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.

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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.

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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

Leymebamba Project: Toussaint Mears-Clarke

    Leymebamba is a quiet, peaceful community. The food is all natural, the air is pure, and really and truly there could not be a more welcoming, friendly place in all of Amazonas. I am midway through my two months in Leymebamba, and every day that I wake up here, I rejoice.

     The town is small (approximately 2200 people) and so it´s downright impossible not to get to know most everyone. It’s the type of place where you find yourself being greeted by your first name, or if you are sick, your next door neighbor makes you tea. I´ve quite enjoyed getting to know the people in this community. In fact the best part of my volunteer experience has been the relationships and connections that I´ve made here. Whether I am playing basketball with one of the English teachers, or conversing over yogurt with a local tienda owner, I feel at home- a community member of Leymebamba.

     In Leymebamba, I serve primarily as an English teacher. During the day I teach children of ages 8 to 11, basic English, in the Casa de Cultura. It is two hours every day of the week of Simon Says (Diego dice), parts of the body, simple present tense, stickers, and songs. In addition, I teach English in the night school to 1^st, 2^nd, and 3^rd form. The night school classes are also a lot of fun although we can´t quite get away with playing tag instead of having class. On weekends, I teach guitar lessons, tutor students in English, participate in volleyball games, and cross-country run with the high-schoolers that live in the hogar. The hogar is essentially a family of adolescents, approximately thirty in total, whom have no means of formal education in their respective towns. They board in Leymebamba, live, study, work, wash and eat together. I´m grateful to have had the opportunity to work within the hogar.

     Leymebamba is a wonderful place to work if you really wish to integrate yourself into a community. You can give back and at the same time know that you are making an impact. For instance, I see my students daily outside of class. They strike up conversation, oftentimes in shaky English. It´s easy to feel that you are working with the people. In short, Leymebamba is a safe and special place where a volunteer can find herself or himself a niche. It’s a place to relax, and recuperate. I am proud to say that a piece of me is now from Leyme.