We would like to express our most sincere gratitude to our contributors, our families, our fellow volunteers, Tinkuy Peru, Aldea el Rosario, and Aldea Francisca Mayer. This experience has been life changing for us and we hope that we have left Huancayo in better shape than we found it.

This month’s update will be a short conclusion to our experience here in Huancayo Peru. We will also put together a few summary pages that will be attached through our new index page so be sure to check that out.

The Film:

As promised in our original fundraising package, we have shot a film and are in the process of editing it for a documentary that we will send to all of our contributors. We have chosen a working title called “Light Through a Grey Sky,” which could change. A brief description: Light Through a Grey Sky is a documentary about an American couple who left their lives in the US to volunteer with orphans and poor families in Huancayo for one year. The film describes their life in the US, a short history of Peru, the life and problems of Huancayo, and how these people tried to help. The length of the film will be around 45 minutes and should hopefully be finished by December 2006.

The New Andean School for English:

After ten months of teaching English at the Andean School, we are happy to announce that school has come along way and has a bright future. When we arrived in Huancayo, we found a school that had 10 students, 3 classrooms that were in an apartment, no teaching environment, curriculum or program for operation. After countless hours from volunteers and staff the school has a permanent home with seven classrooms, a staff of five people, over 120 students, a curriculum, a promotional program for enrollment, a professional website, a system for enrollment, and many caring volunteers who are raising the quality of life through teaching English. After dedicating a year to improve the school’s conditions, we could not be happier. Thank you to all of the volunteers and staff that worked so hard to make the school a success.

The Aldea el Rosario Infintil Orphanage:

The Aldea Rosario Orphanage the first place we went when we arrived in Huancayo. When we started, there was no support for volunteer work, no activities programming for the kids, and a poor water source to flush toilets, wash clothes, cook or take baths. Since we have discovered this place, we have worked to improve the collaboration between locals and volunteers, installed fresh water cisterns, built a new water line connection, fixed broken windows, taught baking classes, taught English, taught art classes, helped harvest crops, handed out countless donated clothing and toys, and have dried many teary eyes. We are so happy to have had the opportunity to work with these children and we will continue to try to help them in the future. Thank you to all of the dedicated staff at the Rosario who work everyday to give the children a better life. We will never forget you.
Please click the link below to see the photo collage that we presented on our last day.

The Aldea el Francisca Mayer Orphanage:

We worked in the Francisca Mayer for six months, but in our hearts we were there much longer. This orphanage is in the country with young girls that live a barebones existence. Despite their troubled pasts and having nothing, these girls are the most loving people that we found in all of Peru. In our first visit there we found broken windows, sad girls, and lots of unused land. We have built them a playground, fixed their windows, bought them kitchen equipment, medicine, diapers, milk, and countless toys and clothing. We have taught English, art, knitting, music, drawing, crafts, and many other activities. More importantly, we have grown very close with the girls of the Francisca Mayer. They have shown us courage and love and we will always carry them in our hearts. We hope that they are more confident and prepared for the future after our time there. We would like to say thank you to Tía Pilar, Tío Carlos, Tío Adel, Director Nivardo, and Kathy Greene for all of their outstanding support and compassion.
Please click the link below to see the photo collage that we presented on our last day.

Estudial Prolivalente por Niños Especiales:

With only two months working in the Prolivalante School for Special Needs Children, we learned that these kids are the most disadvantaged in an underdeveloped community. The blind, deaf, autistic, and disabled children have the more obstacles in their future than many other children in Huancayo. We were able to repair their swing set through the Andean Outreach Program, bring in a specialist from South Africa, and donate a number of toys to the classes there. We look forward to completing more Andean Outreach Program improvement projects at this very special school.

Tinkuy Peru:

In our experience here in Huancayo, we have spent the most time with the Tinkuy Peru volunteer program. When we arrived in Huancayo, we were shocked at how underdeveloped the organization was. At the time Tino was the only person working in the program. There were very few volunteers, no schedule, no marketing, no community goals, no accountancy, no support staff…I could go on forever. We have worked with the Tinoco family and many great volunteers to bring in more staff, create partnerships in the community, bring more volunteers to the program, provide support to the volunteers, create a volunteer resource center, create a program schedule, organize program finances, design a new website, and help to shape community goals with appreciation for volunteer work. We met so many great people along the way and we know that we could not have done it with out our fellow volunteers. We would like to thank Yoon-Joo Jung, Joanne Clark, Kailie Larkin, Vanessa Garcia, Jessica Howard, Inger Berglund, Anders Berglund, Benjamin Perez, Clara Abbas, Andrea Weitz, Diana Levina, Bill London, Rebecca Weiland, Vanessa Mae Fleur, Joanne Forsyth, Erin Mitchell, Will Fassett, Miguel Angel Hernandez III, Aisling Munnis, Gillian Casey, Melissa Chan, Lauren Adams, Robyn Shurtlef, Joan Perreault, Jeff Peters, Amanda Brady, Janelle Ann Doebel, Yvonne Tang, the Eckerd College 12, Darren John Rowland, William Luzzi , Vincent, Valia, Rachel, Peter Lynch, Melanie McArdle, Sean Russell, Vanessa Koechlin, Kiran Greywall, Mandy Kaitlyn Nemecek, Amanda Moy, John Chestnut, Stuart Boss, Luis Fernando Paredes, Sairah Smith, Eimhin Ansbro, Cliona Lorton, Shona Kay, Brett Schneider, Luke Archer, Marea Palmer-Loh , Sarah Johnson, Sherrill Sturm, Lisa Sturm, Filippa Wikström, and Russell Jenkins. You guys are wonderful and compassionate friends that understand the plight here in Huancayo and we will never forget your contributions.

We would also like to thank the Tinoco Family. We feel as though that we became apart of your family during the last ten months. To Tino, Mari, Pilar, Angela, Haydee, Juanita, Leslie, and Mamita Pili, Muchos gracias para todo. Ustedes son muy amables por su tiempo, su paciencia, y su cariño. Nunca los olividaremos.