¿Sόlo la Educaciόn Salvará al Perú? how about compost? - James' Volunteer Experience

Padre Tumba believes only education can save Peru. I have a different view. I believe only compost can save Peru.


Morgan and I started a composting project at the CEP school. We built two compost bins, out of recycled adobe bricks (it looks like a mini Chan Chan). Then we filled one bin with food scraps and garden waste and taught the kids all about the wonders of composting. This was our contribution to a greater Peru.

One of Padre’s visions for CEP is to be self sufficient. That is, to have a thriving vegetable garden within the school grounds that provides fresh, healthy, nutritious produce for use in the school lunches. This is an extremely practical idea and one that deserves merit as well as further volunteer attention (hint), but as you all know, the soil in Huanchaco and Trujillo is little more than sand and pebbles. This is terrible soil for growing plants. It holds very little moisture, or nutrients, both of which are essential for plant growth. That’s were compost comes in.


Compost is a free, natural source of additional soil nutrients and general all round garden improver. With compost the garden soil will be nutrient rich and grow lush, healthy vegetables. Using these nutritious vegetables in school lunches will lead to healthier children better able to concentrate and absorb knowledge. This will ultimately lead to a better educated Peru.

Without compost the garden will falta, lunches will be sparse, kids will be hungry, the famished students won’t learn, Father Tumbe’s thesis will be disproved and ultimately Peru will suffer. So for the benefit of Peru, Compost! Compost! Compost! For only education can save Peru, and only compost can save education.


Please save your food scraps, bag up garden waste around Huanchaco and give them to a CEP school volunteer. If you are a CEP volunteer, don’t be embarrassed, haul the bags of composting material on the bus and tend the pile with love, take the time to visit the compost pile, add the scraps from the school kitchen and keep the pile moist. Better yet, help the kids do all this.

• Find out more about how you can volunteer with C.E.P. School teaching English and helping with Eco-friendly projects.
• Learn more about all of volunteer opportunities in Peru with Otra Cosa Network

Office Volunteer Jack's Experience

When I came to Huanchaco I was initially surprised how calm and quiet it was. I soon learned that words like ‘tranquilo’ and ‘poco a poco’ meaning peaceful and little by little, defined the culture here.

Arriving in late September I was able to see a drastic change in the town leading into the summer months. The coming of spring celebration started with a parade in Trujillo and the Peruvian culture and pride were vibrantly displayed. In November things started to vary. Every weekend more and more people crowded the beaches. Every day a new restaurant opened inside someone’s house. Staying in a pseudo home stay my neighbors were some of my closest friends. Playing zappo, a traditional Peruvian drinking game, every Sunday was some of my best Spanish practice with the locals. The people in Huanchaco are some of the nicest I’d ever met. At a bar in the States when a foreigner sits down and attempts to speak broken English with someone, that person wouldn’t talk to him very much. The average American certainly would not share their beer with this person. In Huanchaco the opposite is true. They want to hear your broken Spanish and to share with you. This characteristic of the pueblo was my favorite, and also the one I will take away with me.

Volunteering in the office, I was able to see the inner workings of a non-governmental organization. Over the course of my three months I was given a variety of tasks. These ranged from specific paperwork, to more open ended input into the marketing approach of the company, to traveling to the specific projects to gather information. Although I recommend that the future office volunteer has more skills with html I was able to make it work without much knowledge of the language. The deadline and timetables were kept in Peruvian time, a little bit slower than the rest of the world, but I was eventually able to find my focus and complete the task work.

As the office volunteer I was able to view all of the volunteer opportunities that Otra Cosa Network offers. This allowed me to choose where I wanted to give extra support by picking the projects that appealed to me. I started with Juan Carlos at the skate ramp project in El Cerrito. Being one of the poorest neighborhoods in Huanchaco there is very little for the kids there to do. We built the floor for a future classroom and opened the half pipe for the kids to come play on. I also became the janitor/handyman at the CEP school. Local workers and volunteers built the school. They left all the building materials and tools scattered all over the place, not a safe environment for a school with almost 300 kids. There was loads of trash lining the walls of the school as well. After about a month the place was a lot cleaner. I also got to play with the three and four year olds a bunch. Daniel- David with the mullet was my favorite little punk. Being the office volunteer allows you to spread your time out at other projects as part time work as well. I liked this aspect of my position tremendously and found it liberating.


