The Omprakash Foundation

FACTS AND FIGURES

 

Cusco´s Social and Economic Reality:

-52 % of the population is female and 48 % male.

-Only 15 % of the working population occupies professional positions. Of this percentage only 0.8 % are women.

-Only 5.5 % of women with families work and are the sole support of their families. The rest are “landladies of house” (they work at the house).

-There are many stereotypes about women and work. For example: for many men, a woman who works wants to be a man (or lesbian) or is unfaithful. A real woman takes care of her children, cooks well, washes and does not leave the house. Culturally, it is difficult to think about a woman as a boss. A woman is never going to be as efficient as a man, have a happy and united family, etc. Because of these stereotypes and others, it is difficult for women to find work, and if they do, they usually have many problems with their husbands and neighbors. There are many stereotypes about men also. For example: a man is the “king” of the house. The man must support his family, but does not do housework, cook, etc. Only the man can go out with his friends. All this seems of an ancient novel, but it is our sad reality. Many women suffer ill-treatment by their husbands or cohabitants. And naturally the stereotypes and their harmful results are more prevalent in communities lacking education.

-Normally, young men marry between 19 and 25 years. In the poorest sectors, many marry younger and often as a result of an unplanned pregnancy. In the more affluent sectors, men marry between 29 and 34 years.

-38% of Peru´s population consists of children, teenagers and young adults (from 5 to 24 years of age), One reason for this is the tendency of young, poor families to have four or five children. (Many of these births are not planned.)

-Of every 10 physical and emotional acts of aggression toward women, only 2 are denounced, the rest are considered to be “normal” family problems.

-The mistreatment of children is frequent due to parents’ mis-education. For example, some parents make their children sit on warm bricks because they wet themselves in bed. The parents believe this will cure them of this “disease of the cold.” Many children go to the hospital with burns from this remedy. Other mistreatment is the result of violent or alcoholic parents, acting out of economic and/or personal frustration.

-Out of every 10 illiterate people, 7 are women.

-Iliterate persons face marginalization in schools as well as general social life.

 

Cusco´s Educational Reality:

-35 % of school aged children do not go to the school, because they have to work.

-Many children study at night and work during the day.

-25 % of children who study do not graduate.

-75 % of children who study are malnourished.

-30 % of 8 and 9-year-old children can neither read nor write.

-Children are in classes 4 hours daily.

-Classes are completely theoretical; none of the work is experiential. There are no theatre, music, art, or physical education classes. Field trips never occur and investigation and personal development is not encouraged. This model is unable to holistically serve the needs of the students.

-In the primary and secondary schools there is a minimum of 40 students per class. Normally the teachers are unable to learn the names of the students, let alone their problems.

-92 % of students who finish secondary school do not know how to study or know what to do after completion of their studying.

 

FROM PRE-INCA CIVILISATION TO NOW (Historically Taught Values)

In the pre-Incan period the ancient people of Peru abided by the three following words:

La mita refers to the “work” that had to be done within the society. People worked together as a community, for the good of the community; and at the same time to improve the circumstances of every inhabitant. Work was regarded as a moral responsibility rather than mandatory action. Participation in this activity was in fact to be part of the community.

Work changes your life, from the inside to the outside; it is a blessing, not a punishment. But the work must have one communal goal; the individual is second. What you do for the community is reflected in your personal life.

Mita= work, individual, group

El ayllu stands for “the individual within the group”. The key to forming harmony and solidarity within the community is respecting your fellow individual. Thus, in pre-Incan culture every person in the group had their own qualities and position, from the children to the elderly, and from the women to the men; every person was respected for his or her contribution.

Ayllu could be a boy in the street, a beggar asking for life, a poor mother with a hungry child, and people suffering because they don’t have friends or love. Ayllu is people living well and poorly. Ayllu is everyone you know and all the people that you will know. Every person has qualities in common with the other; we just don’t have the time or interest to recognize this.

Ayllu = people, personal, and group

El ayni incorporates the idea of each person’s individual rights and responsibilities within the group. The life of every person in pre-Incan society was guarded by the principle of “el ayni,” because it was the law of living together. The ayni existed in the actions of the people, not in papers or words: thus, for indigenous people, justice is action.

Ayni = the law, social order, natural justice

GROUP MISSION

The work we have already accomplished and will continue to accomplish in the future is based on the three ancient words: La mita, el ayllu, and el ayni; because we firmly believe this is the only way to successfully change people’s lives.

PLANS FOR THE NEAR FUTURE : (2008)

This year (2008) we hope to help 60 children with quality education, daily breakfast and lunch, medical assistance, and our love and protection. The school started the 3rd of March this year. The children study in one year what they normally would study in two years in a normal school, and thus have a chance to recover lost years. We are convinced this is possible because of the following three reasons:
1. Our classes are smaller than those in regular schools. While a normal Peruvian school works with classes of 40 children our classes will have half this amount. By teaching in groups of 20 children, every student will receive more personal attention and automatically the speed at which the entire group is able to deal with the subject matter will increase.
2. Our teaching methodology focuses solely on core education, rather than paying a lot of attention to “extra” subjects. A traditional school in Peru will teach religion for at least two hours a week; it will also teach “educacion civica” (teaching Peruvian national emblems, anthem, etc.) for two hours a week.
3. Our school offers a 7 hour program instead of the regular 4.5 hour program, increasing its efficiency.

