SEPTEMBER 2006 newsletter
Throwing our volunteers into the deep-end
Nick from America and Emeli from Sweden, two of our youngest volunteers 17 and 18 years old, were definitely caught unawares when they came up to afternoon classes in their first week.
Instead of sitting back to see how things work and deciding what they would like to become involved in, our social worker decided on-the-spot to start up English classes with the teenagers.
Nick and Emeli were picked as the teachers and did an incredible first lesson with no resources or planning. They did not panic, but just got creative and worked together as a team.
 They must have enjoyed themselves because Nick and Emeli decided to continue to take the lessons for the duration of their time as volunteers.
By the end of the month, they were starting on their first construction of sentences using the verb TO BE.
Our volunteers can choose to help with art, English and sport classes. Even if they don’t know any Spanish it is still a very worthwhile way to help at the school.
But it is not easy as lessons have to be well-planned and sufficient resources need to be organised to ensure that the classes are educational and fun.
 This month, the volunteers excelled in their art classes. We had kids making toy aeroplanes and out-of-space sun-glasses – even Benjamin our driver got involved.
One class drew their depiction of what life is like in Pumamarca. We had ladies in shops, mums at home cooking, dads making adobe mud-bricks and even a dinosaur … umm.
Thanks must go to Carol, Renata, Chris and Georgette this month for continuing with the hygiene program at the school.
We even started much needed nose-blowing sessions before and after sports classes.
 Planes, trains and automobiles
Because September is the month of students in Peru, Peru’s Challenge organised for a school excursion down to the local fun-park in Cuzco.
Mothers and teachers also came to help to make sure we didn’t lose any students!
The kids enjoyed all of the rides on the swings and the big slippery-dip.
They also had rides in planes, trains and cars. Even the big-kids enjoyed the day.
 The volunteers prepared a packed lunch for everyone including a sandwich, popper juice, biscuits and a couple of sweets.
After lunch the energy levels were up again and everyone took turns on all of the rides.
Later that afternoon we returned to Pumamarca very weary – it was much quieter on the way back home than it was on the way down.
Student Day celebrations at Pumamarca
 Sack race, tug-of-war, egg-and-spoon race with raw eggs, musical chairs, jumping race, eating competition - you name it, we had it at the inaugural Student Day at Pumamarca!
Competition was fierce in all events with each winner receiving either a skipping rope or a frisbee.
Thanks to Jess and Nick, the Grade 5/6’s presented a dance routine to Michael Jackson’s Thriller.
Each wore a paper-mache mask and danced together with the music.
We also had two great big piñatas filled with small presents and lots of sweets – one for the girls and one for the boys.
Pumamarca School lights up
Thanks to the support of family and friends of my aunt and uncle Rob and Chris (September volunteers) and the Narromine Lions Club, Peru’s Challenge was able to install electricity into the Pumamarca School.
 The first to take advantage of light in the classrooms was the Mothers Group during their afternoon workshops.
The mothers usually arrive around 4pm to start classes and then have to finish at about 5.30pm due to poor lighting.
Now with electricity in the classrooms, the mothers can stay much longer and be more productive.
The first workshop with the electricity was incredible as the mothers worked until about 7pm. We eventually had to turn out the lights on them as we couldn’t get them to stop working.
They all jumped up in panic as they were amazed at how dark it was outside and that they had all worked so late.
This was such a great achievement as the mothers will be much more productive during each workshop and will not be straining their eyes to see what they are working on as they were doing previously.
We have now organised for the Department of Education in Cuzco to cover the monthly electricity bill which means that the school will not rely on Peru’s Challenge to cover the costs – another step closer to our aim of the community and school becoming self-sufficient in the near future.
Thanks must also go to Jesus our assistant at the school for helping with the installation.
Sewing up a storm
 Taking full advantage of the new electricity installed into the classrooms the mothers starting learning how to use a sewing machine.