Overall my stay in Huanchaco was amazing. The friends made and good times had I will remember forever. The food, the cake, and the surf to quote the menuland chef ‘que rico’. Return to Huanchaco? Definitely. Work more with non-profits? Puede ser. Did I learn a lot? Every day.

• Find out more about how you can volunteer in the Otra Cosa office.
• Learn more about all of volunteer opportunities in Peru with Otra Cosa Network

Jack's Experience at Tulio Herrera Leon School

In some parts of Peruvian society there is sometimes a certain level of stigma attached to having a child or relative with special needs and therefore many families tend not to send their children to school or ask for help with their upbringing. Tulio Herrera Leon is a school for blind and autistic people which was set up to help these people who may otherwise be left to look out for themselves. It is very well equipped with all the tools necessary to help the students with all manner of needs and different levels of disabilities. It also has a great team of caring and skilled teachers. In order to try and combat the prejudice in certain areas of society the school runs an out-reach program that goes out into workplaces and schools to try and get in contact with parents and also to help employers incorporate workers with vision impairment, autism and other special needs into their businesses. Many of the teachers also spend their spare time going to churches and hospitals to try and reach more parents and families that could benefit from the school.

Students of all ages are welcomed at Tulio Herrera Leon, with classes varying from full time students learning to read and write brail, to one on one “extra help” sessions for students who are currently studying in other schools and universities around Trujillo. It is a great school run by fantastic people and offering an extremely important service to its pupils and society as a whole as it is the only state funded school of its kind in the whole of Northern Peru. Despite this there is still room for many more students here. The school is free for all students, however if the parents of a student earn over a certain amount each month a small contribution may be asked for.

I have been volunteering at the school for a month now, working alongside the music teacher to help the students channel their creativity. When I first arrived at the school I was amazed at how well equipped the music room was but also recognized that the music teacher was struggling due to the amount of time each student requires. This meant that the children, some of whom have attention disorders, quite often lost concentration. Over this past month we have successfully managed to bring more direction into the music classes and help the students to be more constructive. The main way in which I have done this is through getting the whole class to play percussion together. This has proved a great way to teach the kids about rhythm as well as the importance of listening and playing alongside other people. This brings with it a greater sense of kinship and group awareness, and as a musician myself I can vouch for the sense of achievement that comes through playing together in a group of people.

I have one more month left at Tulio Herrera Leon and I am as excited about it as I was about the first month. Now that we have developed a good group work ethos in the classes through playing percussion together, I would like to use the skills of certain pupils in order to bring other instruments into the classes. There are several budding pianists in the school and I have been teaching a couple of people, including the music teacher, how to play the guitar. Whilst there are some students who struggle with basic drumming, when playing as a group they find it much easier to stay in time and so I am aiming to get the whole class playing a song with guitars, keyboards, percussion and possibly some singing as well. This is going to be a challenge for both me and the students but one which I’m sure we will overcome and enjoy.

The students and teachers make Tulio Herrera an amazing project to be involved in and I would recommend anyone who is interested in working here to give it go, as the school serves a part of society who really need their help.

• Find out more about how you can volunteer at Tulio Herrera Leon .
• Learn more about all of volunteer opportunities in Peru with Otra Cosa Network

Un Lugar Skateramp Project

Situated in Cerrito de la Virgen, a small town roughly a 30 minute walk from central Huanchaco, a new project – The Skate Ramp - has been put in place, with the help of Otra Cosa Network Volunteers with the aim of inspiring the local children of the community. The Skate Ramp was set up in 2010 by two volunteers - Johannes from Germany and Oliver from England – as part of the Un Lugar Surf School project. Un Lugar’s owner Juan Carlos agreed to have the Ramp built on a piece of land he owns in Cerrito, and with his co-operation the project was started. Johannes and Oliver personally raised the money needed to buy the materials needed to construct the ramp by running a blog and asking for donations in Europe. Once the money was raised these two (with a bit of help from other volunteers) set about constructing the Skate Ramp which was completed six weeks later. The Skate Ramp is used in the afternoon by children who live in Cerrito de la Virgen.

