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Where does Helping Hands work:
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Helping Hands
CUSCO, Peru
S.A.G.A Group from Garden City Collegiate, WInnipeg, Mb, Canada
Helping Hands, by Garden City Collegiate
April 23, 2012
The Social Awareness and Global Aid group from Garden City Collegiate, Winnipeg Manitoba held a Fundraiser event called A Taste of South America raising awareness and support for San Gabriel School. It was a wonderful night of jazz music performed by members of the group and guest performance by the chamber choir. Approximately 80+ guests came to support the cause and was treated to a dinner of quinoa, empanadas, roasted potatoes and a variety of dessert. The members of our S.A.G.A group shared their experiences and gave parents and other family members more of an idea what they have been working on. The entire night raised over $1000 for the students and the school. ...
Door to door marketing for a cause!
Helping Hands, by Ankura Ranade
January 22, 2012
Before I quit my job to travel, I was working in the marketing department and to promote our chain of retail stores, we often hired agencies to go door to door and speak to people about our products, stores etc.While volunteering with helping hands, I (along with 2 other volunteers) was the one going door to door around a well - to - do neighbourhood in Cusco. Our mission: to collect old clothes, toys, food, books - anything that people did not have a use for and wanted to donate. We first designed and printed flyers which we distributed in the area. We would ring each doorbell, talk to the people, drop the flyers and explain that we were going to be back the next week to collect the stuff....
La carrera
Helping Hands, by Ankura Ranade
December 31, 2011 | 1 comment
On 22nd december, helping hands organised the first ever run for the residents of the community where helping hands does all its work. There were four categories in the race - children in the age groups of 4 to 11 and mothers! Everybody had to register for the race and everybody was going to get a gift for participating in the race.We had been (trying to) raise funds for buying the gifts for the race for weeks before. We organised a party at a local club in cusco with an entrance fee of 10 soles to help buy gifts for the kids. Unfortunately, the party was not much of a success.The night before the race, the manager of one of the clubs had a surprise for us and donated footballs,...
High School Students Volunteer at Helping Hands
Helping Hands, by Lacey Worel
December 22, 2011
In April of 2011, Helping Hands welcomed 19 high school students and 4 teachers from Telluride, Colorado. The group worked hard to help rebuild terraces, transplant sprouts, plant new seeds, create a multi media trash mural, write and perform a puppet show and spend one on one time with students reading and playing. They did an incredible job. In addition to these tasks, students took closer looks at social issues facing the community such as malnutrition and environmental circumstances and documented their findings by creating short videos.
First week at helping hands, Peru
Helping Hands, by Ankura Ranade
December 02, 2011 | 2 comments
My first one week at helping hands has just flown by! I arrived in Cusco on Monday but had to rest for a day because the altitude saps all the energy out of you.The second day I went to the school and met the kids - around 30 amazing little kids- and saw the school. It is a small cute school with two classes - one for 4 year olds and one for 5 year olds - all coming from poor families in the community. The school or Jardin is free of cost for all the kids and sustains itself through donations.Mario and Rosa who started the project are friendly, energetic individuals and make sure that all the volunteers are comfortable here. Wednesdays are puppet show days at the school and...
Progress Report!
Helping Hands, by Utsav Bansal
August 18, 2011
In coming to Peru, I had three main objectives: (1) To help the people of Patron San Sebastian in Los Nogales, Cusco, (2) Spread the word about Omprakash, and (3) To have fun at the same time.During my two month stay with Helping Hands, the volunteers and I were able to accomplish a lot. Our goal was to not only volunteer at El Jardin San Gabriel, the amazing kindergarten that was started by Rosa & Mario, but also to think outside of the box and see how we can really get Helping Hands's name out there and really benefit the school and the community. Once I got on the ground in Peru, I realized what we were up against. Most of the members in our community didn't know about the...
Plaza de San Francisco Mesa!
