Free education for 60 deprived children in Peru

Schools are back in session in Peru after the academic break during January and February. During these months, Picaflor House had fewer of our regular students, since many are home with their families during this time, but we had many children from remote communities enrol with us for the holiday cycle courses. It was great to have some new faces and share what Picaflor House has to offer. Many of these new children had an even lower level of reading and writing than our youngest attendees at Picaflor, since they may come from predominantly Quechua-speaking areas. However, they were enthusiastic to learn and dedicated to the work during their classes. After two months of intense work with us during the holiday cycle, our Spanish literacy teacher Julia saw marked improvement in their performance, and as they head back to their communities for the regular school cycle, we know what they learned with us will be invaluable.

The regular academic year is now in full swing in Oropesa, and everyone at Picaflor House is hard at work. This year we welcomed a new English teacher, Rubi, and we are very excited to have her on board. Originally from Andahuaylas Peru (a city about 10 hours from Cusco), she is currently on sabbatical from her education in the United States, where she is studying the English language and Informatics Engineering in Utah.  Along with the regular curriculum, she has brought in new ideas and materials from her experience in the USA. With her bright smile and enthusiasm, she is a cheery addition to Picaflor and we are glad that she will be with us during this year!

2019 Volunteers

We’d like to give a shout out to the volunteers we have had in 2019 so far. A very big thank you to Sandra, Nathan, Roger, Barbara, Daniel, and Charlotte. Our work at Picaflor House wouldn’t be possible without your assistance and support! Thank you for joining us in Peru!

Thank you for taking the time to read our update, and as always, thank you for your continued, invaluable support. If you would like to donate, and we hope you do, please visit our page to do so!

We are excited to kick off 2019 at Picaflor House, and while we’re busy working on lesson plans and new projects, we’re also looking back at our activities and accomplishments in 2018.

Literacy Programme Success

Our new Literacy Programme began in 2018, focusing on improving our children’s reading and writing skills in the Spanish language. One of the biggest challenges Picaflor House faces is that children who are in first and second grade often cannot read or write, despite their time spent in public schools. Regardless of their setbacks, the public Peruvian educational system requires that all first-grade children be able to read and write, placing any who cannot at a serious disadvantage without the supplemental tools for improvement. So now, part of our mission is to help get all of our attendees up to speed.

This year has been full of work on this subject:  books have been bought for each reading level, and each of our children has been provided with notebooks and other needed materials. Teacher Julia has worked intensively with all levels according to their needs, and we are very pleased to mention that her work has had excellent results. All the children passed this last school year, and in this last semester, their public-school grades have improved.

We were very happy to recently receive the visit of some parents who wanted to thank Picaflor House for supporting their children. The teachers in public school had recommended that the parents continue to send their children to Picaflor, since their performance had improved so much. That is exactly the type of news we love to hear!

Looking forward into 2019

Our English Programme and Healthy Lunch Programme continued in 2018 with great success, and we look forward to even more achievement with these programmes in 2019. They are doing so much for the children of Oropesa, and it is notable to their families.

We also said goodbye to several beloved staff members in 2018 (Laura, Diane, Gladys, and Angel), as noted in past reports. But we have also welcomed new team members (Vilma, Julia, Teddy, and Milward), who are already doing a great job and will be vital to Picaflor’s accomplishments in 2019.

This January, the children are all currently in their summer holiday time away from public school, but they continue to come to Picaflor daily in the afternoons. Our team is gearing up for great things to come in 2019, and we cannot wait to share them with you in the coming months!

Thank you for taking the time to read our update, and as always, thank you for your continued, invaluable support. If you would like to donate, and we hope you do, please visit our page to do so!

Recent Changes

In August, Picaflor House was very sad to say goodbye to our wonderful Programme Manager, Laura. Laura made a huge impact at the project over the last few years, helping it grow and making a real difference to the lives of the students, their families and the community. Laura also made sure all our wonderful volunteers felt at home while in Peru and ensured they had a great time. She will be greatly missed, but her legacy will remain, and Picaflor will continue to thrive thanks to her hard work and dedication! 

In Laura’s absence, long-time staff member and Academic Coordinator Luz Chapi has stepped up to take on the challenges that the role requires. Luz is beloved by the students, their families, and the volunteers who come through Picaflor House, and we are excited to have her at the helm!