We were fortunate enough to have Chris teach the mothers some of her skills.
They started with how to thread the machine and then sewing in straight lines with professional starts and finishes.
Even though Chris did not speak Spanish and the mothers did not speak English, they managed to communicate well. The mothers advanced very quickly and then started to teach each other.
 One hiccup was overcome quickly when the machine’s pedal was not working and the machine was on constant go.
Thanks to the manual stop-and-go technique from Rob we were able to continue on with the lesson and the mothers were not disappointed.
The first project for the mothers was to sew a wheat-filled heat pack which they can hang above their stoves and then use to sooth aching muscles and joints which most of them complain of.
Next we will be making aprons for the mothers that cook at the school, sacks for sports lessons and even clothes for their families.
Thanks to the very generous donation from Adrian Beer for the fantastic sewing machine and to the Lions Club in Narromine for the support in purchasing an over locker for the Mothers Group.
Healthy bulls make better workers
 The Pumamarca community relies heavily on selling fresh produce at the markets in Cuzco. Each family is in charge of a plot of land within the community boundaries.
They must plant each crop by hand, water and weed constantly and then harvest the crops to be ready for market.
This is all done by hand and each family owns two bulls to help them get their fields ready for planting.
If their bulls are not healthy they cannot get their field ready and therefore let down the whole community. The bulls are kept very close to the owners’ house safe from thieves but this causes problems with poor hygiene for both the bulls and the family members.
This month Rob passed on some of his knowledge on how to best look after the bulls. But he got more than he bargained for during one house visit.
 Selvy and Rob were visiting community houses to see the condition of the bulls and were quietly discussing how to help one particular family, when out of the house stumbled an old lady, very drunk on Chicha (home-brewed corn beer) and accused these strangers of trying to steal her bulls.
Selvy tried to calm her down but she wouldn’t have any of it. She grabbed Rob by the arm yelling and screaming
“Why are you stealing my bulls?
Where are you taking them? Please don’t steal my bulls.”
Finally after much coercion, she let go and Rob and Selvy quickly left to the laughter of all of the community men who quietly witnessed the whole event.
Rob then thought it might be best to start with a community meeting within the afternoon workshops. More than 60 woman and men attended.
Rob first showed photos of his cattle in Australia and many commented on how shinny and healthy they all looked. He then asked questions on why they need bulls and how they currently feed and look after them.
Afterward Rob then developed an easy way to lift the condition of the bulls with a simple dose of vegetable oil.
We started with the bulls of the community President and showed him the process so he could then teach each family. Within a week, community members had already noticed a difference with their bulls. Their coats were shinier; they were eating better and had more energy to work during the day.
Peru’s Challenge will keep this process going and take photos before and after so the community can really see the results. Rob has also offered to help with any advice to the community via internet from Australia.
In the future, we hope to move the bulls into holding pens away from houses or provide a communal yard. We also hope to start a regular drenching program and visits from local vets.
Down the track we also hope to help Pumamarca start a cattle purchasing and breeding program to supply organic milk and meat to restaurants and markets in Cuzco.
Artistic talents of our volunteers
 September marked the finish of Ciaran’s incredible mural at the school – finally!
After near five months, Ciaran finally put his signature on the work-of-art to the cheers of all the volunteers and kids at the school.
The amazing life-like mural depicts the Pumamarca School and community. Sponge-Bob even features in Benjamin’s red combie van.
Volunteers took instructions from Ciaran and tried their best not to mess it up.
Ciaran was so patient with all of us and gave lots of encouragement even though he had to redo some parts.
Often we would be wondering “what is he painting?” and then the block of light brown with dark brown spots would turn into the road to Pumamarca in perfect form.
Congratulations Ciaran on an amazing artwork that will stay with the Pumamarca School for years to come.
Emergency Health and House Challenge programs
Often when I go on a house visit, the mother of the family asks me to stay back once the volunteers and our social worker have left the house. We sit down and have a little chat about things and I am always asked if I can give them a couple of soles (US$1.00) as they have no food to feed their children.