Helping Hands, by Utsav Bansal
July 30, 2011
The table at San Francisco was a huge success. Not only were we able to make people aware of our project, but with the money we raised, we were able to afford so much for the families. Here is a breakdown of our achievements:July 20: 117 soles ($43 USD)July 27: 86 soles ($32 USD)July 8: 107 soles ($39 USD)Total: 310 soles ( $114 USD)With this money, we were able to start a business for Anthony's family. We bought his mom "pasto" (food for guinea pigs) that people can buy and she can earn much profit. We also bought her a guinea pig cage with which she can raise guinea pigs and sell them once full grown.We were also able to buy Rocio's family a chicken cage with which they can...
Collecting Donated Items!
Helping Hands, by Utsav Bansal
July 30, 2011
During the holiday on Wednesday, June 29th, we decided to go out into the neighborhoods and make people aware of the Helping Hands Project. We knocked on doors, talked about the project, and asked if they were willing to make any donations to help the needy of Patron San Sebastian. We asked for any food, clothing, or toys the families do not use and told the families we would return on Saturday to pick up the donations.On Saturday, July 2 we went around with Mega shopping carts and were met with much success. The families gave bags full of shoes, pants, jackets,... and the list goes on. After sorting through all the donations, we distrubuted all the clothes and food and the families were amazingly thankful. We are making plans...
The Third Week
Helping Hands, by Utsav Bansal
June 21, 2011
We have made amazing progress on many fronts. Last week, Professor Rosa Gutierrez and I went to the Pharmacy School to see how they can help us start our pharmacy. We spoke with the Director of Medical Health of Cusco and she is willing to help us get the necessary license for a discounted price! Now we are just waiting for a pharm student who is interested in our project to contact us soon so that we can get the paperwork started.In addition, with the help of volunteer Barbara Heider, we got a banner made and flyers ready for our first tabling session in the Plaza de San Francisco. Yesterday was our first day and we raised approximately 118 soles, which is about $42 in two hours! 118 soles would...
Week 2!
Helping Hands, by Utsav Bansal
June 13, 2011
After elections on June 5th and the holiday on June 6th, we took both classes to visit Dr. Champita Itinerante, who is stationed in front of El Mercado de Los Nogales until the end of July.We stapled the permission slip to each of their folders on Friday so that their parents could sign it and give it back to us when school resumed on Tuesday, June 7th. The parents very readily gave permission for us to take their children to the doctor and many even accompanied us to the doctor.Once we went to the doctor, he advised that all the students get blood and fecal tests done and luckily we already had permission from the parents.We have gotten most of the results back, made copies, and now are in the...
The First Week!
Helping Hands, by Utsav Bansal
June 04, 2011 | 2 comments
I can´t believe a week has already flown by. Cusco is an amazing city and offers a great balance between volunteering and sightseeing. There is so much to see and so much volunteer work that can be done that I don´t think I could have chosen a better place.AND the project is looking great. In the past month, Helping Hands has been able to start serving breakfast, built a bathroom, and so much more.This past week, I volunteered in the school mostly to understand how exactly I can help, what areas need the most work, and the best way to begin the medical campaigns...And we are starting this coming week! Starting Tuesday, June 7, we are taking both classes to visit a local doctor who will perform a comprehensive examination...
Reflection
Helping Hands, by Lacey Worel
May 31, 2011 | 1 comment
I’ve spent the last 8 months working to develop a small school in Cusco, Peru. Now, I’m back in the United States trying to readjust to my former life. My experience in Peru has given me new focus and direction. While I have felt passion and dedication towards education in the past, I have never felt the sense of urgency and purpose like I did during my time at Helping Hands. The world seems smaller to me now. I made the following observations: The problems that students face in Peru are so similar to those that students face in the United States and in many countries around the world. Adequate access to water, healthy food and education seem to be a common theme. These problems may present themselves differently from...
Walmart
Helping Hands, by Utsav Bansal
May 19, 2011
In trying to get the Rochester community involved, I spoke with the head of Donations at Walmart in Rochester and explained to her what Omprakash is all about and the immense need in Cuzco, Peru. After telling her was volunteering abroad and looking for donations, she graciously provided me with a gift card to go shopping with!I bought some bubble sticks, school supplies, and a few other clothes. One week till departure!