Cerrito de la Virgen is very different from what you will see if you stay just within Huanchaco. It was initially established by the Peruvian government as a town for those who had lost their homes and livelihoods due to the El Nino weather pattern which strikes The Americas once every three to seven years.

About 12 years ago this event had severe consequences for the population and infrastructure of Northern Peru. There were heavy rains inland in the mountainous regions of La Libertad which produced obstructions in the upper part of the Rivers. On this occasion the rivers flooded. The case of “la quebrada del León Dormido”, (The Ravine of the Sleeping Lion), the ravine that leads to the town of Huanchaco was one of the most critical.

The population there had worked in small farms and quarries, but the water washed away their homes and livelihoods. The Office of Civil Defence provided tents and food for the population but then had to relocate them. One of the places chosen was Las Pampas of La Virgen Cerrito. After a few weeks however support was cut off and the population were left to their fate.

Many of these people, considering that the place a desert location lacking in vital services - it was without water, sewage facilities and electricity - abandoned the idea of setting up homes there and left. Others sold their possessions and yet others took advantage of the circumstances and walled off two or three plots. This has resulted in the area being a mixture of families. There are environmental victims from the time, alongside new residents who have been acquiring land and who come from many different places. You can find there today people from the Peruvian mountains, the valley regions and the jungle. There are foreigners who own plots of land without living there alongside Peruvian people from different social statuses.

Having faced such hardship it is hoped that the efforts of various local groups, along with the community themselves, can improve the lives of those in Cerrito de la Virgen. Mike, a current volunteer at Cerrito feels that “the introduction of the skate ramp has served as a catalyst for community cohesion”. He continues, “The introduction of an activity for the community to develop around very quickly provided a reason for the children of the community to come together and play. This in turn led to parents of the children coming along and now local mothers can often be found teaching the younger children how to make bracelets and other items, while some of the older children are already developing into great skaters”. The community does work together in regards to improving their town, and are currently trying to find a solution to the lack of access to water, however The Skate Ramp would not have been possible without the external input of Otra Cosa Network Volunteers. Nevertheless, in a very short space of time it has become an important part of the community, which has taken an active interest in the benefits of maintaining the project. In an area where there is very little to do the ramp has provided the opportunity to form new friendships and meet new people. Working at the Ramp provides a great opportunity to become more aware of what life is like in a real Peruvian town, away from the tourists.

The aim within this community is clear. A local man explains, “The poor live here permanently. They survive in difficult conditions. They think about how, one day, they can convert this human settlement of the last century into a town worth living in today.”

• Find out more about how you can volunteer at the Un Lugar Skate ramp project.
• Learn more about all of volunteer opportunities in Peru with Otra Cosa Network

Sarah and Craig's Volunteering Experience at CEP School

We came to work at Otra Cosa Network as a couple who wanted an opportunity to share our skills and knowledge with those who need it most. We felt that working at the CEP school would allow us the chance to share Craig’s skills in carpentry and sport plus Sarah’s skills as a Speech Therapist working with Children.

Since volunteering for one month we have felt we have achieved a lot for the school but we have also learnt a lot personally. Through money donated by our families Craig has constructed a roof for the school and he has also built a roof for the toilet and help pave a footpath. He has used his skills in sport and developed a PE program for the students. This has provided the children with an opportunity to develop skills in other types of sports such as rugby and basketball.

Sarah has assisted in a class of 42 five year olds, they have kept her busy doing tasks such as marking homework, helping with activities and providing support to those children who need extra attention and help. It has been rewarding building a relationship with the children and her very patient teacher.

Volunteering has also had its share of challenges. Communicating with our limited Spanish has made our job difficult at times, particularly for Sarah whose skills as a Speech Therapist rely on her to communicate. She wishes she could do more for those children who are struggling at school.