Picaflor English Programme Updates

Picaflor House has seen some changes to our English Language Programme since our last report!

Earlier this year, Diane joined us from the USA to continue the English learning programme. Diane’s motivation and the enthusiasm of the children made English classes fun and valuable throughout her time with them. In her work with the children, she helped them become more confident to express some emotions and concerns in English. Also, her high level of organisation helped the children understand the importance of order and acquire this habit not only in the English class, but everywhere.

Diane has now departed to spend some time in Europe, and she is missed. But her time with us has left some great systems in place from her vast teaching experience. During the recruitment process for our new teacher, Luz and Laura delivered the English classes, along with support from our volunteers. Thanks to the English Language curriculum already in place, the transition between staff went smoothly until the new teacher arrived.

We have now recruited a new teacher, Teddy Zabala! Teddy is from is from Iquitos, the northern jungle region of Peru, and he has extensive experience working with children in different cities of Peru. With his 16 years of teaching experience and ability to speak multiple languages, Teddy has settled in quickly and is very excited to start working with children. We can’t wait to see how much progress they will continue to make throughout the rest of the year!

Literacy Programme Updates

The Literacy Programme (focusing on reading and writing in Spanish), has had very good results this year. With many of the children’s family language being the native Peruvian Quechua language, the literacy classes in Spanish are an essential part of the children’s development.

This year, the reading and writing teacher Julia has worked intensively with the youngest group because many of them cannot yet read. It is a pleasure to mention that first-graders are showing great progress and can now read to an acceptable level for their age. To mention one example, first-grader Juan (not his real name) could not even write his name when we started the school year in March. Now he has greatly improved, is reading a little, and has started to write short sentences.

In the upper grades, the students are working on comprehension and grammar. Because of her hard work, Julia has seen great advancement in reading comprehension. Likewise, when the children write, they do so with only minor grammatical errors. We have found it true that if the children have a good understanding of what they read, they then start to truly enjoy reading, rather than just seeing it as work.

As part of the Programme, the children also have new books to use in their daily lessons. The books are synchronized with the curricula of the school year by grades, and teacher Julia accompanies these books with additional texts, according to what the children need most.

We hope you have enjoyed reading about what’s going on at Picaflor House! Thank you for taking the time to read our update, and as always, thank you for your continued, invaluable support. If you would like to donate, and we hope you do, please visit our page to do so!

HELLO FROM OROPESA!

In our last newsletter we told you about some staff changes at Picaflor House and, this time, we are pleased to tell you about two more new members of staff. In addition,

 
MORE NEW STAFF

You may remember us telling you that we would soon be recruiting a new reading and writing (literacy) teacher? In May, teacher Julia joined the Picaflor House staff as the new literacy teacher. Having taught for many years in primary schools in Cusco and nearby villages, Julia’s patience and experience is certainly evident in the classroom and the children enjoy their regular literacy classes. Julia has also been reporting that several of the younger children have improved their reading and writing skills and are now moving on to work on their reading comprehension skills.

We also have a new face in the kindergarten as teacher Norma also joined the ranks shortly after are last report. Hailing from Puno, a region south-east of Cusco, Norma has lived in Oropesa for the last few years with her two sons, who also attend Picaflor House. Having worked for years as a classroom assistant in a kindergarten setting, Norma is bringing her creativity and enthusiasm for working with the little ones to Picaflor House.

A VISIT FROM THE UK

This month, Picaflor House has enjoyed a visit from Pipers Corner School (UK). Having visited Picaflor House before, 11 pupils and two teachers from the school are in town for two weeks, visiting nearby Machu Picchu and volunteering for eight days with our staff and students.

The Pipers students have organised classes including dance, English, art and sports and kindergarten activities, and the Picaflor House children have thoroughly enjoyed learning through the use of new games.

DENTAL HYGIENE AT PICAFLOR HOUSE

Dental care is expensive often forgotten about in Peru and, with sugary foods being cheap and easily accessed, many children’s (and indeed adults’) teeth are rotting, brown and black.

We recently had a visit from a family from Atlanta, USA, who very kindly brought enough toothbrushes for all the children at Picaflor House. Along with toothpaste each child was also lucky enough to take home an extra toothbrush and were taught how to use them properly.