FUTURE PLANS

1. THE EXTENSION OF THE SCHOOL BUILDING:

We believe that the construction of additional classrooms would be a solution to many of the problems in this area. Currently we have just 4 classes but we are planning to make 2 more in the next year. Right now the closest area school is completely full, which means that many of the children travel a substantial distance in order to receive proper education. With the construction of a new school these children would not have to make a long and expensive commute. With a school in their proximity, many children currently unable to study might be willing and able to participate.

Also the new building could provide the infrastructure for “COMMUNAL MEETINGS” and “PARENT SCHOOLS” as well as to provide a meeting point for students and professionals of education. In addition, this building might also be used as a “POPULAR DINING ROOM” (see point 3) and for “COMMUNAL SHOWERS” (see point 4).

In other words, an extension of our school could change the lives for many people in our community. We have a building where classes will be taught this year, but it is relatively small and we will need a bigger structure for the future.

2. EXTENSION OF THE SCHOOL’S SERVICE:

We are planning to offer an alternative form of education in order to reach the street children who are not fortunate enough to participate in our regular school program. These children do not study because school schedules are inflexible around their employment in the streets of Cusco washing cars, and selling postcards, cigarettes, crafts, etc. For this specific group of children we will offer a special program.
(At right: Mario with students.)

Seventy percent of the normal program will be offered in special autodidact materials. In this way the children working in the streets will be able to create a special schedule around their work. We will however continue to teach thirty percent of the classes to students in this alternative program in traditional form. This means the students will come to our school one or two days a week in order that adequate guidance and control can be maintained.

Thus our goal is to reach a bigger group of working street children so that these children will NOT LOSE YEARS OF EDUCATIONAL OPPORTUNITY.

3. IMPLEMENTATION OF A “COMEDOR POPULAR” (POPULAR DINING ROOM):

A “COMEDOR POPULAR” is a place where the poor can eat a good meal at a fair price. In Lima, these COMEDOR POPULARS are very common and have many clients. Normally alunch, in a restaurant, costs between 3.5 - 4 Soles, but in a POPULAR DINING ROOM, the cost of a lunch is around 1.5 Soles.

By providing a “COMEDOR POPULAR,” we hope to be able to feed 40 families living in extreme poverty. These families generally suffer from bad nutrition and every day it is a struggle for them to live on 5 or 6 Soles (one dollar is 2.94 Soles) for the whole family. The implementation of a “COMEDOR POPULAR” would completely change the lives of these families.

The most important spin-off of this initiative would be to informally educate many of the illiterate parents. Our experience has thought us that many of the parents involved in the project are generally reluctant to follow any classes to combat their illiteracy. Yet our same experience has shown that if basic commodities are provided for the family, the parents are generally more inclined to be educated about important things like disease prevention and basic hygiene.

4. IMPLEMENTATION OF “COMMUNAL SHOWERS”

This service is important because these families do not have facilities to clean their bodies. Many children do not remember when it was the last time that they took a shower. We believe that offering communal showers would help to change the hygienic habits of the whole community and to avoid many diseases.

OUR ACTIVITIES

 

2005 :

-Helping 15 children with their homework and keeping them hygienically healthy

-2 visits to parks in Cusco

-1 visit to the “Historical Museum of Cusco”

-Organizing soccer and volleyball games (one time per month)

-A Christmas party and presents for 15 children.

 

2006:

-Helping 30 children with their homework and keeping them hygienically healthy

-Starting the craft-work with 3 single mothers

-Selling our products to Cusco’s markets as well as to other countries

-4 visits to parks in Cusco

-4 visits to the museums of Cusco

-3 visits to archaeological sites in Cusco

-One general birthday party with presents for all children

-A Christmas party and presents for 30 children

-Haircuts for children and regular medical check-ups (4 times a year)

-Organizing a competition of kite-flying, soccer, and volleyball

-Regular soccer and volleyball games (one time per month)

-Occasional organized lunch and appetizers (depending on funds - around 30 times per year)
(At right: Helping Hands students on a field trip to Incan ruins in Cusco.)

2007:

-Helping 35 children with their homework and keeping them hygienically healthy; also

providing them with study materials (books, notebooks, pens, pencils, markers, etc.)

-Developing the craft-work of 15 single mothers and improving the commercial aspects

of their products.

