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CURRENT projectS

Updated April 2007.

Introduction

Most of Peru's Challenge's work focuses in and around Cuzco in areas considered as some of the poorest in Peru. The population of communities we assist is essentially indigenous, of Quechua origin, uneducated and very malnourished.

The department of Cuzco is located in the southeast part of Peru. It covers an area of 70,000 sq km, most of which is in the Andes Mountains, at an altitude of more than 3000 meters above sea level.

Within the Cuzco department, 75 per cent of its population live in a situation of poverty and 60 per cent of the inhabitants have at least one unsatisfied basic need. Departmental levels of education and literacy are worse than the national average with Cuzco among the worst in the country at 18%.

Although the region of Cuzco is one of the most popular tourist areas in all of South America (more than 1 million people visited Machu Picchu in 2006), none of the economic benefits and investment of tourism reach the local rural communities.

PROJECT ONE - PUMAMARCA

Date Peru's Challenge started

September, 2005

Location

10km from the centre of Cuzco.

Description

Pumamarca, meaning area of the Puma; Misqui Uno, meaning sweet one; and Killahuata, meaning year of the moon, are three small agricultural communities located in the mountain region above Cuzco.

The community members survive on their agricultural products – fresh flowers, maiz, potatoes and other vegetables, which they sell at local markets in Cuzco.

The producers have access to plots that are farmed continuously year-round for maximum produce and are also conitnuously cutting down trees. Both these practices are causing erosion and a decrease in the fertility value of the land.

Producers rely on weekly local rural markets that, because of the region isolation, appear as the main place for exchange and transactions.

Because the community does not have any funds, the Department of Education in Peru does not support the local primary school and it is left to fend for itself.

The benefit of non-agricultural activities is that they bring about a more stable and better time-distributed income stream. Women play an essential role in developing such activities, particularly small shops, cattle raising, flower markets and in the craft industry.

Problems

In September 2005, Peru's Challenge spoke at length with the communities and outlined the following problems:

Education:

The school urgently needs to be renovated
Currently, there are only classes for kids up to grade four
More teachers are needed to separate the grades
The school has no learning or sports materials

Health & Wellbeing:

The community often runs out of and has no access to safe drinking water
The kids are not getting a healthy and nutritious diet, which Peruvian schools are meant to provide
The community has no access to medical facilities

Social:

Because the school facilities are so terrible, most of the children are moving into Cusco to go to school or find work.
Families are breaking up and none of the younger generation is staying within the community to work the fields.
Alcoholism and domestic violence is a problem within the community as a result of unemployment.

PROJECTS ALREADY COMPLETED

Since September 2005, school attendance has risen from 14 children to 130 children within kindergarten to Grade 6 classes.

Volunteers working side-by-side with the local community have completed the following projects:

AT THE SCHOOL

Construction work to make the school functional:

Reconstructed the roof of the entire school.
Renovated and painted the four existing classrooms.
Built and equipped a kitchen.
Built a play area.
Constructed a perimeter fence.
Started the construction of flushing toilets.

Education materials and learning resources:

Organised for the Department of Education provide three teachers while Peru's Challenge pays for the remaining teachers salaries.
Provided some physical education and learning materials and resources.
Organised quarterly excursions for each grade.
Organised lessons in arts & craft, English and physical education.

Health and hygiene programs:

Started the teaching of general hygiene to the kids.
Initiated daily teeth and face washing at the school.
Provided fresh fruit every day for morning tea and additional food for lunches.
Organised the mothers to cook a nutricious lunch for the school kids each day.
Organised for doctors to visit the community every quarter to diagnose, provide free medicines and immunisations.
Organised two specialists visits from dentists and gynecologists to the community.

WITHIN THE COMMUNITY

Community development

Initiated the first project under our Small Loans for Community Development program - Pumamarca Talleres (Workshop) Group.
- For the whole of 2006, community members have been attending Talleres classes in the afternoons and have learnt the following skills:
  - Weaving, knitting, painting, jewelry making, arts & craft, ceramics and woodwork.

