Free education for 60 deprived children in Peru

In an era dominated by technology, the pure joy of immersing oneself in a book frequently becomes overshadowed.

Many of the children that arrive at Picaflor House have very low levels of literacy and children from rural villages have a lower level of reading than their counterparts in the cities. This is due to a number of factors including the resources available to children in rural villages, the lower quality of education and Spanish not being the first language spoken in Peruvian villages.

Recently, we were so lucky to receive a grant from a UK Charity that allowed us to buy 293 books for our library. This has reignited the children's interest in reading with all these new wonderfully exciting resources. With help from our teachers and volunteers, we can help improve the children's literacy levels in a fun and imaginative way using our new books.

Widening the reach of literacy

Picaflor House also has a mobile library which we use to take books to rural villages. This increases our reach to many more children and allows us to bring resources to children that they would not otherwise have access to books.

The Mobile Library is closely aligned with Picaflor House, striving to enhance educational opportunities within remote rural areas. Commencing its activities in 2022, this library initiative transports books, teachers, and learning materials to five distant communities in the vicinity of Cusco. Over the course of the year, we provided support to youngsters spanning ages 3 to 16 across these five villages.

This undertaking holds immense significance, particularly in light of the pandemic, which starkly exacerbated disparities in educational accessibility. The rural children, hailing from economically disadvantaged backgrounds, were significantly impeded in accessing online education during this crisis.

Eye tests for the children

We have noticed with the latest intake of children that some kids were struggling with their sight. As a big part of our project is ensuring children are properly cared for and pastorally supported, we decided to take them to an optician. Many parents do not have the resources to get their children's eyes tested and to buy glasses so children are left to struggle at the back of the class. In the large classes at Peruvian government schools, children who have bad eyesight may be become quickly uninterested in classes and ignored by teachers just for the fact that they cannot see the board properly.

A high percentage of the children we took to the optician needed some kind of help from just needing glasses to therapy on their eyes due to the issues never previously being identified. Thankfully, all the children that needed glasses now have them and are now able to thrive in classes and catch up with their classmates.

Thank you for your support!

We extend our heartfelt gratitude to each and every one of our generous donors. Your unwavering support has been the cornerstone of Picaflor Houses's success, driving us forward and making our impactful work possible. Your kindness and dedication have enabled us to make a tangible difference in the lives of those we serve. Truly, it is not possible without your compassion and commitment. Thank you for making everything we do possible!

Picaflor House’s after-school programme seeks to provide free education and nutritious meals, so that Peruvian children can break the cycle of poverty and access better opportunities for their future. We care deeply about the safety of the children. Providing them with the opportunity to attend to Picaflor means that children can learn and play in a safe environment surrounded by responsible and loving teachers and volunteers.

Free Daily Nutritious Lunches

Learning would not be possible without eating a filling and healthy lunch. Thus, we have built a greenhouse on the property, where we grow fresh, healthy fruits, vegetables, and herbs. These are then used to provide nutritious lunches to the students and teachers. Every day, our two chefs prepare homemade, balanced traditional dishes. All the meals cooked are vegetarian and are accompanied by a cup of homemade tea. Not only is the food delicious, but each portion allows the children, as well as the adults, to have enough energy to teach and study throughout the afternoon. Additionally, for many students, it is their first meal of the day. Therefore, it is a great incentive for parents to send their children to Picaflor House and an effective means of keeping attendance high. We strive to provide a menu that supports healthy psychological and physical development for our students.

Sofia's story

Sofia is renowned as one of our most hilarious and sociable students here at Picaflor House. Sofia* enjoys coming to Picalfor House every day and never fails to bring a smile to all her peers and teachers' faces. However, inside the classroom, Picaflor's teachers noticed she struggles to see the board and has difficulty reading and writing as a result. After speaking to her mother, we were told whilst she knew of her daughter's difficulty seeing, she could not afford to send her to get her eyesight tested. Picalfor House is currently working to fund glasses for Sofia and others like her so they can achieve at school and in the future. Regardless of background or ability, every child should have the opportunity to succeed. Picalfor House works to provide these opportunities. (*name changed for confidentiality purposes)

Dear friends of Picaflor House,

During the last 3 months, our schedule has been full of activities, educational, supportive and recreational. The children have been able to develop their abilities and skills as well as learning vital lessons for their development.

As part of Picaflor's commitment to protecting the children in our care, we have a responsibility to teach children about their own safety, rights and means of protection. One of our interns ran our child safety workshops for children from the age of 5 upwards where they learn to have confidence in themselves, understand their feelings, distinguish between trusted adults, recognize inappropriate touches and resilience.

