Our last few days

Our month with MSH in Peru has gone so quickly and I cannot belive that we will soon be packing our bags and leaving Ollantaytambo. We have had such a busy last couple of weeks securing places at a nearby specialist school for disabled children for several of the children MSH and Awamaki have contacted during the disabled outreach campaign.

The four children who were to be the guinea pigs for the scheme last week were Sayury,Luis Alberto, Lourdes and Jasmira. None of the children were attending school because their families did not have the money or resources necessary to send them. All four of the children arrived promptly to meet us to set off for school. When we arrived I was blown away by how lovely the school was, it is set behind a wall, with gardens and the classrooms are idyllic looking thatched huts. There is play equipment and even a cow and chickens! The school was set up by a British NGO and is the only one in the area for disabled children. It provides lessons in life skills as well as more traditional skills such as maths and reading and provides vital services such as physiotherapy. It also provides milk and lunch free of charge for each child, every day.

It is hard to over emphasise the difference the school makes to the children’s lives by giving them a place to socialize and play, gain confidence and independence and learn. Without this school, the children would spend their days at home or at their parent’s work place.

The manager of the school kindly accepted Alex and I to volunteer at the school. We have each been assigned a classroom and have really enjoyed helping the teachers in any small way we can. The school day starts with games for all the children like passing a ball round a circle or a game that involves a cat that even after several goes still remains a mystery to me! The children certainly enjoy it though! In the class that I have been helping in, the children have been learning letters and numbers and doing practical things like drawing pictures for mothers day.

Apart from helping out at the school we have been frantically trying to help Leander with the administrative tasks she needs help with before we leave. We have also taken over the home visit schedule for Alex, a little boy with cerebral palsy, from the Awamkai volunteers. Alex is 13 and is so bright and responsive but spends his days lying in bed because he does not yet have a wheelchair and his mother is often out at work. One of the things the partnership is working towards is getting him a wheelchair which is a prospect I find so exciting as he might then be able to go to school which I know he would benefit from immensely. Awamaki have also arranged for him to have a special chair made for him in the mean time which will allow him to sit up and engage more with his environment.

I have enjoyed so much working with the disabled children out here, learning about the way their illnesses affect them and getting to know them all. I have had great fun playing with them and being able to engage with them. Most of all a lot of them have a great sense of fun and playfulness, as children do, which is a very rewarding and fun environment to be around.

Our first day at school

Another early start today to meet Julio the bus driver and three disabled kids; Lourdes, Juan Alberto and Jasmera in Ollantaytambo square and picking up Sayury in the next town along. It was to be their second day at the amazing Rainbow school run by a charity called ’Kiya Survivors’ in Urubamba which was especially set up for disabled children.

It was Alex and my first day today and we were amazed by how lovely the school was; like a little oasis in the middle of the town with classrooms for different activities and a garden. We started the day with games and introductions which were followed by ‘work’ sessions and lots of play. The children then have lunch before home time at half past one.

Alex helped in the ‘life skills’ class who were making pretty pen pots to give as mother’s day presents this weekend. I helped Sayuri to do colouring and the other members of her class with their letters and learning. The children at the school vary in age from 3 to 20 and all have different disabilities but they are all catered for by the teachers. Sayury ,who has cerebral palsy, had a brilliant day, managing to get herself onto the slide and making firm friends with a little girl of a similar age who can’t speak or hear.

We are looking forward to another day at school tomorrow, it was such a rewarding and fun day.

Sports Day with Anita

Last Wednesday we had an early start so that we

could get to Cusco for half 9 in the morning. After hitch-hiking in a luxury tourist bus on its way back to Cusco, we met Nelly, the MSH Social Worker outside Uriel Garcia school. We followed her inside the school stadium where the entire school were assembled all dressed in their sport teams' gear and decorated with face paints and fancy hair-dos.

Anita is a ten year old girl who is in a wheelchair due to cerebral disabilities. She loves drama and last time we met her at her home she did a confident performance of a poem for us finishing with a bow. She and her little sister were there to take part in the parade and her parents were there too to watch them. We spent several enjoyable hours in gorgeous sunshine with Anita and her family watching the various dances and performances including a rather accurate rendition of Thriller and several rounds of fireworks.

Then it was our turn! Alex and I went onto the sports field with Anita and her team mates and walked the lap of the parade. I held a volleyball and flowers and Alex pushed Anita trying to stay in time with the shouts of the coordinators which resulted in some abrupt halts and several spurts of sprinting. Anita’s family were so welcoming and generous; her little sister ran off to put my jelly carton in the bin and her Dad disappeared and returned with a hat for Alex when the sun was at its hottest.

Anita’s Dad works really hard as a mechanic but they can’t afford the 20 pounds a month it would cost to get Anita to physiotherapy three times a week. Nelly has also recommended that Anita needs a laptop to help her at school because although she is just as quick at learning as any of her classmates, she struggles to write quickly. I really hope MSH can help her with these small things that would really make a difference.