Rochester City Youth Council
Helping Hands, by Utsav Bansal
May 19, 2011
I have been speaking with the Rochester City Youth Council (Youth Voice, One Vision) for the past couple of weeks and finally had the chance to attend one of their meetings last Thursday, May 12.I spoke to them on how they can help not only Helping Hands, but also the Omprakash network. They are interested in volunteering with Omprakash in the future but for now, we are looking at establishing a partnership!They are working on getting clothes donations from the Rochester City Schools and are going to help me get the word out about Omprakash.
Increasing the Omprakash Network in Pittsburgh, PA
Helping Hands, by Utsav Bansal
May 04, 2011
As a student at the University of Pittsburgh, I have been raising awareness of the Omprakash Network around campus. I have posted flyers throughout with a few of my friends and have gotten a great response. I have gotten quite a few people come up to me and say they are excited to join the Omprakash network in the future!In addition to flyers, I also met with a few undergraduate medical groups who may be interested in volunteering abroad. I spoke with POMS (Premedical Organization for Minority Students) and sent information to all AMSA members and more. I am also in the process of adding a blurb about Omprakash to the weekly newsletters that many departments send out.Once I graduate, I am also going to focus on my hometown Rochester,...
My progress thus far...
Helping Hands, by Utsav Bansal
May 04, 2011
I am very much looking forward to volunteering with Helping Hands & the Helping Hands Pharmacy this upcoming summer! I will be arriving May 26, 2011 and will be leaving July 25, 2011.During my stay, I can't wait to get involved in various initiatives. I want to help teach and work with the students at the Helping Hands School, while also continue the garden efforts and more. With the pharmacy initiative, I will help manage inventory and operations, travel within the community to raise awareness of the project, establish relationships with residents and area doctors, and more!Also, Lacey Worel, a current volunteer with Helping Hands, is connecting me with medical volunteers so I may help in their initiatives also!...
Environmental Education workshop at Helping Hands.
Helping Hands, by Reshma Kulkarni
April 23, 2011 | 1 comment
The day started with the tiny tots coming in at around nine. Some with bright smiles on their face, bidding adieu to their mommies… some with tearful eyes not letting go off that safe hand. As kids came in they started settling down with drawing pictures, etc. The school with about twenty kids had two teachers and six volunteers to help. The four year and the five year olds were separated into two classes. The workshop was devised as a part of their everyday lessons, as an outside classroom lesson, making learning fun for kids. “Waste” is what we have termed it as, but it can infact be a resource. The aim was to get across the concept of different types of wastes to aid the separation of organic waste...
Entrepreneurs and Crafty People: Want to Volunteer?
Helping Hands, by Lacey Worel
April 20, 2011
In addition to our volunteer positions working in the classroom, gardening and building, we would like to develop our trash collecting/fundraising plan. We need an enthusiastic person who would like to help turn milk-cartons into wallets, plarn (plastic bags) into handbags and sell these items to raise money for San Gabriel Kindergarten. How will this work? Local businesses save plastic bags, milk, juice and wine cartons that you will collect and transform into crafts to be sold as a fundraiser. Your job: Collect the materials, design sample products and work to train community members to produce more. Sell these items:Online? Locally? Internationally? The sky is the limit with this project. Think outside the juice box. What else can we make out of trash (help the environment) and sell (fundraise for San Gabriel)? Can we work with schools...
Garden City Collegiate Helps Helping Hands
Helping Hands, by Lacey Worel
April 13, 2011
Helping Hands is lucky to have friends all over the world. A team of Canadian students supervised by Mr. Yeung, Ms. Thompson and Ms. Pasternak have put together a $1000 grant proposal offered by ManACE to help our school expand our ecological projects. They created a short video to help spread the message. Thanks Garden City and good luck!Garden City Collegiate »
One on One
Helping Hands, by Lacey Worel
April 13, 2011
Volunteer Amy Fenn has been working one on one with preschooler Fiorella. Fiorella came to San Gabriel lacking speech and was extremely timid, even terrified of staying at school without her mother. It was very difficult to determine what level she was operating at cognitively, developmentally and socially. Because of the close attention given to Fiorella by Amy, she is doing wonderfully. She now enjoys herself while at school, is able to stay full days and is using one to two word phrases. Amy is also teaching her sign language and Fiorella is able to express herself. We are all amazed at the progress that has been made in such a short time. This is a wonderful example of how one volunteer can change lives. Thanks Amy! You are...