We feel we have learnt a lot personally whilst volunteering. We have learnt that your volunteer experience is a result of your own initiative and willingness to make a difference. Sometimes you have to push hard for what you want to achieve. For example Craig identified the need for a PE program and helped to make this happen by discussing it with the teachers and explaining the benefits. At the same time we have also learnt to be realistic in your expectations and what you can achieve, particularly since we only had one month! Progress is often slower particularly on Peruvian time.

Our experience in volunteering has also brought us the pleasure of making new friends, experiencing life in another country and learning new skills such as surfing and learning Spanish.

We feel this past month has given us a taste of volunteer work, and we are hungry for more! It has been a wonderful experience both rewarding and challenging and we hope to do some more volunteer work in the future!

Otra Cosa Network - New Name, New Faces

Otra Cosa Volunteer Agency is getting a new name, Otra Cosa Network, and is welcoming some new faces to our management team. The new shorter name reflects our main purpose of connecting up willing and capable volunteers with worthwhile projects seeking appropriate volunteers and developing a network for the future. We also have a new e-mail address, otracosanetwork@gmail.com, although the old one will continue to function.

The new team includes Najin Kim who has joined us from South Korea as our new Operations Manager and Miguel Fernandez from here in Huanchaco who has started as Assistant Operations Manager. Between them they will be running the local operations here in Peru from this December when Peter and Juany leave to go back to England to live, via a six month round the world tour with their three boys. Any ex-volunteers interested in meeting up with Peter & Juany during their world tour or with any good local contact for recruiting volunteers (e.g. your University) just send us an e-mail at the usual address. As well as Asia we'll be visiting Australia (including Sydney, Melbourne, Adelaide), New Zeland, Canada (Vancouver, Toronto, Montreal) and the USA (California, Seattle, Colorado, Chicago, Boston, New York and Washington DC)

Peter and Juany will still devote themselves part-time to Otra Cosa Network from back in England, but more to developing the organization, including contacts in the UK, Europe and elsewhere and providing general guidance to Najin and Miguel, leaving them to run the day to day operations and develop opportunities here in Peru.

Otra Cosa Network has recently been approved as a Peruvian registered NGO with great help from Laura Gutierrez, a final year law student from UPN University in Trujillo. We have also applied for UK Registered Charity status. This is quite a paperwork process but we’re working through it with help from Peter Reynolds, an Irish ex-volunteer and trainee solicitor in London. We hope to be officially registered on both sides of the world by year end. Peter and Laura have agreed to work with us as Trustees (’Asociados’). Maribel Cancino from Santo Toribio School for Special Needs Children, one of our most popular and worthwhile projects, has agreed to join us as a Trustee and Emma Platt, an ex-volunteer currently studying for her Master's in London, has also agreed to be a trustee.

So from Peter and Juany running something small and informal, Otra Cosa Network is quickly growing into something bigger and more official with more of a management team to look after things. As Peter says, “It’s an exciting new phase for us. We’re delighted to have the new team in place. As we’ve grown and continue growing we want to have a more professional team whilst retaining the friendly, personal approach and I’m sure we’re now well placed to do this”.

Juany sees it a bit more personally, saying “The Otra Cosa Volunteer Agency was our unplanned baby but now it is growing up and we’re leaving it safe in someone else’s hands, but we’ll still be there from miles away keeping an eye on things and helping and no doubt interfering from time to time.”

Either way, things seem to be in place for an interesting new stage of growth and development for Otra Cosa Network.

Las Lomas Library Project - Imara Gray

My first day at the library project at Las Lomas School was a first day like no other. Timo (the volunteer who works alongside me) and I arrived to find that we were locked out of the school compound.

Moreover, it turned out that no one inside the school had the key to let us in! I began to wonder whether we were actually going to be welcome at our project or not.

After climbing over the school gate by step-ladder, however, I quickly knew the answer to this question. Immediately, a swarm of small children ran across the yard and jumped on us with such enthusiasm they almost knocked us over! With children hanging from every limb we greeted the smiling headmistress and teachers, and made our way over to the classroom to teach our first lesson.

