. Bruce Peru Lima:
Children's Centre
..............................................................at
Las Americas
Volunteer Experiences: we normally
have had 2 longstay and 3 normal term (Spanish speaking please). One Peruvian teacher and one social worker. After a year the
school was relocated to the mountain, and we now share the Sate
School - Las Nazarenes
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Introduction
'Las Americas' CHILDREN'S CENTRE is in the Las Americas community of the 'Cono Sur' slums on the south side of Lima, Peru. Our aim is to give aid and support to the children of the families (mostly ababndoned mothers) who squatted this sandy mountain over the past 10 years. But there is improvised electricity, no water and too many children not in school.Water is trucked in several times a week. Bruce Peru have agreed to provide basic education to children who could not get into school.
The Las Americas Children's Centre was founded by Luz (one of our
Social workers) and Nikki Clarke (our Lima Director), is housed in a dedicated
school building lent to us by the charity, Every Child.
Las Americas is nearly an hour's drive from our centre in Miraflores, is built on a steep rocks hill - there are no plants or vegitation of any kind; only fine snad: which the wind constantly blows into the faces and shanty houses of its residents. And flies, lots of flies. Lima is the second largest city in the world, in terms of the amount of land it covers: and so the very poor residents of the barrios almost never make it all the way into the city centre. And public services do not make it out to the barrios - there is no water and only hijackes electricity. The people who live there are on their own.
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Many children do
not attend school in Las Americas, 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 'Las Americas 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 PeruVillan 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 'Las Americas' 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 is located in a fairly large recreation
hall ub the heart of the Las Americas slum. It has no running water, but
classes are in the mornings when there is usually light except in winter,
and we bring in our school materials. Our international volunteers leave
Miraflores at 8:AM and are in class teaching the children by 9:AM. Children
attend the centre between 9 AM and 12:00 PM, (ending with light lunch).
Durting the morning volunteers and local teachers organise 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
and/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.
