By Rodrigo Carlos Alejandro Pereyra Jemio | Fundraising Officer
Whether in the rural communes of Siem Reap or the high Andean peaks of Cusco, the first quarter of 2026 has brought a powerful season of expansion, structural innovation, and deep community transformation. While oceans apart, our projects face similar challenges, geographic isolation, economic barriers, and educational gaps. Thanks to your unwavering support on GlobalGiving, we continue to provide safe sanctuaries where over 400 children find the resources they need to rise. This quarter, our focus shifted toward expanding digital horizons, launching massive healthcare initiatives, and dismantling traditional barriers to education and equity.
Quarterly Impact at a Glance Helping Hands (Cambodia)
1. Education and Digital Horizons
Bridging the Digital Divide In rural Peru, our newly reactivated Mobile Library has transformed our Changan SuperVan into a rolling technology laboratory, backed by the generous support of the New Zealand Embassy. This mobile digital hub delivers laptop computers directly to the heart of Quillahuata, Pumamarka, and Kallarayao, reaching over 100 children. In a region like Cusco, where future professional opportunities are tied to the global tourism market, acquiring digital literacy in Word, Excel, and interactive learning tools changes everything.
Pedagogical Excellence: During a brief operational reflection period, our team updated our Peruvian methodologies, blending elements from Montessori and Waldorf to inspire autonomous exploration, alongside Isabel Solé’s comprehension strategies and Ausubel’s meaningful learning frameworks. To support this evolution, we upgraded our evaluation systems and added multimedia tools, interactive storybooks, and a new projector.
At Picaflor House, our vacation modules successfully kept over 27 students fully engaged through foundational and creative tracks. Leading the Next Generation in Cambodia In Cambodia, our structured academic tracks continue to run across all proficiencies 23 days a month.
This quarter, we are immensely proud of our alumni who are returning to lift their own community: Sineng graduated with a Management degree from the University of South East Asia with Globalteer's support. Fulfilling her lifelong dream, she has returned to Helping Hands as a part-time teacher, guiding beginner English modules. Taev completed our school program and entered her first year of university. She returned this quarter as a dedicated volunteer, teaching weekly workshops on sanitation, morality, and art within our Basic Khmer classes.
2. Holistic Wellbeing, Nutrition, and Health
A Massive Medical Expansion We are proud to share a landmark milestone made possible by a generous grant from The Randal Foundation charity trust. Helping Hands Cambodia is expanding its infrastructure by hiring a professional medical nurse. This specialist will conduct routine preventative screenings for all over 2,000 students across our broader sports framework. Furthermore, this grant funds a massive rollout of vital vitamins and deworming treatments across the Doun Kaev commune, alongside advanced upgrades to our water filtration systems to secure safe, potable drinking water for the entire school community.
Sustenance and Community Training To ensure these health benefits endure, our new Cambodian nurse is launching monthly health and nutrition training sessions for parents, teachers, and local leaders. Meanwhile, our school garden achieved a major milestone through a donation from our volunteer, Robert, who funded a permanent shaded roof structure. This canopy protects our leafy greens and herbs from the intense sun, enriching the daily breakfasts served to 350 children.
In Peru, Picaflor House distributed 1,025 balanced meals, integrating practical health lessons like our January fruit salad session, where kids learned about nutritional values and hygiene. Parallel to this, our specialized psychologist is leading monthly parenting workshops in Quillahuata and Pumamarka to promote positive discipline, counter verbal and physical violence, and deconstruct historical machismo that traditionally restricts young women from pursuing education.
3. Creative Expression, Culture, and SportsRunning and Competing for Hope
On January 23rd, our annual Temple Run microproject concluded in Siem Reap, bringing together hundreds of local children and global fundraisers who ran in solidarity across the world. This framework sustains training for thousands of rural youth. Following this, on March 21st, we celebrated the grand inauguration of our new, 15,000 square-meter sport complex.
The Sports Day Festival drew 1,200 attendees to witness high energy relay races and football matches. Crucially, boys and girls were awarded equally across all athletic categories, using sports as a dynamic vehicle for gender empowerment.
Creative expression flourished on both continents this quarter:
4. Cultivating Radical Inclusion and Resilience
A cornerstone of our international mission is an unshakeable commitment to inclusive education. This quarter, Picaflor House welcomed Camila, a bright young student navigating life in a wheelchair. Initially, physical and social barriers isolated her from group play. Recognizing this, our educators structured integration dynamics centered on empathy and teamwork. The transformation was profound. Within weeks, Camila built a supportive circle of friends, thriving in clay modeling, crafting beaded keychains, and confidently solving complex mathematics problems.
Our global volunteer network remains a vital pillar for this work. In Peru, our international interns Capuccine from France (Fundraising Strategist) and Kristian (Media Creator) worked tirelessly to capture our progress and build strategies for project expansion. In Cambodia, returning volunteers Andrew and Sue led hands-on high school science experiments, while Liz from the UK, Lea from France, and veteran educators Hugh and Wendy from Canada lent their expertise to strengthen classroom engagement.
Stories of Transformation
Mateo (Peru) Previously, 9 year old Mateo struggled with reading fluency and strictly avoided texts without large illustrations. Inspired by the new classroom "Lectómetro" challenge, he completely transformed his habits, independently selecting and completing dense, narrative-heavy books with immense pride.
Sofia (Peru): When first introduced to crochet and amigurumi, 10 year old Sofia felt overwhelmed and walked away. Encouraged by her teacher to embrace patience, she tried again, ultimately completing a handmade plush chick keychain that she now proudly displays on her backpack as a daily reminder of her resilience.
Sineng (Cambodia):Growing up in a vulnerable rural village, Sineng found her path through Helping Hands. Today, as a university graduate in management, she stands at the front of our classrooms as a certified teacher, proving to every young child that education can break the cycle of poverty.
A Shared Legacy of Hope: None of these milestones, the shaded canopy securing food safety, Camila’s beautiful inclusion, the digital laboratories moving across Andean roads, or the medical screenings protecting thousands of young athletes, could exist without your dedicated generosity. In regions where seasonal climate shifts and deep financial boundaries are daily realities, your support provides the constant foundation these children need to rise. Thank you for walking alongside us and helping us build this legacy of hope.
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