Peru's Challenge have organised weekly visits from a number of tourist groups whereby the Talleres Group host an exhibition and sell their products directly.
Funds raised are put into a bank account and accessed by the Group at the end of each year.
Peru's Challenge paid for all materials and equipment but during 2007 we are not going to pay for anything. The Group must use a percentage of sales made at each exhibition to reinvest into materials, therefore making the Group self-sustaining.

Social assistance and education

Provided afternoon classes in English to teenagers and young adults.
Provided information sessions on hygiene, nutrition, pregnancy and family planning.
Organised counseling sessions for victims of alcoholism and domestic violence.
Run the House Challenge program where we visit local families, talk about their current situations and provide assistance where possible in the form of:
- Money for food
- Clothes for family members
- Renovation work on houses
- House necessities: beds, sheets, blankets, chairs, tables, cooking utensils, etc.
- Funds for emergency and general medical treatments.

PROJECTS STILL TO BE COMPLETED
Over the next three years, Peru's Challenge aims to finish the following projects:

AT THE SCHOOL
Construction work to make the school functional:

Build a covered eating area.
Build and equip a library and computer centre.
Build and equip an art and craft room.
Build and equip a music room.
Build an open stage area for theatre and presentations.
Build and equip two additional classrooms.
Provide safe drinking water to the school.
Develop a vegetable garden to supply the lunchtime meals for the kids.
Build a chicken coop to supply eggs for meals for the kids.
Build beehives to supply honey to the kids.
Construct two new classrooms.
Build hot-water showers so the kids are cleaning themselves at least once a week.

Education materials and learning resources:

Equip each of the five existing classrooms with materials and learning resources they are lacking.
Organise for the Department of Education to provide all teachers salaries and curriculum materials.

Health and hygiene:

Continue the teaching of general hygiene to the kids.
Continue teeth and face washing to also include daily cream for their faces.
Organise more regular specialist visits throughout the year ie. optometrists, dentists, nutritionists and pediatricians.
Provide a motorised water pump with filtered piping to transport water from the mountain reservoir to the community.
Construct water reservoirs to hold an ample water supply to last through the dry season.

WITHIN THE COMMUNITY
Community development

Finish the construction and equip the community workshop.
Build and equip a technical education room and provide classes and materials for the teaching of agricultural, mechanical and tecnical fields.
Continue to develop the Talleres Group project and provide education in marketing and finance.
Initiate more projects under the Small Loans for Community Development program:
- Fresh cut flowers.
- Fruits and cakes.
- Agricultural and dairy products.

Cattle breeding program.
Dairy products.

Social assistance and education

Continue to provide afternoon classes in English to teenagers and young adults.
Continue to provide information sessions on hygiene, nutrition, pregnancy and family planning.
Continue to organise counseling sessions for victims of alcoholism and domestic violence.
Continue to run the House Challenge program.

PROJECT TWO - HUANDAR

Date Peru's Challenge started

March, 2005

Location

Situated 5km from Pisaq in the Sacred Valley, a one hour drive from Cusco.

Description and problems

Approximately 200 families live in this community and the majority cannot afford their children to go to the State primary school in Pisaq.

For the families that can, the biggest problem is that their children, mostly between the ages of seven and twelve, have to walk the five kilometres into Pisaq along a dirty and dusty road. This road is the main transport route for trucks from the Amazon Jungle to Cusco. Little kids are getting lost in the dust by one truck and then getting run over by the next. The result is devastating. Many have lost their lives or are bedridden for months with serious injuries.

Another problem for the community is their water supply. Approximately 1km up the facing mountain from the village is an ancient Incan water drain that holds fresh water. This is the only fresh water accessible for the community but it takes approximately six hours to reach (due to the altitude of 3000m and the sheer steepness of the Andes Mountains). This exhausting trip usually provides only two buckets of water.

