Gender Equality Peru Project #13129

Educate 120 Girls in Cusco for Economic Survival

by Chicuchas Wasi

Educate 120 Girls in Cusco for Economic Survival

Project Report | Jan 23, 2014
Chicuchas Wasi School for Girls - New year start 2014

By Diana Rae Lewis | Founder and President

Promotion Celebration after 8 years at CW School

Chicuchas Wasi is off to a busy start for 2014 - the new year is favoring us :-))

A bright light is shining on our smiling and excited, and just promoted CW school girls who will now move on to public high school. The 8 years with CW has prepared them well to confront the challenges ahead. We will continue to stay in touch with them all, to be sure they do well and continue in school. THANK YOU all for believing in these girls. Just look at these radiant young women, filled with their newly envisioned and possible dreams.

At the promotion ceremony, Ruth gifted each girl with the book you see in their hands: 'The Dreamer' to take with them to High School to remind them to dream and dream big.

We are so proud of how they have risen above their personal hardships and are looking forward with new eyes, new strength and new confidence. Coming from similar personal backgrounds, these girls have created a deep connection together and will stand by each other in the new school.

Last year's financial crisis was stressful and we seriously worried about the future of Chicuchas Wasi School for Girls, but it also forced us to investigate new ways to fund our small nonprofit.

We discovered online crowdfunding with GlobalGiving and took a chance. YOU also took a chance and joined us and together the financial crisis was averted for 2013. Whew!! GlobalGiving required that we enter their required Challenge last April to raise $3000 in 4 weeks - YOU raised $23,000. We were nervous, but YOU came through with your donations and your faith and trust in CW. The spirit of the support you gave us lifted our spirits, both here in California and in Cusco, Peru too. We were all in this challenge together (north and South) rooting, recruiting and donating and watching support grow online. We proved to GG we were serious about education for our girls.

We didn't need to lay off even one teacher or combine any classes in the end. Thanks to YOU Chicuchas Wasi School for Girls remained open and free to all 100 students in 2013. We add new younger students when the higher grades are promoted and we will have 105 students enrolled for March 1, 2014 when the school year begins in Cusco, Peru.

Last year we learned there are many new modern ways to fund a small nonprofits not blessed with a big endowment fund. We will continue to tell you what works and what does not. Crowd funding does help and can bring in support from new unknown sources. Supporters of CW often send us a link or tell us of a funding organization seeking to help educate girls in developing countries that we would never see. You really do make a difference. We welcome your suggestions as the learning curve is huge and it takes many eyes and ears to for small organizations like CW to continue to thrive.

Thank you doesn't seem big enough to express my personal gratitude for your loyal support to keep the school open for our students who desperately want to learn. Your generosity has given CW a new life and 100 girls new opportunities and the key out of poverty. YOU did this.

Please look at their photos again and feel proud of the lives you have changed. THANK YOU
Rae Lewis, Founder
Chicuchas Wasi since 1987

*******GLOBAL GIVING NEWS******

Global Giving has 4 quarterly BONUS Days (matching donation) planned for 2014.

The first Bonus Day is Feb 12 and individual donations up to $1000 will be matched by 30% until the $75,000. available is gone.
Click here to go to our Global Giving page Feb 12.

We truly love and appreciate you all and --- this is the difficult part for some of our donors on the west coast-----Start time at 6am PST and match $$ is gone by 7-8am. Please consider setting your alarms for BONUS days to make your donation grow by 30%. For anyone like me, it is a lot to ask.....but....I must....on Feb 12..set your alarm for 6am and donate and then go back to sleep...does that work for anyone?

The Girls are a tight support group for each other

CW School Girls want to say THANK YOU

Graduating Class say thank you for their education

ChicuchasWasi School Commitment

FEB 12 - Matching Donations 6am PST

Links:

Permalink

Dec 30, 2013
Chicuchas Wasi wishes you a Happy New Year - 2014

By Diana Rae Lewis | Founder and President

Chicuchas Wasi wishes you a Prosperous and
Happy New Year with Peace and good Health

The Chicuchas Wasi Team began 2013 with serious concerns that we could not raise the basic operating budget of $131,000 for the school. When the CW school was created in 1997, we made a commitment to provide free quality education to every girl enrolled. Cutting teachers or closing the school was a terrible idea we were forced to discuss.