Volunteer Apartment
Helping Hands, by Lacey Worel
April 06, 2011
We now have a volunteer apartment located in San Sebastion near the school.3 bedrooms6 beds1 bathroomdining roomkitchenterrace*hot water*internet coming soon$40 per week!
Feeding the Ninos!
Helping Hands, by Lacey Worel
April 06, 2011
We are working hard to complete our kitchen in order to provide breakfast and lunch for our 24 students. We will supply the children with balanced and healthy meals to fight malnutrition. Our partner, fairplay-peru.org/, has donated a 3 burner stove to help us achieve our goal. Thank you! We will use food grown in our garden, food collected from the community and food purchased with your support to prepare the meals.Thanks so so many helping hands for their hard work building the kitchen!
Early Potato Harvest
Helping Hands, by Lacey Worel
April 06, 2011
We had to harvest the potatoes early because they were attacked by insects. Now we have a bite size variety! Thanks Robbie, Adrian and Linda.
Successful Silent Auction
Helping Hands, by Lacey Worel
April 06, 2011
Wow! The numbers are still rolling in but last weekend marked the first ever Helping Hands Silent Auction! Cheryl and Nick Willard and their friends and family members raised nearly $8,000 for our project. We will use the money to fund our nutrition program. The biggest problem that our students are facing is malnutrition and this cash will help to eliminate this! We will provide breakfast and lunch to our students everyday helping their brains to develop and their tummies to be full! GRACIAS CANADA! ...
Natural Bug Spray for Plants
Helping Hands, by Lacey Worel
March 31, 2011
At San Gabriel Kindergarten, we are learning to grow food for our school's lunch program. We have three potato fields that were recently attacted by some type of insect. Because we are striving to be a sustainable and ecological school, we do not want to use pesticide on our plants. We are going to try this natural alternative and see if it works. Spearmint-Hot Pepper-Horseradish Spray: This works on many different kinds of bugs- too many to list! 1/2 cup of red peppers (hot)water (read below)1/2 cup of fresh spearmint1/2 cup horseradish (root and leaves)2 tablespoons of liquid detergent1/2 cup green onion tops Mix all of the spearmint leaves, horseradish, onion tops and peppers together with enough water to cover everything. Strain the solution. After mixing all of these, add a half-gallon of water...
Plarn
Helping Hands, by Lacey Worel
February 28, 2011
We are collecting plastic bags and turning them into "plarn" that we can knit into purses, hats etc. and sell as a fundraising project.
Transplanting Seeds Sprouted in Trash!
Helping Hands, by Lacey Worel
February 28, 2011
We transplanted the first set of plants to our outdoor garden! We have lettuce and tomatoes and will be planting beets this week. We sprout all of our seeds in plastic bottles that we have collected from the community as an effort to promote recycling. After the bottles are collected, the caps are removed for use in the classroom (math and art). Each bottle is cut in half and holes are poked in the bottoms for drainage. The bottoms of the bottles can sit directly on the ground; The tops can be used as hanging planters. The end goal is to use the vegetables to supplement the school's lunch program.
Progress
Helping Hands, by Lacey Worel
February 17, 2011
Currently, we are working on completing the kitchen, developing a nutritional plan for the students, developing the garden/greenhouse, writing a curriculum, reaching out to local business to save milk cartons, bottle caps and plastics bags for making wallets, weavings and murals and networking with fellow ecological organizations.
Collecting recyclables from Local Businesses
Helping Hands, by Lacey Worel
February 17, 2011
Local Businesses are saving milk cartons, plastic bags and bottle caps for our project. One of our main goals is to promote recycling in all aspects of our project. We will make wallets out of milk cartons and knit handbags out of plastic bags to sell as a way to generate funding for our school. We will use the bottle caps to create a mural on the outside wall of our school to demonstrate how to turn trash into art.
