Every day a girl stays in school she climbs another foot out of poverty. YOU are changing the lives of these girls. Thank you for caring. Please donate monthly to provide security for their enrollment.

        Fiestas Patrias at Chicuchas Wasi School

Every year on July 28th, all of Peru celebrates it’s independence from the Spanish Empire.
In Cusco, everyone loves a celebration. Chicuchas Wasi is no exception. 

Like all schools in Peru, CW school unleashes it’s Peruvian pride with flags flying and all students, teachers, parents and guests standing assembled and singing the national anthem. CW celebrates this day with many special activities. Mothers of our students dance typical dances in full costume from Cusco for the crowd of onlookers visiting our school for the fiesta. Tasty typical dishes are sold by the classrooms and fun is had by all.

An interesting contest was organized again this year by the classroom mothers of our students, as a competition between the individual classrooms. The mothers of each class prepare traditional dishes from the three areas of Peru: the jungle, the coast and the mountains. Each class sets up a table to present these dishes for sale (earning money for a classroom special need) and the winning class demonstrating the best effort gets a special prize.

The home-room mother from each class presents a budget to the CW school director, Ruth Uribe, who then loans each class the money needed to buy the ingredients to make the dishes. The mothers of each class prepare the food together and then sell plates to the public during the fiesta. Proceeds from the sales of food from each classroom entry first go to pay back the loan and the profit is used to buy something needed for the classrooms. Every class participates. The classroom with the tastiest dish also gets a prize.

Last year the mothers earned enough money with food sales that they were able to buy each class a DVD player to use with previously donated TVs to view special educational videos in classrooms. Most of our mothers are active in the school and take their turn as lead room-mother seriously to organize the other mothers any way they are needed to help the teacher. They do this for their daughters who they are watching blossom like a flower.

Of interest also is that CW was just awarded the Gold rating at GuideStar and you might appreciate seeing the impact of our work for our students. http://www.guidestar.org/organizations/68-0188327/chicuchas-wasi.aspx

Please visit us on our website for the latest information on Chicuchaswasi.org

Your donations are very appreciated and keep 100 girls learning today. Thank you all.

Links:

• Chicuchas Wasi official site
• GuideStar reports for Chicuchas Wasi

Because of YOU Chicuchas Wasi (CW) School for Girls is thriving.  Thank you!

 CW students are alive with more curiosity and intelligence showing every day. The impact of 15 years of CW is changing the attitudes of the families and community about the value of the girl child...slowly...but changing. YOUR support is making this possible. Thanks for being part of the CW family. Visit www.chicuchaswasi.org to see all we do with your donations.         CW Girls will have a better life!

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  Make YOUR donation go further on June 12!

• GlobalGiving will match 30% of every donation ONLY June 12. 
• June 12 from 6 am PDT to 8:59 pm PDT
• Go to: GlobalGiving CW page (go early-funds run out)

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By now you know CW is more than just a free primary school. We serve the impoverished and oppressed indigenous girls and their families. Some of our families struggle more than others with serious problems around alcohol, unemployment, depression, and domestic violence putting mothers and children, especially girls, in danger. CW staff is specially trained to recognize an abused child and follow CW protocol to alert Director Ruth if immediate action is needed. CW is dedicated to our student’s safety and takes extraordinary action to remove a child (children) and mother at risk in an unsafe home.

We rarely have students leave CW, but some situations are so volatile that a mother and her children must flee to a distant secret town where the mother has family support. When we lose a thriving student it is heartbreaking to all staff, but safety must come first. Sadly we lost 7 such families since February, but they are now out of danger. This is the reality of the girls we serve and why education for them is so important. Education will give them the key out of poverty and oppression for life. 

The CW Peruvian staff has created a loving environment and an enriched, curriculum for our special students and includes classes for their parents. This curriculum and classes will eventually move the community in the direction of social change. This is the focus and challenge that CW School has accepted.

  Your support matters very much. You are changing lives forever.

 Please write your review of Chicuchas Wasi here:    ***http://greatnonprofits.org/org/chicuchas-wasi***

"Chicuchas Wasi is an example of an organization whose heart and hands are for and by the people of Cusco and the region, but whose eyes and ears are for all to share and contribute to the dream. This is an exceptional organization that deserves your care in whatever way you can offer it because it will continue to break new ground in the education of children for years to come."- Luis Kong, EdD.

The Student Spotlight for June is a very promising 6th graders, who with CW help has risen above many family troubles.

2013-Ruth comments-Leydi is in 6^th grade now.

Leydi has not had much love at home. Her real father showed up for the first time when Leydi was 7, and started a fight in the middle of the street with the policemen and others. The mother handed Leydi over to her drunken father and said to take her, Leydi didn’t matter to her.  This year, it was the father who enrolled Leydi in CW for 1^st grade agreeing to all the requirements of the school, but he was never seen again.

The three children live now with the mother, because their father, the man that Leydi really loved like a father abandoned them again. The mother works driving a motorcycle and selling gas all day to support these children. Leydi has many responsibilities at home, but continues to fulfill her duties as a student. In addition she has talent to be a singer, and great aspirations to continue her studies and help her family get ahead.

Leydi has learned to see the good in life and forgive all her sad history and is moving ahead. Leydi is one of the best students, both academically and in her personal development as a woman. I see the best in the CW girls, because together they are cured of self-pity and see their lives and futures full of hope. -Director Ruth Uribe

Links:

• Chicuchas Wasi FaceBook page
• Chicuchas Wasi official website
• GuideStar has vetted CW and found us 5 stars