I refuse to do this as we cannot have the families rely on Peru’s Challenge. But it is very hard to tell them this and then walk out of the house knowing that the family will not eat.
This is part of the House Challenge program that Peru’s Challenge runs. Next year we are going to focus more on this project to find solutions to the ever-growing problem of families unable to feed their children.
 During these visits we also come across urgent health or social welfare issues.
This month Georgette, a community nurse from Australia, helped a great deal during house visits within the Pumamarca community.
We came across a number of health issues which Georgette was able to assist with on-the-spot.
To address these issues and prevent them from becoming worse, Georgette decided to set up basic health consultations during mothers group in the afternoons.
This allowed each mother to talk privately with Georgette about any health issues so she could give basic treatments or refer them on to specialists in Cuzco.
Next year we also hope to establish a clinic within the Pumamarca community which will be staffed by local professionals and medical students from Cuzco, along with assistance given by our volunteers.
Paragliding in the Sacred Valley
Those that were brave enough spent a Saturday paragliding through the beautiful Sacred Valley just 30 minutes outside of Cuzco.
 Six of us took turns to jump of the cliff and glide down through the valley.
We then caught thermals which spiraled each one of us up to nearly 5000m.a.s.l.
We then floated over the top of the pass and bounced down to safety in one of the nearby fields.
Ginny was first off, and we could hear her screams of amazement as she passed overhead.
Each one of us took a flight which lasted about 40 minutes. It was a nerve-racking experience but well worth it in such a beautiful location.
Dutch artist creating works for Pumamarca
This month, we welcomed the visit from artist Inez Köhler from Holland. Inez has visited Peru a number of times taking photos of what inspires her. She then turns these photos into amazing works of art.
This time, Inez visited Pumamarca School and took photos of the kids and the community. From the artworks produced she will make a calendar with all proceeds going directly to Peru’s Challenge.
Please visit her website www.art-inez.nl.
Free legal advice for Pumamarca
Thanks to the recommendation by our social worker’s son, Pumamarca community received a visit from his law class which attends the private university in Cuzco. Many community members attended the talks and asked questions to do with their current situations, each receiving free legal advice.
More than 40 law students came up to the school and while some groups gave talks and legal advice, others helped our social worker administer parasite treatment to all of the kids and adults. It tastes horrible so we always follow the treatment with a couple of sweets.
We also organised free hair-cuts to everyone – a perfect chance to get everyone together and enjoy the day. Thank you to the hair-dressing college in Cuzco for giving up a Saturday to cut hair for free.
The feed-back from the community members on the visit from the law students was very positive and it was also a very beneficial experience for the students as a day of work experience. Their professor has promised to re-visit every couple of months to assist the community as it provides great experience for her students.
Thanks to the September volunteers …
It has been a very busy month with lots of achievements thanks to all of our volunteers.
 Carol, thank you for spending a month with us and for all of your help with hygiene, food preparation and classes. Congratulations on finishing the Salkantay trek!
Thank you Renata for your great interest and love of everything Peru. Thanks also for your detailed work on the storeroom and your help at the school.
Thanks Chris and Rob for coming over and seeing what Selvy and I have achieved and for all of your help and support.
Jess, thank you for your laughter and your dancing classes with the kids. They really enjoyed them. A big thanks also to your mum Sandra and Allanby Primary School for their great in-kind donations.
Thank you Georgette for your work with the mothers and you help during house visits and support during the hard times with the grandmother.
 Ciaran, thanks for coming to volunteer with us. We think about you each time we see your amazing mural of Pumamarca. I hope you keep you art going.
I would also like to thank Jeanette who volunteered with us early in the year. She has been continuously supporting us from Australia by selling beanies to local friends, family and to her school community.
Jane Gavel
President & Founder
Peru's Challenge
 
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