Creating a Sustainable School
Helping Hands, by Lacey Worel
January 24, 2011
First Ever Food Drive!
Helping Hands, by Lacey Worel
January 15, 2011
Today's food drive was a definite success. Thanks to the community of San Sebastian, Juan Carlos, Bridget and the entire World Youth Organization for pulling off our initial attempt at collecting canned and dried goods. The food will be used alongside that which we're growing to provide the children of San Gabriel with nutritious meals.
New Sink!
Helping Hands, by Lacey Worel
January 14, 2011
Students returning from summer break in March will enjoy toilets and a sink for the first time at San Gabriel Kindergarten.The toilets have been purchased as well as doors for the stalls. They still need to be installed as does a short overhang to protect them.Anyone with plumbing, masonry or carpentry experience who'd be willing to help in anyway, please let us know.We'd really appreciate it. Thanks!
Reuniting Farming and The Classroom
Helping Hands, by Lacey Worel
January 09, 2011
San Gabriel Kindergarten is located on a very fertile hill in Cusco,Peru. The soil is well suited for growing many types of vegetables, yet many of our students and their families lack adequate nutrition. By combining agriculture with education, we're creating sustainability and teaching both students how to grow their own food. We developed a greenhouse for sprouting many types of vegetables. In addition, we prepared fields for transplanting the young plants and established three potato gardens, which are progressing wonderfully. We're learning more about local agricultural practices building it into our curriculum.
Fun Day
Helping Hands, by Lacey Worel
January 08, 2011
The students of San Gabriel Kindergarten were out of school for Christmas break but Helping Hands had a lot of volunteers who really wanted to play with them. I organized a "fun day" for the kids and volunteers. We played a variety of games including bowling with recycled water bottles, face painting, sidewalk chalk, jump roping, ball toss, soccer and more.
Planting Potatoes to Feed Kids
Helping Hands, by Lacey Worel
January 04, 2011
As a major step towards creating a sustainable kindergarten, we have planted three potato gardens to help supply students with breakfast and lunch. One of the major problems that our students face is lack of adequate nutrition.
Trash: School Supplies
Helping Hands, by Lacey Worel
January 04, 2011
Clean up the environment, help kids learn and get creative! Rescuing simple items from your garbage can will provide students with materials for endless school projects raging from egg carton bells, coffee can drums, bottle cap murals and tea box treasure chests.
Using Trash to Grow Plants
Helping Hands, by Lacey Worel
January 03, 2011
Many projects such as San Gabriel Kindergarten rely heavily on the support of volunteers and donors in order to continue serving their communities. Providing this school with a greenhouse is helping them to achieve financial sustainability. We collect plastic bottles (otherwise trash) and transform them into pots for newly planted seeds. Students are learning about gardening, composting and recycling.
Volunteer at San Gabriel
Helping Hands, by Lacey Worel
December 25, 2010
Planning a trip to Peru!
Helping Hands, by Alex Rodrigues
March 30, 2010
I have just finished planning a trip to Peru to visit 3 different Omprakash partners: Helping Hands, Expand Peru, and Pisco Sin Fronteras. I will be traveling with 2 other high school students from Pacific Ridge School in California on this 2 week journey. During this trip, we will be learning about what the partners are doing, testing a Surya unit (See AES), and filming documentaries to share with our local and global communities. The main points of this trip is to expand our own knowledge of non-protif work and help to share that message and raise funds for the Omprakash Partners. The final stages of planning have been completed and we are leaving on May 25th. As of now, our group is still working on fundraising for the trip. One of...
Beginning the Development of a New School
Helping Hands, by Vance Walstra
March 04, 2010
Through Omprakash, I was able to connect directly with Helping Hands of Cusco, Peru. After planning a volunteer project with Helping Hands, I was awarded a grant to travel to Peru. While in Peru, I was able to fundraise over $5,000 to begin the development of a new school. I also had the pleasure of traveling around the country and establishing more partnerships for Omprakash with various grass roots organizations who could benefit from such a relationship. I now continue to support Omprakash and the organizations in Peru by fundraising and talking with high-schools and colleges around the United States about service-learning and volunteering globally....