Street
kids,
..........They
come to us
..........as
they are; we
make of them
..........what
they let us
...
Click
photos for message
Emma Bonar, served as Volunteer coordinator in Trujillo,
Project Director in Cajamarca and then Project Director in Trujillo
during the Spring and Summer of 2004.
Bart Bijen, served as construction supervisor in Trujillo,
then went to Cajamarca, where he directed both our childrens
and adults education; and finally, Bart founded and directed
our centre in Huaraz, (during the Spring and Summer of 2004).
Mai Doung, served as a dynamic project director at our Children's
Center in Trujillo during most of the Summer of 2004
Euan Peebles, served as an exceptional volunteer in Cajamarca
and Trujillo during the Spring and Summer of 2004
John
Loveday, in the Spring of 2004, was such an inspirational
worker for the children that he was voted by his fellows and
supervisors as the best volunteer they had ever worked with.
Sandra
Smith, who arrived before we had a volunteer program,
was our very first: our first English teacher for the children
and opened the Language Academy for adults. Her good example
was the inspiration that started our international volunteer
program.
Nicola
Melchiotti, one of the first volunteers to join our program,
Nicolas' enthusiasm and willingness to give everything he
had to whatever was needed was contageous to all our first
volunteers. Nicola worked with the children, taught computers
to them, and French to adults. 2003.
Georg
Schaumberger, one of the two happiest people ever to grace
our volunteer program, co-founded Cajamarca and Huaraz, entertained
our children and enlivenened our days during the winter and
spring of 2004.
.....(Fotos
taken January 2004, two boys recruited on the streets)
1 - Teams of our volunteers go out
into the city's streets looking for child laborers (and street
kids generally).
2 - When they encounter them they
make friends and get as much information as possible about the
child's circunstances, fanily, interests; and if the child seems
to fit the profile of those we might be able to help: we give
him a ticket to a free meal at our Restaurant Corazon - even bring
the child with us if he/she is available.
3 - When they come to eat they are
specially welcomed, and we register them; begin to build a profile
on them which will eventually prove useful in helping them get
into school. They eat with the other children and then we invite
them to join in the games, classes and projects we have organized
for the other children.
4 - When they are comfortable with
us our social assistants begin to work with them and their mothers
to persuade them of the benefits of getitng an education. If this
is successful, we take the child on as one of our regulars.
5 - As an enroled child we work with
them to improve their study skills and group discipline - we also
help them with their nutrition, clothes and medical needs; but
most importantly we go to their local school, and with the cooperation
of their mother: enrol them. Often the mother will not have money
for the fees, books and uniform; when this is the case we give
a grant for the first year's costs.
6 - When the child is in school we continue
to help with tutoring, social, psychological and medical support.
1
-2 -Meeting
and interviewing them on the street
3
- Receiving
them at Restaurant Corazon
3
- Giving
them
free
meals
4
-
In class with our other street children, preparing for school entrance
4
- 5 -
Our Social Worker begins the process of getting them into regular
school
...
