to install pipes from treated water tanks direct into houses. We must also explore the issues of poor sanitation and hygiene within the community. More on that next month!

A big thank you to Team Agua, in particular Karen and Liz for their dedication to the project.

Cheering for the Cusco team

During one of their spare weekends, the volunteers decided it was time to cheer on the local soccer team.

They went in full force, wearing the team colours and caused quite a stir with the local crowd. Such a stir in fact, that the local tourist newspaper snapped a photo of the group which was then featured on the front page.

Our volunteers became famous overnight with the caption of the photo saying "Turning into Cienciano (local soccer team) fans!".

Tours to Lake Titicaca and Arequipa

Over three days, the volunteers enjoyed a trip to Lake Titicaca to see where the Inca civilization was born.

We bounced around on the reed islands and even got to taste the reeds, which were surprisingly tasteless.

We then enjoyed a ride from one island to another on a hand-made reed boat. Followed by meeting our local families were we spent the night, dressed up in local traditional attire and danced the night away.

Arequipa, the white city, is a four-day trip and the volunteers were lucky enough to see the condors fly over the Colca Canyon - one of the deepest canyons in the world.

They also got to see the pristinely preserved ice mommy, Juanita and spent time wondering through the beautiful Santa Catalina Convent.

Competition for the best mask

As a farewell for this month's volunteers, the group organised a masquarade party at one of the volunteer houses. Plans became 'bigger than Ben Hur' but party organiser Sharna kept everything on track and also won 'best mask' for her efforts.

In true Peruvian style, we had a piñada full of sweets that had to be kicked down with a soccer ball. We also enjoyed some traditional dancing organised by Jaky.

Goodbye to the September volunteers

Thank you to Katherine for working so well with the Pronoei kids in Picol.

Monica, thank you for all your great work in preparing activities and classes for the Pronoei kids at Pumamarca and also for you help in purchasing a photocopier.

Sharna, thanks for you work with San Martin and organising the last newsletter.

Thanks to Paul for all your sports programs and dedication to Yutto.

Ralph, thank you for your time with us and for donating the water pump for Huandar.

A big thanks to Karen and Liz for your initiative with the water project and your ideas around sanitation.

Christina thank you for your ideas and help with the mothers group at Picol.

Suzy and Fiona for helping out with everything including the first construction work at Pumamarca.

Yo, from Antipodeans Abroad, your time with us was short but thank you for your help with construction and the photos boards for Pumamarca.

To read previous newsletters, click here.

September volunteers at Lake Titicaca.

Pumamarca fathers working onthe roof.

Rainbow shining on our adobe wall.

Talking with the Yutto kids.

Scarves and bags made by the mothers.

Hats, hand-made by the mothers.

Water containers for each house.

House visit by Team Agua.

Karen, Lucia and Liz.

The Cienciano fans.

Local boys from Taquile Island.

A condor flying over the Colca Canyon.

Who wins best mask?

September volunteers saying goodbye.

Monica surrounded by Pumamarca kids.