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APRIL 2007 NEWSLETTER

Pumamarcaland

In the land of Pumamarca you will find señoras, farmers, niños and even personified grasshoppers... well that is in the eyes of the kids.

Each class in the school was given the task of drawing families, houses and animals in Pumamarca. These drawings would then be cut out and pasted onto a map of the village.

Within the hour, the kids pumped out loads of drawings- there were men with banana's for hands, giants, wildly coloured houses and what seemed to be a horse and a donkey mating...

Along with the drawing came a great deal of banter on what each student would personally draw, none of which stopped them from producing about 15 drawings each.

Every drawing was different, everyone unique. One girl had even made a house with doors that could literally open.

The kids had lots of fun and in all I would say it was a good activity... even if we made a whirl wind mess of pens and paper.
Written by Maddy. Volunteering for 12 weeks from Australia.

The day of the trench

As part of the water system and toilet upgrade at the Pumamarca School, from a drop-pit to flushing toilets with a septic tank, a trench from the village to the school was required to be dug.

By the time us volunteers arrived at Pumamarca at least 100 community members, both men and women, were already digging away and had been for hours.

We quickly joined in, slowly working our way down. The trench was 300m long and around one metre deep.

The males of Peru's Challenge seemed to shy away from this work and do the much more physically demanding job of painting... while we women ploughed away at the trench! The men of the community were very impressed by the "mujeres fuertes" (the strong women).

By around lunchtime the trench was completed and the pipe laid. After an absolutely essential soccer match with the community and Peru's Challenge volunteers, the pipe was then tested for leaks and the task of filling in the trench began.

It was a fantastic display of a true community at work and what can be achieved when everyone works together- especially if "mujeres fuertes" are involved.

Building bridges from Peru to England

A group of English school boys from the Exeter School Canoe Club are planning a school trip to help at Pumamarca in July/August this year while also challenging the fantastic rivers of Peru.

The boys will be spending five days at the Pumamarca School to build reservoir tanks and a water system to supply the school with safe drinking water. That is a pretty amazing school trip when you think about it, we used to go 20kms down the road to Camp Cold War and play spotlight and volleyball!

The boys had written some letters with photos for the Pumamarca students and it was my job to coordinate a response, complete with pictures.

As it turned out getting pictures of the boys was pretty quick and easy, but the girls took much longer as a major hairdressing and beauty session was required before the photo shoot. This was followed by meticulous checking of each picture and requests for re-shoots if a smile wasn't right or hair was out of place.

Everyone was happy in the end and the kids are obviously looking forward to getting to know their English counterparts. I just hope those English boys appreciate all their effort!
Written by Miles. Volunteered for four weeks with his family.

Rain, no hail, and sunshine on the way to Machu Picchu

On the 20th of April, Kristy, Gus and I set off for the Inca Trail to Machu Picchu. For Gus at only 8 years old this was an amazing feat.

The scenery was amazing and the weather generally good. Gus taught the entire group to play UNO, resulting in fierce competition at night by the light of head torches.

The rain held off on the third day but unfortunately not on the fourth and our first view of Machu Picchu from the Sun Gate was of anything but sun! Nearer to Machu Picchu the ruins could be viewed and the sight was amazing.

Despite being tire, myself and another couple from the group decided to climb Huayna Picchu - the mountain behind the ruins visible in every photo of Machu Picchu.

We were rewarded with a brief view of fog before the sun came out to reveal a stunning view of the ruins.

A well-deserved meal back in Aguas Calientes was had before a scenic train and bus journey back to Cuzco.
Written by Helen. Volunteered for four weeks from Australia.

Derelicte Zoolander for Peru's Challenge

What an event! Stick on tattoo's, Graffiti Artists, Bikini Models, Bands, DJ'S, Walk Off, Auction, Raffles, and much was on offer in Sydney over the weekend of the 21st of April.

Thanks to the incredible efforts of Sascha - a previous volunteer, a fun night was had by all those that attended the great Derelicte Zoolander fundraising night for Peru's Challenge.

The aim of the evening was to raise funds to help Peru's Challenge purchase a school bus to transport kids to and from school.

On average kids aged three to 15 years have to walk three hours every day to attend school. By the time they arrive they are tired, dirty and hungry and cannot concentrate on school work.

The bus will also be used to take the kids into Cuzco for doctor and dentist visits and also on excursions so they will have the opportunity to learn more about their culture and to see the beauty of their country.

Although no funds were raised for Peru's Challengeby the time costs to run the event we paid, there are now a lot more people that are aware of what we are trying to achieve. Just to have the support from a previous volunteer to get the word out about our work is success is just as good.

Thank you Sasch for all of your hard work in pulling this event together and also to all those that support the event - both sponsors and guests.

Sangria and tapas at the GUIDE annual conference

This month, I was fortunate enough to be invited as a guest speaker to the annual conference of GUIDE- the IT company from Sweden that sends us volunteers every three months. The three-day conference was held in Sevilla, Spain.