As such, at Picaflor House the children now brush their teeth every day after they’ve had a nutritious lunch, with the kindergarten children taking time out of their lessons in the afternoon to do the same.  

We’ve also been teaching the children the importance of not eating too many sweets and in our recent parents’ meeting, we encouraged parents not to allow their children to buy cheap candy after school, and instead send them to school with a piece of fruit.

We are hoping to see a change in the children’s habits and an overall positive effect on their dental hygiene.

NEWS

I am sorry to say that I shall be leaving my position at Picaflor House to take on new challenges in the UK (where I called home before Peru). There will be a replacement on the way soon and whilst I am of course sad to be leaving the position, children, and village after nearly four years, we are excited for the changes to come and for Picaflor House to keep growing as a centre of learning and as a safe space to be for the children of Oropesa.

I’d like to also take this opportunity to thank each and every one of you who has followed Picaflor House’s progress and donated to the project over the years; you’ve been a tremendous help and I do hope that you will continue to support the good work that is carried out.

Thank you for reading and as always, thank you for your continued, invaluable support. If you would like to donate, and we hope you do, please visit our page to do so!

HELLO FROM OROPESA!

Since February things have been busy at Picaflor House, with staff changes and volunteers coming through our doors (including a group of photographers and 30 students from Canada!), we’re wondering where the time has gone!

STAFF CHANGES

At the end of February, we said “goodbye” to two of Picaflor’s beloved staff. Angel was at Picaflor House for 2.5 years and was our Math, Chess and Music teacher. A music teacher by trade, the children were always eager to practice the recorder (much to our ears’ delight!) and enjoyed performing Christmas songs at our Christmas party and traditional cusqueñan songs (songs from Cusco) in Quechua (the local indigenous language) and in Spanish. Angel moved on to work in the city of Cusco, near his home.

Gladys had been at Picaflor House for a year and a half and, for the last 8 months, we also had the joy of her baby in attendance. Friendly Gladys was primarily our reading and writing teacher, however also taught many of the children’s favourite class…traditional dance! Dance is hugely popular across Peru, indeed, if you’ve ever been lucky enough to visit our wonderful country it’s more than likely that you will have seen some! The learning of traditional dances helps keep indigenous culture alive and each dance tells a story. Gladys left Picaflor House to move to another city (where her husband lives) to bring the family closer together.

As such, at the beginning of March, Joel, our new Math teacher begun work at Picaflor House. A teacher in the mornings in Cusco, Joel has brought a wealth of teaching experience to Picaflor. He’s very friendly and whilst he does not work directly with our volunteers, he always makes an effort to come and chat with volunteers in his native Spanish and is keen to practice his English!

We are currently in the process of recruiting our new reading and writing teacher. Having been granted funding from donors in the UK, we are excited to be able to develop new literacy materials for the children and for their skills in literacy to be improved further thanks to Picaflor House. Watch this space!

GROUP VISITS

In March of this year, 30 students visited Picaflor House during their spring break. Originally from China but living and studying high school in Vancouver, the students came enthusiastically to Picaflor House and participated in art, dance, chess, and sports classes. They are eager to continue their support for Picaflor House and we’re excited to develop some fundraising ideas with them! The best part? They’re keen to come back during 2019 spring break with more students to help out at Picaflor House!

In April, we had a much-awaited visit from our friends at The Giving Lens who come to carry out a photography workshop with the Picaflor House children every year. Having access to cameras and knowing how to take photos is rare in Peru and so this is a wonderful opportunity for the kids to try something new and, for children who have been at Picaflor House for a while, it’s a chance to hone the skills that they have learnt in previous years. For four days, the group of 11, from the USA, joined our Picaflor House family. We visited local families, took the kids on a hike to a local lookout and enjoy team games on our field day! Great fun was had all round and we’re looking forward to next year already!

ATTENDANCE

So far, this academic year, which started in March, we have had excellent daily attendance. Much like in January, spaces for our term time programme filled up very quickly and children are coming enthusiastically after school to learn at Picaflor House and to take part in fun extra-curricular activities. Our Healthy Lunch Programme as popular as ever, we can’t wait for the things we have in store for the rest of the year!

Thank you for reading and as always, thank you for your continued, invaluable support. If you would like to donate, and we hope you do, please visit our page to do so!

With greetings from everyone at Picaflor House!