Free education for 60 deprived children in Peru

We have recently reached a special milestone at Picaflor House, and with our 7-year anniversary also right around the corner, we have some exciting plans in store for the rest of this year and into the next and are looking forward to sharing our progress and plans with you…

A Year of Nutritious Lunches

We can hardly believe that it’s been a whole year since we started our Nutritional Lunch Programme at Picaflor House! Since its inception in October 2016, the children of Oropesa have been enjoying a varied, healthy, and filling lunch, Monday to Friday at Picaflor House, thanks to our generous supporters in Singapore. In fact, over the last year we have served approximately 8370 plates of food to 60 children between the ages of 3 and 14!

Not only have we filled a lot of empty stomachs, but we’ve also contributed to the nutritional well-being and learning of these children. Learning on an empty tummy is never fun and staff have seen an improvement in overall attendance at Picaflor House.

In addition to brighter, healthier children, staff at Picaflor have also noticed an increase in attendance and responsible attitudes as children eagerly come to receive lunch and are responsible with keeping their classrooms tidy and plates clean after lunch.

A New Park and Other Plans

We have many plans in store for the coming months and we’re excited to be able to share some with you. We hope that you’ll be able to help us achieve our goals in helping the children of Oropesa gain a well-rounded and better education, whilst enjoying their afternoons with us in a happy and safe environment.

One of the biggest, physical changes soon to come at Picaflor House is the renovation of our play park. The children love playing on the swings, slide and climbing frame before classes start, however we are now faced with the challenge of old equipment that is getting worn down and is breaking. Thanks to the kindness of a friend of Picaflor House in Cusco, we are soon going to be re-doing our park with a brand new, wooden climbing frame (which will be durable to the Cusco elements); new metal climbing frames and the renovation of our swings and see-saws (teeter totters). We can’t wait to see the look on the children’s faces when they see their new play area!

At Picaflor House we like to keep in touch with the wider community and make sure to regularly check in with the children’s parents. Earlier in the year we held an Achievement Day and invited parents to come to Picaflor House for the afternoon where each member of staff shared their children’s work and spoke to them about what progress had been made during the first part of the year. For the end of the year we are planning two activities to celebrate Picaflor House and the children with which we work!

In December, Picaflor House will be celebrating its 7^th anniversary; having started with just five children in a classroom at the local school, we are very proud that today to work with 60 children in a space that has five classrooms, a kitchen, an office/store room, and a large, grassy play area. To celebrate the successes of Picaflor House we shall be holding a traditional Peruvian cook-out for the children, their parents, and other friends of Picaflor House.

As always, this Christmas we will be celebrating the holidays with the children and staff of Picaflor House. Christmas is an important holiday in Peru and for many of the children at Picaflor, our party is their only chance to celebrate. With traditional hot chocolate and paneton (a sweet, fruity bread), the children always look forward to this special day!

Thank you for reading and of course thank you for your continued, invaluable support. If you would like to donate, and we hope you do, please visit our page to do so!

Until next time, Laura, the staff and all the children at Picaflor House.