We searched for new ideas, gave presentations, sent emails to all of our friends and lists, planned a concert fundraiser and then online crowdfunding came into view.

We joined Global Giving online fundraising organization's challenge last April and YOU donated with us. YOU helped us win the $5000 in awards and we slowly chipped away at the budget amount needed. It is true, we all matter and ordinary people can make extraordinary gifts that change the lives of others. YOU came through and we are so very grateful. We didn't fire one teacher or close the school in 2013 and 100 girl's futures are changed forever.

YOU kept Chicuchas Wasi School for GIrls open in 2013 --
NO words can say THANK YOU enough!

•••YOU still have 2 DAYS to get the 2013 US tax benefit•••

Please do remember our students this holiday season with your year-end donation to educate girls whose lives are literally in our hands. Your donation will change their futures. Educated girls will not live a life of poverty, oppression and abuse as the women before them have been forced to endure because they had no education and no skills to provide for themselves or their children.

We have just kicked off our annual fundraiser to meet the new school budget for 2014 needed to keep CW doors open, teachers paid and education free to every student. Please consider becoming a monthly donor. See the pie below to learn how we use your donations.

Thank YOU to you all

These girls value your gift of education

Our first graduating class will go far

CW School for Girls 2014 operating budget

Links:

Permalink

Dec 9, 2013
What are you doing ?

By Rae Lewis | Founder and President

Chicuchas Wasi wishes you, your family and extended family a holiday season of laughter, joy and love shared.

We also wish you the joy of giving back and bringing happiness to others less fortunate this year. More than in past years, this holiday seasons began a month earlier with 2 pounds of shopping ads in the local paper and little about all the kind and caring things that people are doing this season. The UN iniated 'Giving Tuesday' to remind us all that this season is about more than shopping. This is a time when ordinary people can make extraordinary gifts of change in the lives of others. Put a smile in your heart now and receive the incredible joy of giving.

Please Donate today and receive year-end tax benefit.

YOU are very much appreciated for all you do for our students. Thank you!

At our Chicuchas Wasi School for Girls, a Christmas celebration is brought to the school by a local tour company, Amazonas, and they bring the spirit of Christmas to the entire school with hot chocolate, sweet panetone bread and a gift for every one of our girls. This is the only gift most will receive. Look at the joy in the faces of each student as they soak up the love being given to them by the staff from Amazonas and from CW. This celebration every year is orgainzed by Efrain Valles, an early CW resident from 27 years ago when CW had a shelter for abandoned children and who is today a responsible family man with 3 children of his own and an active board member of CW Shool for Girls in Cusco. We are very proud of him and the man he has become.

YOU have kept CW school operating. No words can thank you enough. Because you care about education for impoverished and ignored girls, Chicuchas Wasi School for Girls still exists in spite of tough global times. Please do remember us this season with your year-end donation to educate girls whose lives are literally in our hands. Your donation will change their futures. Together we are making a huge difference for them forever. They will not live a life of poverty, oppression and abuse as the women before them have been forced to endure because they had no education and no skills to provide for themselves or their children. We began Chicuchas Wasi in 1987 to provide emergency shelter to children living on the streets and sleeping in doorways. Their mothers also could not read or write and had no work skills and in desperation abandoned their children. My commitment and passion to keep CW going is because I too am a mother and was born to better circumstances for which I am forever grateful.

We have just kicked off our annual fundraiser to meet the school budget for 2014 needed to keep CW doors open, teachers paid and education free to every student.

Please see the PIE image showing how we spend your donations below, and make a Holiday donation to educate our worthy girls. CW is a 501 (c) 3 and can offer the tax benefit for 2013 for all donations.

All of us at Chicuchas Wasi School send our love and gratitude and many blessings to you all.

PLEASE DONATE today... Thank you

Most likely her only christmas gift

CW is transparent on GuideStar and Great Nonprofit

Gift of love from Amazonas Travel Co.Hot Chocolate

Our Efrain organizes this party and more yearly

A Xmas present for every girl at CW school. Thanks

Links:

Permalink

‹ 1 ... 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 ›

About Project Reports

Project reports on GlobalGiving are posted directly to globalgiving.org by Project Leaders as they are completed, generally every 3-4 months. To protect the integrity of these documents, GlobalGiving does not alter them; therefore you may find some language or formatting issues.

If you donate to this project or have donated to this project, you can receive an email when this project posts a report. You can also subscribe for reports without donating.