TEACHERS are the BACKBONE to EDUCATE GIRLS in Peru

Travelers enjoyed Cusco and especially the CW school and students..  

Chicuchas Wasi is now offering the Chicuchas Wasi sponsored tour to Cusco, Peru (Machu Picchu, Sacred Valley and much more) with a special and memorable visit to our school led by the award winning Tour Guide Efrain Valles Morales, a much loved member of the CW family for 28 years and a very active board member today. We will share a little of this event in this newsletter. They also visited Chincheros (outside of Cusco) a community of master weavers. The next tour will be Sept. 2017 to celebrate the CW 30th anniversary.

Photos of Travelers at Machu Picchu & Efrain surrounded by CW students - below.

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Below is our 12 member tour group in their bright red CW T-Shirts at the school for the Mother's Day celebration at the school. Each traveler filled a suitcase with books and clothing to donate to the school girls. The girls made these special bulls for them in their art class (photo below).

Celebrations are important in Andean Culture and Mother's Day is a big day at CW school. Our students dance in costumes made out of recycled materials and our CW travelers danced to the rythm of Andean music. Their skirts made of corn husks. Laughter and fun for all. 

Special words by CW staff honoring the CW board and Director Ruth on this Mother's Day were followed by tears and hugs all around. Every teacher had something to say to Ruth, the visitors and California CW Board. 

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Our Saturday celebrations are over, so it's back to the school books for CW students. The girls are checking their answers to the test just taken - all faces are serious. The younger students below are learning to read Spanish. They speak Quechua when they come to CW and we immediately begin teaching Spanish. Soon they will also begin English. (Photos below)

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                                         PLEASE DONATE!

“Literacy arouses hopes, not only in society as a whole but also in the individual who is striving for fulfillment, happiness and personal benefit by learning how to read and write. Literacy… means far more than learning how to read and write… The aim is to transmit… knowledge and promote social participation.”

                  - UNESCO Institute for Education, Hamburg, Germany

                                            THANK YOU

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      There will be a JUNE MATCH DAY on GlobalGiving next month. 

Please keep an eye out for the details in 3 weeks (next CW update), before June 15th.

                       Thank you THANK YOU Thank YOU!

Director Ruth and Assistant Director Gloria are helping our youngest girls enter school for the first time here. They are 4 & 5 years old.

                              YOU make this possible.

They will read by 1st grade, do math and learn about the world they live in.

Once you learn, you never go back to the way you were before learning. 

Links:

• Official NEW Chicuchas Wasi website-please have a look

Two Busy months and we are into 2016 school year...

Last year the art students from Cusco Bellas Artes came and painted this beautiful mural for the school with a few visiting Rotarians from Lake in the Hills Rotary, IL.   Please take a look at our updated website.

                             http://www.chicuchaswasi.org/

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YOU DID IT!

Gloria (CW assist. director) stands in front of our beautiful new school bus. The transportation dilemma is over. Thank you all for your donations to purchase THIS bus for the Chicuchas Wasi School for Girls, Cusco, Peru. The seats/seat belts are being installed now. Our young college friends are holding fundraisers for the $19K balance. 

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                    THANK YOU Laurel from Tennessee

            for these wonderful Spanish story books for the girls.

          They will be so excited when I arrive with these. 

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Please meet our new kindergarten students; 4 year olds to the left and 5 year olds to the right. They are still very new to the idea of school, but each girl was given an older student for her mentor on the first day of school to help them learn the ropes.

Basic Hygiene and Oral Care instructions are first on the agenda for our newbies. Each girl receives a towel, tooth brush, dental cream, and a cup for daily dental care at school.

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         "Lita" One of CW 2015 graduates almost lost out on high school

Twelve year old "Lita" came to Chicuchas Wasi school about 4 years ago, graduating in December, 2015. "Lita's" story is common in economically stricken parts of the world. She has no parents to look after her, love her, raise her or let alone send her to school. For the last few years little "Lita" has been living with a woman who was kind enough to give her a place to live. Unfortunately, "Lita" is still on her own to look after herself. Once she graduated from CW, the chance of her going to high school with her friends, was slim to none. The woman providing a home for "Lita" cannot afford to pay the high school fees and is barely able to feed her. Ruth Uribe, school Director, looked at all options and possibilities for "Lita" for her to continue with her education, but opportunities were limited. Finally, "Lita's" only option was to start working at the local "mercado" or market, most likely selling food or groceries. 

Luckily, "Lita's" story touched one of our dedicated donors, who happened to met "Lita'" on a visit to CW a year ago and wanted to pay her school tuition so she would not end her education. What a sweet surprise for the entire CW family to find out that "Lita" was be able to continue her education after all. In March our CW director enrolled "Lita" into a local high school; multiple attempts to enroll her were declined by most schools since it is often difficult to enroll into the public high school. When little "Lita" discovered she had a US sponsor to continue school, her entire face was one huge smile; she really didn't believe she could study anymore; one special donor changed the ending of this story. High school, uniforms and supply fees are now provided for "Lita" and will be managed by CW director - all thanks to her special angel donor. Now little "Lita" can dream again.  

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"Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed people can change the world." - Margaret Mead

                                       THANK YOU 

SPECIAL NOTICE

Would you like to participate in Chicuchas Wasi a bit more? Love the school and our success? We have an opening for an additional board member and the best place to find the right person is among our supporters. No board experience necessary-our seasoned team will train you to love this work. Please contact me (Rae) for more information chicuchas_wasi@sonic.net

Links:

• Official New Chicuchas Wasi web site