Raising funds to provide educational opportunities and improved medical care for some of the poorest children in Peru
~ Registered Charity Number 1119066 ~
2009 AUTUMN NEWSLETTER
Chris and I have been so fortunate to visit Peru for a second time this year. Our local Primary School Head Teacher, Claire Briden, was keen to visit the Wawa projects so she and her husband decided to take a four -week trip to Peru and we accompanied them for some of that time. Together we visited various places of interest, saw condors in the Colca Canyon and completed the challenging but undoubtedly worthwhile Inca Trail. However, that is enough of our "tourist" news, now something about the Wawa projects.
Usually I explain the details of each school and the work Wawa undertakes in partnership with each community. However in this newsletter I will restrict this to a few details before I explain how much we rely on the hard work and good will of our volunteers in Peru. Without them the charity would not be able to continue.
Huacoto and Conchacalla schools are both running well with all the major projects either finished or close to completion. The input from Wawa now is for regular visits with supplies of school materials and fresh food.
At our third school, Puscarpampa we had the privilege of formally opening the play areas for both the infants and juniors. The kitchen and dining areas will soon be finished and fully equipped. The next project is to improve the facilities in the pre-school classroom. At present the teacher has 35 three and four year olds all day with only games and toys she has made from re-cycled items, extremely poor quality furniture and an uneven concrete floor as a rest and play area.
We also met with the teachers, pupils, parents and community leaders of two other schools who would like to work in partnership with Wawa. Both have requirements within the aims and finances of Wawa. There was one other school with 42 juniors and 10 pre school pupils situated in a remote location which we did not have time to visit. In discussions with the Head Teacher it would appear that his school is the least well equipped of any and like all the schools we work with has no interest shown by the local education authorities. Miriam our local volunteer will undertake a visit and report back with her findings and recommendations.
Having visited the schools for the first time we asked Claire and Colin to comment:
Teachers and children in Peru were on holiday from school at the time we visited. However, it became clear to us how valuable WAWA is to everyone when Head Teachers opened their schools especially for our visits. One teacher had made a long journey back from the jungle region just to be there to greet us. Each school was very different, with its own character and identity but the one factor in common was the warm welcome we received not just from staff and children but also from members of the local community. WAWA arrived at the schools with much needed resources and perhaps more crucially with ‘ears’ to listen to the individual needs of each school. It was clear that the link with WAWA not only provided essential and much needed resources but also status, hope and friendship to communities and schools that felt they had been forgotten by their local authority.
Mention of Miriam is the main focus of this newsletter. Our Wawa volunteers in Peru are all from the same Cusco family. They are a lovely, hard working, kind hearted, well-educated Peruvian family with big hearts and a social conscience. Like all the Wawa volunteers they give generously of their time and expertise to help those less fortunate than themselves. Julio is a Professor of Civil Engineering at Cusco University. Miriam or ‘Mily’, his wife, is a journalist who has worked for UNICEF and is now a doting and busy Mum and Grandmother. Both are active volunteers. Julio and his son-in-law Berner, an architect, provide specialist advice. However Mily carries out all the day to day running of the Wawa projects, organising, visiting, meeting, buying, checking, re-checking, book-keeping etc, and for the growing Wawa projects this is virtually a full time job. The trustees have insisted that, despite our policy of claiming no personal expenses from charity funds, Mily MUST be paid for her transport costs as she regularly travels to all the communities, some a fair distance from her home, at great cost to herself. We must point out that despite the prestigious nature of Julio’s job their income is pitiful compared to a University Professor in the Western World. Without her input Wawa projects would not be possible. We must have a trustworthy, reliable and dedicated like-minded person on the ground and in weekly, sometimes daily contact with the project sites. Mily is ALL of theses plus much, much more.
What we would find of great benefit is for Mily to visit the UK to meet all those involved with Wawa and to take part in talks and discussions to highlight the role of Wawa in Peru. This we feel will strengthen Wawa. We are considering applying for funding for her to travel to the UK. We as a family will provide transport, accommodation and all living expenses.
Project details and future fund raising events are all listed on www.wawa.org. Once again I wish to end by saying, on behalf of the Trustees, a huge THANK YOU to all who support Wawa. You help make it the success it is. We will continue to do our very best to help improve the lives of some of the poorest children in Peru.
School kitchen at Huacoto – a project for the coming year.
Forthcoming Events
We have the following fund-raising and awareness events planned so, if you are in the vicinity, please come and introduce yourselves to us.
Friday 23rd October Peruvian evening film and talk in the Powerstock Hut at 7:30pm.
Saturday 24th October Craft and Gift Fair in the Bridport United Church Hall 9:00am to 1:00pm.
Friday 20th November Wawa quiz night in the Powerstock Hut at 7:30pm.
We have produced a calendar for 2010 and this is now on sale for £6 including postage. As we have had every month sponsored ALL the money raised will go to Wawa.
Finally, Wawa only exists because of the generosity and kindness of people like you, so on behalf of the Trustees and all who benefit from the Charity THANK YOU.
Mary Bunney
LAST UPDATED:
6 October 2009