How Peru's Challenge has already helped

Education:

Renovated, painted and equipped the two existing classrooms
Provided physical education and learning materials

Health and Wellbeing:

Provided a motorised water pump
Built flushing toilets
Provided toothbrushes and taught children how to brush their teeth properly
Provided clothing to all the kids and families
Organised numerous doctor visits and provided free medicines
Organised for Santa Claus to visit and give every kid a gift and a mug of hot chocolate

Social:

Conducted numerous House Challenges

What still needs to be done

Education:

Build an equip a kitchen and eating area
Build a play and sports area
Construct a perimeter fence
Organise for a van to be donated to transport older children to the primary school in Pisaq

Health and Wellbeing:

Construct water reservoirs to hold an ample water supply to last through the dry season
Lay filtered piping to transport water from the river to the community reservoirs
Develop a vegetable garden to supply the lunchtime meals for the kids
Continue to organise for doctors to visit the community at least once a month to diagnose and provide free medicines
Organise for specialists to visit the community throughout the year ie. optometrists, gynecologists, nutritionists and pediatricians

Social:

Provide afternoon classes in English and other agricultural, mechanical and tecnical fields to teenagers and young adults
Provide afternoon classes to the mothers of the community in weaving, art & craft, painting etc.
Provide education sessions on hygiene, nutrition, pregnancy
Organise counseling sessions for victims of alcoholism and domestic violence
Run the House Challenge program to renovate houses in the community
Develop micro-finance programs for the community

COMPLETED PROJECTS

PICOL

Dates

October 2003 to October 2005.

Location

Situated in the mountains, 20 minutes from the centre of Cusco.

Description

Picol was primarily an agricultural area providing employment to the community of over 100 families. In the last ten years much of the fertile land has been taken over by property developers pushing the Picol families off the land, forcing them to leave the area and into unemployment. This unemployment results in families using their children to beg and sell sweets and postcards to tourists, therefore not allowing them to attend school.

The other problem was that the Department of Education did not recognise this community as an area to support. Therefore the school was not receiving teachers or materials.

In October 2005, Peru's Challenge met with the parents association of the school and it was decided that the school should be handed back to the Picol community.

Although it happened a lot earlier than we anticipated, we are very happy with the result. As always, the aim of any Peru's Challenge project is to give it back to the community when they feel they are ready to take over.

Peru's Challenge will continue to assist the community via the Mothers Group. We will also continue our House Challenge program and the regular visits from medical specialists.

How Peru's Challenge helped

Education:

Reconstructed the roof of the school
Renovated and painted the four existing classrooms
Built and equipped a kitchen and eating area
Built flushing toilets and hot-water showers
Provided a salary for another teacher to split up grade one and two
Provided physical education and learning materials
Organised excursions for each grade

Health and Wellbeing:

Developed a greenhouse and vegetable garden to supply the lunchtime meals for the kids
Organised for doctors to visit the community and provided free medicines
Organised for specialists to visit the community throughout the year ie. optometrists, gynecologists, nutritionists and pediatricians
Taught general hygiene to the kids and their families, by providing toothbrushes and toothpaste, hair cutting and face and hand cleaning
Developed community action groups in regards to access to safe drinking water
Provided facilities for safe drinking water into a number of houses

Social:

Provided afternoon classes to the mothers of the community in weaving, art & craft, painting, jewelry making etc.
Provide education sessions on hygiene, nutrition, pregnancy
Organised counseling sessions for victims of alcoholism and domestic violence
Ran the House Challenge program to renovate houses in the community
Built and equipped a workshop for the mothers group

YUTTO

Yutto is also an agricultural community situation an hour's drive south of Cusco.

The community survives on selling agricultural products - maiz, potatoes etc.

The school at Yutto is different from most in that it organises two-weekly sessions for students. During these two weeks, an agricultural specialist stays at the school to teach the kids all about their field of expertise ie. growing and selling maiz, or breading and looking after cuy (guinea pig).

The community realises that the younger generation cannot keep moving into Cusco to try and find work as the majority end up unemployed. They know that their livelihood is based around their agricultural success.

Peru's Challenge volunteers assisted as teachers in English, Art and Sport.

SAN MARTIN

San Martin is a great school for kids with special mental and physical needs. Because the school has such a great reputation, placements are hard to find. Over the last six months, we have helped register two girls into the school.

Our volunteers regularly visit the school to keep an eye out on Roxanita and Luc Clara and to make sure they are enjoying the classes and doing their homework!

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