Primary Teacher's Training Program Conducted by MSH, Nepal

The Primary Teachers' Training Program was successfully conducted on April 15th and April 16th 2011 by the MySmallHelp team in Sanjiwani English School at Dhulikhel, Nepal. There were 30 participants from various schools and there were three teachers  responsible for the format and execution of the program - Sabina Thapa, Sachi Guragain, Geeta Pradhan and Roshni Khatri. The teachers conducting the training are well-established in the primary education sector and have attended and conducted such sessions in the past. The program ran over two day and the duration was approximately six hours each day.

The training session was initiated with an opening ceremony, where the participants and guest were welcomed by the principal of the school, Mr. Indra Basnet. The introduction highlighted the structure for the two days and also the  continuing importance of such training sessions in the education system in Nepal.

 For the rest of the session, the participants were divided into smaller groups, in order to facilitate a more structured discussion. Further activities were also organised such as reciting poems, playing games and creating job charts, in order to demonstrate the importance of putting theory into practice.

The overall feedback was that the training was very effective in allowing each participant to gain knowledge on how to create a better learning environment. The different techniques used by the trainers have also helped the participants realise their own potential in the classroom and different ways in which they can reach children of different learning capabilities. Sanjivani English School have also committed to publish the results of the training session in their local newsletter to highlight the success and importance of such training sessions in the future.

The program was concluded by Mr. Indra Basnet, where all the participants, the trainers and MSH were heartily thanked. Based on initial observation, MSH also feel that such a training facility will be beneficial on a regular basis and look forward to organising more events in the future. MSH will actively seek to obtain written feedback from the teachers and also monitor progress with an interview with the participant teachers by arranging meeting with them in three months time.

New Volunteers - Jenny and Alex

We have just arrived in Ollantaytambo to work with Leander at MySmallHelp and what a busy and eventful start it has been! It has become clear very quickly that there is an awful lot of need in this area due to poverty and a lack of understanding and education. Our first few days have been a whirlwind of meeting new people, administrative work and long conversations about how best to help the people here who need it the most.

One great achievement MSH has made this week is securing school places for a number of disabled children living in the area. Access to education and stimulation will undoubtedly make their lives much fuller and more rewarding. Yet this achievement creates its own problem of how to find the funds to send the children to school on a private bus each day.

We have also been working with the charity Awamaki, to ensure home visits to a number of disabled people in the area are continued. The partnership aims to provide support, stimulation and company for these people, many of whom have been terribly neglected in their lives because of a lack of understanding of their illnesses and a lack of resources and support.

As well as working on the Disabled Outreach Program we have brainstormed about volunteer schemes, taken the children next door who are sponsored through MSH shopping for new school shoes and watered the plants at a local rehabilitation centre in time for its grand opening in May. The centre will provide rehabilitation, training in guinea pig rearing and lots of other helpful services and is funded by the government.

What has certainly become clear this week is that partnership between different agencies and organizations is something that can be beneficial for all involved.

Clothes Donated by Kind Hearted Tourist to MSH

Mysmallhelp was thrilled to be the recipients of some clothing from kind hearted tourists last week. David Waugh McInnes from Ayrshire, Scotland and  Ana Belen Daza Valdivia from Spain walked from the infamous Freak Street, Basantapur to Gwarko, Laliptur (75 minutes) to deliver some clothing that they no longer need. We spent some time sharing ideas about howto make the charity stronger, and better known over a glass of sweet Nepali tea before our new found friends left for their next destination.The clothes will be well used and appreciated by the children and the

 families that MSH supports. 

Thank you David and Ana!  The Mysmallhelp team hopes you enjoy your next adventure...

Working in El Milagro

Louise Whitaker
10^th April 2011

El Milagro is a poor barrio between the laid back surf town of Huanchaco and Trujillo, Peru´s third largest city. El Milagro means miracle.  This part of Peru is desert and not a lot grows here. There is little water. Houses are constructed out of adobe type material, old plastic bags and tarpaulins and the floors are just hardened sand, concrete and dirt. Water is delivered in by the municipalidad every 8 days and families top up this free water buy buying 12 buckets worth for 3 soles.

It is in this area that MySmallHelp has chosen to work. The Trujillo team of Deisy and Helen have spent the last 2 months busily helping 5 mothers enroll 16 of their children (some of whom were working in the rubbish dump with them, collecting 1kg of plastic bottles to receive just 1.5 soles) in to school. This hasn´t been an easy task, as paperwork was missing, names had been mis-spelt and some of the mothers illiteracy slowed down the work. The children of these mothers are in 6 different schools close to where the mothers live. Some of the children have special needs or learning difficulties and the schools they are in reflect this. Deisy, Helen and Leander have been busy supporting these mothers and finding funds to enable these mothers to send their children to school safe in the knowledge that the fees will be paid for the first year.

Our recent meeting with the mothers was to understand what skills and abilities the mothers have to enable them to set up little businesses, that they can run from home, which will enable them to earn money so they don´t have to rely on foreign donations.

We spoke about numerous ideas. The favoured one seemed to be working with a Limenian tshirt designer who can help the women learn how to screenprint his designs on to tshirts to be sold in Trujillo and Huanchaco to tourists. We are busy now working out the costs of this, as water is required for this process and it is not in great supply here.  MySmallHelp already has shops selling these tshirts in Cusco and in Lima. The next stage is to write a business plan  and conduct some market research in the area.

The pictures below show the barrio of El Milagro

The truck from the municipalidad bringing in water