The volunteers run the show in Perú

Hola! Due to half-term and therefore no teachers, the vols have been running the schools so the kids still received lessons, daily meals, and a safe place to be.

Due to the “Fiestas de la Patria” at the end of July there were no classes but we went to school armed with paint-brushes and managed to paint every classroom in both schools in 1 day, plus a general clearout which we won’t tell the teachers about!

Grades 4, 5 & 6 at Maldonado lead by Marcos & Gabe were focusing on reading comprehension, the meaning of words and creating their own story through the innovative use of dice to choose outcomes.

They ended up with a knight living in a cave, fighting a dragon and having to battle with vampires!! Very different from the normal stories they create! They then tied this into their art where the kids created collages of their story.

Grades 1 & 2 with Carla were learning about nouns and adjectives, it took a while but they did really well, even Denilson was able to name one of each when asked, obviously Fernando was a different story! But Alex & Magdalena (I think there might be a relationship blossoming here!!) were outstanding. We also touched upon measuring and telling the time.

At Triunfo, Mariya, Daga & Leandra did a lot of work on reading comprehension with grades 1 & 2, and tied this in with their English classes. Mariya also taught the kids about plants and what they need in order to live, which lead to a much needed litter pick of the garden area.

Grades 5 & 6 lead by Sven & Patrick focused on their math, and improving their ability of solving logic problems. Grades 3 & 4 with Patrick learnt about the different types of animals there are (reptile, mammal etc.) and tied this into their art classes.

Also as it is August and therefore “the month of wind” had a kite making session which 1 & 2 also joined in. The kites were great but unfortunately not many flew which obviously meant instead a kite battle, using them as shields!

The ongoing sewage works in both communities continues which in the end will hopefully have great results, but does for now make it quite awkward to get to both schools, especially at Maldonado where they appear to have blown up the stairs!!!

They do ensure us that they will rebuild them (if not they have Ruth to deal with, so I reckon they will!).









We’ve had another new member of the team join us, this time in 3rd grade at Triunfo. Jose has joined us as his Mum’s had to start working in the Chakras as there was no work where she previously was. He’s already fitted in brilliantly, although worryingly has become pretty pally with Alex in 3rd grade...this can only lead to trouble!

We celebrated the July birthdays with Ivan, Julio & Alfredo at Maldonado receiving presents of trainers, a rucksack & pencil case, story books & pens, pencils etc. At Triunfo we got to party with new José, Jose Antonio & Reny, who received presents of story books and pens, pencils etc.

It was great, obviously with a lot of faces in cake (the girls were particularly vicious at pushing Julio & Alfredo’s faces into the cake!!), fruit salad and dancing!

The volunteers run the show in Perú