.Bruce Peru
Lima: "San Juan" Children's Centre
Volunteer vacancies: (Once
Open) Vols: 2 longstay |
Introduction
'San Juan' CHILDREN'S CENTRE will be in the San Juan de Lurigancho community of the 'Cono Este' slums on the east side of Lima, Peru (it is Lima's largest barrio). Our aim will be to give aid and support to the children of the families (mostly abandoned mothers) who have been squatting this sandy mountain, and slowly turning it into a community. There are no roads up the hill to the 6 communities we are arranging to serve, access is via a series of long stairways. There is a school at the bottom of the hill, but many children are too poor, abandoned or at risk to attend - these are the children we are coming to help educate.
The San Juan de Lurigancho Children's Centre will housed in the the
community centre in the midst of the 6 communities.They are letting us
use it for our school in the weekday mornings.
Each community is presided over by a secretary - usually a male community
leader (rare in Peruvian City slums, and a good sign - usually women take
the lead in community matters here). The coordinator of the 6 secretaries
is the person with whom we are making our arrangements to open our Children's
Centre in their community.
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Many children do
not attend school in San Juan de Lurigancho, due to one or mor of three
reasons: the nearest school is too far away, extreme poverty (even
attending free school in Peru costs about $110 a year), abandonment
or parental abuse (children of poor parents often are made to work
instead of attending school) Our primary goal is to
get as many children into school as possible, and this involves
encouraging learning, talking to parents and in some cases
purchassing uniforms and school books. We also are prepared to
educate those children who cannot get into state
schools. |
What to expect as a Volunteer:Your Job at 'San Juan de Lurigancho CHILDREN'S CENTRE' will involve:
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Accomodation & food costs:We ask a fee from our volunteers to keep our work going. The money goes to pay for the bills, meals, and the cost of the social worker, cook and secretary, as well as maintenance of the Children's Centre- also to promote the opening of other Children's Centres in Peru. This fee includes accommodation 7 days per week and 3 meals a day, 5 days a week.
To read more about Peru click HERE | |||||
Besides these activities, we welcome new ideas to make our project most effective for the children. Volunteering at Bruce Peru Lima can be a tiring but immensely rewarding experience. You should be able to cope with big groups of street children demanding a lot of attention and enthusiasm. You will have to be a team worker, working together with Peruvian and international volunteers. In the centre you will be a representative of the project and are expected to be responsible and behave as an example for the children. What you do in your free time outside the centre is up to you.
Volunteering at 'San Juan de Lurigancho' is a fantastic way of getting to know Peru, of improving your Spanish, and above all, of interacting with the community and with the children of the city in a positive and helpful way.
The Region:
More than 400 years ago, the Spanish
conqueror ("conquistador") Francisco Pizarro named Lima the City of the
Kings ("Ciudad de los Reyes"). Nowadays, that same city, which rose from
the lands of the native chief Taulischusco, is a metropolis of over 7
million people who proudly preserve the colonial convents and mansions
which are symbols of their ancient and noble traditions. Lima, capital of
Peru, founded on January 18, 1535, is a modern city which, while
constantly expanding, has also managed to maintain the elegance of its
Historic Center. Declared a UNESCO World Heritage Center, due to the large
number of artistic monuments found there, Historic Lima is an enchanting
haven of a period long gone.
The Programme:
The Children's Centre will be located in a large open, but covered
assembly platform on the hillside of San Juan de Lurigancho. It has no water
or electricity, but classes are in the mornings when there is always light,
and we bring in buckets of water. Our international volunteers will leave
Miraflores at 7:30/8:AM and are in class teaching the children by 9:AM.
Children will attend the centre between 9 AM and 12:30 PM, (ending with
lunch). During the morning volunteers and local teachers organize a range
of classes, workshops and activities: including English, reading, writing,
maths, art, music, science, sport and drama. Groups are divided up according
to age or ability. None of these children go to school, so an important
aspect of our program is teaching them group discipline and study habits.
We regularly plan trips outside the centre, to play football and other games
and activities..
The Language School:
In the evenings English-speaking and French-speaking volunteers give English and French classes to adults in our Miraflores campus in Lima (where also our international volunteers live). The small donation our language students make is a contribution to the work of the Satellite Children's Centres.. Our students know that their tuition goes towards our work with the children and enables us to participate in the activities and expenses of the Children's Centre and our volunteers. Volunteers are therefore obliged to give at least one class per night to maintain our Language School.Spanish classes are offered for free to all our volunteers.