-Starting literacy classes for single mothers and other under-educated women

-Starting informal education of illiterate and poor women about their rights and

important place in the family and within society

-Starting informal education about family planning, sexual education for teenagers and

young adults

-Selling our products to Cusco`s markets as well as to other countries

-6 visits to parks in Cusco

-8 visits to the museums of Cusco

-4 visits to archaeological sites in Cusco

-Two general birthday parties with presents for all 35 children

-A Christmas party and presents for 35 children; money for the presents was collected

by selling Christmas cards to our sponsors – the children made the cards with supplies bought by Helping Hands

-Haircuts for children and providing regular medical check-ups (4 times a year)

-Organizing a competition of kite-flying, soccer, and volleyball; commencement of

organized sessions in painting, singing and creating poems and short stories

-Regular soccer and volleyball games (two times per month)

-Occasionally providing lunch and appetizers (about 60 times per year, for 35 children)

-We have set up a new network of cooperation with local discoteque “Uptown” in

organizing a “Santa Clause” party. During the party Helping Hands has been able to collect voluntary contributions with a value of around 1200 soles. This money in turn will be advocated to help and provide for the poor streetchildren in Pisco (this province was affected greatly by the 2007 earthquake). Through contacts with voluntary organizations and single mothers in the city of Pisco, we gave materials educative to 120 children of the street in 10 February.

-Helping Hands has also recently organized a New Years BBQ. We invited many

volunteers and other interested people to join us in a day of football and volleyball matches and food. This event collected an additional 500 soles for our project.

2008:

-Official education of 60 children.

-Breakfast and lunch every day for 60 children during the year.

-Maintain hygienic checkups and continue to provide study materials (books,

notebooks, pens, pencils, markers, etc.) for these children.

-Maintain and develop the craft-work of the single mothers.

-Organize formal literacy classes for single mothers and other under-educated women.

-Provide informal education of illiterate and poor women about their rights and

important place within the family and society.

-Provide informal education about family planning, sexual education for teenagers and

young adults.

-Organize fieldtrips to 7 parks in Cusco.

-Organize an extracurricular program of 10 visits to the different museums of Cusco and

8 visits to archaeological places in Cusco and others districts.

-Provide two general birthday parties for all 60 children including presents.

-Organize a Christmas party for the children including presents.

-Haircuts for children (8 times a year) and medical checkups (4 times a year).

-Organize a competition of kite-flying, soccer and volleyball as well as provide courses

in painting, singing and making poems and short stories (2 times a year including the sponsoring of prizes).

-Regular soccer and volleyball games (two times per month).

PROJECT COSTS / SPONSORSHIP OPPORTUNITIES

At Helping Hands, we are proud to say that 100% of all donations go directly to the costs of running the project: teacher salaries, school supplies, building costs, and similar expenditures. We have no “overhead” costs, and therefore you can be assured that your donation will be used as effectively as possible.

What is the current direct cost per child (breakfast, lunch, classes, and all activities)?

Price for one child for one day: 5 soles ($1.67)

Price for one child for one month: 147 soles ($50)

Total price for one child for one year: 1470 soles
($500)

Teacher Salaries

As of January 2008 we want to help 60 children divided into three classes. We believe smaller classes of twenty children will allow individual attention.To accomplish this we will have to hire three new full-time teachers. You can make a difference by donating towards their salaries.

 

An average teacher’s monthly salary is 1,000 soles or roughly $333.

 

Help us Build a Kitchen

Nobody can learn on an empty stomach, so we want to begin providing two meals for the kids daily. In order to feed sixty mouths we will need a gas stove, plates, bowls, glasses, and silverware as well as extra money to go towards the daily food. Below is the estimated cost of the investment.

Gas stove: 450 soles ($154)

30 soup bowls: 75 soles ($25.6):

30 plates: 75 soles ($25.6)

30 cups: 75 soles ($25.6)

30 glass: 60 soles ($21)

4 big pans: 320 soles ($109)

4 frying pans: 120 soles ($41)

96 silverware items: 96 soles ($33)

TOTAL COST OF KITCHEN PROJECT: 1272 soles ($435)

Support the Meals

Price for one child for one day: 2.5 soles ($0.9)

Price for one child for one month: 50 soles ($17)

Price for one child for one year: 500 soles ($171)

Price for 60 children for one year: 30,000 soles ($10,260)

Support the Other Expenses

Light and water for one year: 1200 soles ($411)

Phone and internet for one year: 1500 soles ($513)

Support our new projects:
- THE EXTENSION OF OUR SCHOOL BUILDING

- EXTENSION OF THE SERVICE OF THE SCHOOL

- IMPLEMENTATION OF A “COMEDOR POPULAR”

- IMPLEMENTATION OF “COMMUNAL SHOWERS”

- HELP CHILDREN AND SINGLE MOTHERS OF PISCO

GRATEFULNESS

We, the group YANAPAQ MAKI KUNA, want to say: THANKS A LOT!!! To everyone that helped us with your time, with your love, with your interest and with your desire to change the lives of people that live very far from your countries and cities. You are the motor, the spirit of this car. Each one of is a part of the whole of this project. Everyone has a place in our hearts and minds. All of you are an example for us, thanks for being like you are and thanks for your friendship and your interest in us.