We have now been teaching at Las Lomas for two weeks. Some things have changed very little. The children still have as much energy and enthusiasm as on the first day, which is fantastic to see. A lot of our work has been about trying to channel this energy into learning English, which we have achieved using a variety of techniques including lots of interactive tasks, games of Bingo (which the children love), and a bit of constructive bribery! It is a process we still struggle to keep on top of every day, but I hope that we are getting a bit better at it.

Some things have changed a little more. Recently, Timo and I gave two of our classes exams (yes, we are that evil!). Some of the children did very well, some of them a little less so, but I can honestly say that when marking the exams, I was proud of every one of them for what they have learned so far. I hope that Timo and I will be able to help the children further expand on their progress. They are a great group of kids!

CEP Mural by Amy

To be faced with a dirty 50ft wall that has yet to be cleaned, cemented, designed, painted and treated, and which you have promised to turn into an uplifting array of colour and happiness can seem just a bit daunting - especially when the only help at hand is Miguel, the contractor, who is also Miguel, the builder, painter, gardener, handy man and expert napper who disappears every day around 11am whilst you are left up a ladder trying to hold the rungs together with one hand, scrubbing away the itchy plaster with a tooth brush with the other, occasionally clapping a hand to your forehead overwhelmed by the magnitude of the task at hand.

Proposing to design and paint a mural at the CEP school originally began with a simple straightforward idea – I would paint a pretty picture through the hidden walkway to the office and young children’s classrooms. This seemed to quickly escalate to painting one corner of the play area, and then suddenly the entire 50 ft length of the wall stretching right down to the 5 year old’s classroom. Dawning comprehension followed and suddenly my palms weren’t so dry.

***

CEP school is a wonderful project but is often referred to as ‘the dumping ground’ amongst some volunteers. Arriving at the school I quickly realised that this was a fast moving project and it was very easy to get lost, forget why you are there and then succumb to the dreaded wave of ‘I’m not making a difference here’ uselessness.

After a few weeks of gluing and sticking and working with my forehead banging on the table I found myself considering a variety of options: early onward travel, changing projects, becoming a Huanchaco burger expert and even enrolling at the school with the 5 years olds, because no doubt I would be learning and giving more than I was at that moment. But after trying to think about what I could do for the school one afternoon, I leant against a giant wall and suddenly the sun came out, a choir sang a chorus and I had an idea.

Designing and painting the Mural was pretty straightforward and though I had a few complications and a few hiccups, such as the Padre changing his mind about the design after I started to draw it, having to wait 3 weeks for the cement to dry and a visiting volunteer telling me the design didn’t have enough diversity (A boy from Ghana dancing with a boy from Finland- what more do you want for crying out loud!) I suddenly found myself living at the school, spending more and more time with the teachers, not to mention talking and dreaming about the wall so much it was bordering on unhealthy.

But the long hard work paid off, and together with a group of truly fab-tastic wonderful brilliant volunteers who simply exude greatness, the mural was finished. The actual drawing of the wall didn’t take much time, and I then proposed a ‘painting day’ to get all the volunteers to come and help out with the bulk of the painting in exchange for snacks and beer. I simply could not believe the brilliant and enthusiastic turn out on that beautiful day, and together with perhaps a little too much paint going on ourselves rather than on the wall, we made great progress.

It felt UNBELIEVABLY good to finish that last saved bit of green, and I could not believe it was finished. After spending so much time at the school, having problems with the paint, with progress, with damp and dirty walls and turning my back for ONE minute and then seeing little red handprints miraculously appear at the bottom of a wall next to a tiny child staring at me innocently with their hands behind their back; after everything - it was done.

In my time working at CEP, I could not believe how much my perceptions had changed. From seeing the daily struggles that the teachers handle to the extent of work that has gone into the school with the blood sweat and tears of the parents, I began to realise a few things.

A lot of the time with volunteering it’s hard to see the big picture. We work for only a short time and in that time we expect to be able to help out, make things seem worthwhile and generally offer our aid when we can. Sometimes, the work is incredibly boring, or difficult, or monotonous, or simply not what we expected. I started at CEP working with the 5 year olds, and although the classes were fun and the teacher was the epitome of awesomeness, I started to find the endless task of sticking papers in homework books rather tedious and I simply wanted to do more.