I first spoke with Bo Jangvik, Chief Executive Officer, Guide in front of 600 employees about Peru's Challenge, how we started and what we do.

This was nerve-racking to say the least but the good thing was that behind me on a big screen they were showing photos of Peru and the Pumamarca kids which kept the audience enthralled.

The next day I took a seminar with 100 people and spoke for about 45 minutes on Peru's Challenge while also showing photos of our work and the Pumamarca community.

It was a great success and many of the employees came up to me afterwards congratulating us on our work and showing keen interest to volunteer with us in the future.

A big thank you to Marie and Linda for organising the visit and also to Bo for inviting me. Thanks also for the ongoing support from Guide and its employees.

Nazca is worth more than a fly over

It is so unlike Cusco, it´s like another world. At first glance, barren desert but looking closer it is far more than that.

Even in winter the temperature is quite warm, the town and surrounding area is very clean and during daylight hours fairly quiet. There are no persistent hawkers or touts and the locals are very friendly and co-operative. The archaeological sites are quite unique and worth checking out as many as possible.

More than 20 years ago I became interested in Nazca after reading an article about Maria Reiche´s long study of the Nazca lines. In fact when she died in 1998 at the age of 95 she had been studying the lines for 50 years - how is that for dedication to a subject?

Nazca lines Belgium astronomer Barthelemy gives a show and lecture at the planetarium twice each night on the lines lasting 50 minutes and a sky show afterwards.

Apart from the lines, there are tours to potters' and goldminers' workshops, bones, skulls and mummies at the Chauchilla Cemetery, Paredones Ruins and fascinating aqueduct systems.

Although the river through the town is mainly bone dry, some 100 metres distant is underground clean, clear water running through the ancient aqueducts.

I spent three very full days there and hope to return some day.
HINT - When travelling back from Nazca to Cuzco by bus, even in an expensive one, take warm clothes, travelling over the mountains is very cold and there is no heating.
Written by Heather. Volunteered for eight weeks from Australia.

Gecko's Adventure tours groups helping how ever they can

Hi Jane,
My name is Jessica and I spent some time with you at the end of April (with Paola's group). I have attached a pic of our group for you. I have to say that we were extremely impressed with what you have done and we would love to help in anyway we can.

I would really like to send out a package to you, what address should I use and what are you needing? I have some craft things already (construction paper, crayons, glue, glitter). Is there anything more specific that you would like?

I hope this finds you well and that things are moving right along with the school. Enjoy the picture! (I'm the one in the black Inca Kola shirt in the back).
Regards, Jess.

For anyone else that can send over educational materials for the Pumamarca School, please click on to our donation page and view the list of what we are in need of most.

Gap-year students teaching in the Sacred Valley

This month we welcomed 20 gap-year students from Australia. They are here for three months to help teach English, art and physical education in two of the poorest schools in the Sacred Valley.

The group will also be working on some much needed construction projects - such as new toilets, a games room and a vegetable garden.

Selvy is busy directing these projects and ensuring that the students are working hard and are comfortable in their local family home-stays. He has also organised a great timetable of extra-curricular activities over the weekends to ensure the students get the most out of their time in Peru.

Each have found the teaching tough, particularly within their first two weeks mainly due to the language barrier. But already they are starting to settle in and grasp more Spanish through regular lessons and work with the kids.

Thanks to Antipodeans Abroad for organising gap-year groups to come and assist Peru's Challenge in creating better education environments for the poorest schools in the Cuzco area.

A special thanks to our volunteers leaving us this month

Kristy thank you for your advice on setting up a health clinic in Pumamarca and for your help with classes.

Thanks Miles for your help up at the school and for all your advice with developing Peru's Challenge.

Thank you also to the both of you for bringing your three boys over Fergus (8), Clancy (5) and Colin (3) to volunteer as a family.

Fergus congratulations on hiking the Inca Trail - a great effort. Thanks also for your help with sports classes.

Thanks Clancy for all your help up at Pumamarca especially with the painting and English classes and you're are a pretty groovy dancer!

Colin thanks for your help up at the school - the kids already miss wrestling with you and playing on the see-saw.

Rosa thank your for coming over to help us for eight weeks. Your work in the classes with the kids and also with teaching the mothers how to sew pants was fantastic.

Bebben (Rosa, please translate) thank you for coming with Rosa to volunteer. We couldn't speak Swedish, nor could you speak English or Spanish, but we still got the work done and I know you enjoyed your time here. Your help with the construction up at the school and with the beehives was invaluable.

Thanks Helen for your four weeks with us. It went so quickly but your teaching of classes with the kids was great to watch and the kids loved them. Thanks also for your help with construction.

Kate thanks for coming to volunteer with us. Your time was cut short but every day you were up at the school helping with what ever needed to be done.

And to Heather, thanks for volunteering with us for eight weeks. Your work with English classes, Talleres and generally up at the school was great. We look forward to seeing you back here in 2008.