We also welcomed new interns from France and the UK to our team, who have created dynamic and creative classes, where the children were able to learn about new cultures, customs and traditions. The children learned about the importance of understanding that the world is much more than what we see around us. Learning about the different continents, countries, cities, and communities is essential for building responsible citizens. Being exposed to people from different cultures and studying different cultures stimulates creativity by exposing them to what is different. The children enjoyed sharing their experiences and knowledge and were always curious and full of questions.

Our garden has also provided harvests of carrots, cherry tomatoes, spinach, aguaymanto (native species) and chamomile that were used to prepare our nutritious lunches. The daily lunches that the children receive ensure they have enough nutrition in their lives as well as full stomachs during the day when their parents are busy working.

During this season we had many celebrations such as Student Day and Halloween where the children enjoyed games, face painting and traditional dances, we shared delicious snacks with their friends and teachers.

This year we will be doing two traditional Christams chocolatadas, which is where hot chocolate and panaton bread is shared with the children. The one at Picaflor House will be next week while this week we made a chocolatada at a rural village where we run our mobile library project. It was a very emotional day as the parents of the community expressed their gratitude and support for the teachers and the work that Picaflor House does for the development of their children. 

Without a doubt, it has been a year of many challenges and achievements that we could not have been achieved without you. You've Already made a valuable difference in our community. Keep an eye out for future updates about how you've helped.

Hello everyone, 

Recently, we had the privilege of having our group from Durham University visit. They had a great trip and did a fantastic job with the kids. Some students helped with homework, and in addition, our teachers at Piqaflor House helped our Peruvian students with core subjects, and then in English, learning basic classroom words in their last lesson. 

The greenhouse was sprouting, and the cooks were busy working hard to feed the kids a nutritious lunch of quinoa, avocado, and tomato, so they would get the necessary nutrients to keep growing and learning. Then, the place was a flurry of activity as the Durham students helped make kites, and put on traditional costumes to dance with the children. Last, there were some tearful goodbyes as bonds had been made and it was now time to return home. 

In addition to the UK group’s physical work, they each raised a large amount of money, personally, in order to fund the lunches, the staff, and the important work Piqaflor House does every day. With this amount, we can continue to change the trajectory of these Peruvian childrens’ lives, providing education, and a safe place to grow into their bright futures. It was truly an honor to see many people give out of their own generosity, and the students raise money to help those less fortunate. We continue to be humbled by the altruism of others and the large hearts with which they are willing to help others. 

If you have any questions about what our programs or the work we do, please don't hesitate to ask.

Best,

Daniel

Director of Development, Globalteer

Summer Holidays

For most of this quarter, Picaflor House was running its holiday schedule. This means we focused more on fun ... but we didn’t leave academic learning behind. Continuing academic reinforcement in core subjects – communication and maths – was particularly important this year, after the two-year school closure. And it paid off, as schools finally re-opened in mid-March! But we made plenty of time during the holidays for recreational activities like sport, dance and a big favourite, arts and crafts. It is so important for children to explore other activities, not only to “give them a break” but also to help them develop different skills and think more broadly about what life could hold for them.

Registration and attendance

We worked at full capacity during the holiday programme, with 80 children registered. We kept class sizes smaller by splitting the day into two sessions (morning and afternoon) and bringing in 40 children at a time. Average daily attendance for the quarter was 85%. We have had a lot of children registered this quarter from, rural villages, who have been visiting relatives in Oropesa.

Return to school

The best news we’ve had for a long time came when the government confirmed that schools would finally open in March 2022! Unlike pre-pandemic years, the children were all very excited to return to school and even see their teachers. Since schools started in the middle of March, Picaflor House has returned to its pre-pandemic schedule and now only opens in the afternoons (our children and teachers are at school in the mornings). We currently have 60 children registered and attending every afternoon.

Build

One of the most exciting developments at Picaflor House is that we built 2 new classrooms on the property! Thanks to a generous grant from the Jephcott Charitable Trust we have built our first two covid-safe, mobile classrooms. These classrooms have a large footprint for social distancing, natural ventilation and can be moved should the need arise in the future. They were finished right at the end of the quarter, just in time for the return to school.

A little learning goes a long way

Pablo (not his real name) is from a rural town in a difference province, around 2 hours from Oropesa. He and his three brothers were visiting their aunt and uncle in in Oropesa during the summer holidays, to help with the family’s cows, sheep and pigs. Pablo is in the second grade and Spanish is not his first language, so reading is hard for him. However, he is excellent with numbers! He also makes a real effort to study and improve. The further you get from the big cities in Peru, the worse the quality of education gets. Even a couple of months at Picaflor House gives rural children the opportunity to learn new things and advance a little further academically.

With schools finally back in session, there is hope that children can finally go back to living their "normal" lives. We're so happy to return to normal scheduling at Picaflor House, to enhance children's learning and help them stay in school for longer.  Thank you for continuing to hlp provide brighter futures for children in rural Cusco!

Links:

• Read our 2021 annual report here
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