Although the Mural allowed me to do this, working with the teachers all that time showed me just how much effort and work they do every single day. They have no photocopiers, no printable worksheets and handouts - everything is done by hand. They need someone to help do that. Or two hours of their precious four, are spent hastily preparing homework whilst the children run amok. If they have to do this because of lack of help, they don’t complain. They don’t get angry; they simply get on and do it themselves.

So when a volunteer can help out simply for an hour of their day - the teachers get some extra time they need, the children get just a bit more attention and the homework gets done. There are many ways that a volunteer can help out at a project like CEP. Start your own project, build a classroom, paint a wall, or help stick things in books. You will have problems along the way, but your help is needed and appreciated so very very much.

***

To Jon, Marti, Dan, Sion, Caitlin, Christina, Abdarahim, Ludo, Hutton, Andreanne, Jack, Mitchell, and especially Ellie and Garen.

I still can’t thank those volunteers enough; without them, it simply would not have happened.

Cep Construction

There’s been a boom in construction projects at CEP school during the national holidays. Without school in session, volunteers have worked to construct a roof on the new dining area, build a panaderia, reconstruct the roof on the 3 year-old’s classroom and complete a mural in the pre-school playground. Thank you, volunteers, for all of your hard work. On-going construction projects add to the quality of education at CEP.

Congratulations Juninho Urcia

Peru celebrated the Fiestas Patrias July 28^th and 29^th. Huanchaco was full of visitors from across the country and locals celebrated with fireworks, a dance party and a national surf competition. The surf competition was the main attraction of the weekend and was close to many volunteers hearts as they watched local friends compete. The highlight of the competition was the win by fourteen year old Juninho Urcia whose family hosts Otra Cosa volunteers. Juninho won the 14 and under, 16 and under and all-around open competitions. This year’s win makes Juninho the first person to ever win the 14 and under competition 3 years in a row. And is the first time a fourteen year old has won all three categories of a Peruvian national surf competition including the open division. Congratulations Juninho and the Urcia family. For more information and pictures of Juninho's win, please check out:

http://www.olasperu.com/noticias/display_not.php?id=31072009-1

Happy Birthday

Following Otra Cosa tradition, volunteers celebrated a few birthdays this week. The most involved was an Inka Cola themed shin-dig at Chill Out celebrating the 29th birthday of the current Otra Cosa intern. (If you haven’t tried Inka Cola yet, get ready for a drink you will either love to love or love to hate.)

This particular party included a home-made Inka Cola piñata, an Inka Cola card and le piece de resistance, an Inka Cola drinking hat.

CEP - Garen

I just turned to Liz, a volunteer from Australia, and commented that sometimes when I’m at school I feel like I’m herding cats. She gave me a look and said, “You feel like what?” Apparently “herding cats” isn’t an expression in Australia, but after confirming the phrase, she agreed it was an appropriate description of the scenario at hand.

Lunch is late and there are about 45 children between the ages of 3 and 5 who are waiting to eat. The teachers and other volunteers are in the classrooms with other kids and I seem to be one of the few monitoring those waiting for lunch. I hope I’m not doing something culturally inappropriate by trying to keep them from climbing all over the desks they use for lunch. My Spanish seems to be improving as I’m able to get the point across that I’d like them to stay in their chairs. This doesn’t mean they’re staying put, but they know what I’m asking…

Each child has brought a container to school that the women in the kitchen will use to serve their lunch. I know this is called a tapel. Each child also has his or her cuchara (spoon) and taza (cup). When the food is ready, we’ll try to make out the names written on the tapels and then match those w/ the kids. It’s an imperfect system, but most days we get through it without incidence and everyone gets fed.

It strikes me that language is only half of what you use to communicate. My Spanish is limited at best and I’m convinced that half of what I say doesn’t mean anything, or at least it doesn’t mean what I hope it means. But we manage to communicate through gestures and context and tone. A question still sounds like a question, a cry like a cry, a plea like a plea. I can get a little girl to take a few more bites of her lunch by saying, “por favor” and pouting a little, like it makes me sad that she’s not eating, which it does. And a smile helps when neither of us understands the other.

-Garen May 7, 2009