TEACHERS are the BACKBONE to EDUCATE GIRLS in Peru

School starts next week and CW is almost ready.

Returning students are eager for their lessons. No CW student ever complains about having to go to school. They love school.

                                                BUT

The school van is being repaired AGAIN. Safety is our concern; it is too far to walk, and the 14 year old school van is too tired & crowded now to trust anymore over bad roads. NO school bus = NO school that day

                   Please DONATE towards new school bus.

https://www.globalgiving.org/projects/send-disadvantaged-rural-girls-to-school-in-peru/

When our young girls cannot get to school because our 14 y/o van is broken - the results are disastrous - school is CLOSED until the van repaired. There is also the risk that they won't return.

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            The story of little Ruth   (see image of Isabel below)

CW 2015 graduates will enter their new high school, next week. All but one student, Ruth, who was told by her guardian she would not be able to continue to go to school, the guardian could not pay public school fees and therefore Ruth would have to go to work now. Her dreams ruined, she was devastated and this news upset her teacher, Ruth and other staff who heard. Director Ruth had been trying to find other possibilities to help Ruth continue her education when Isabel, a visitor from California, met Ruth at the school and learned of her situation. Unable to get it out of her mind, Isabel decided she could sponsor Ruth's education this year and CW Director Ruth could manage it for her. You cannot imagine the joy on little Ruth's face now. She will continue her education in high school with her friends and hold on to her dreams. Thank you Isabel.

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     Our beautiful school was built for the Chicuchas Wasi girls. 

CW is blessed to have global supporters from many countries that are happy with the girl's progress and keep in touch on Facebook & emails.  YOUR DONATIONS provide the quality of education and personal guidance that our girls receive. 

                                        THANK YOU

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           What a visitor has to say about Chicuchas Wasi

"My name is Mason McNulty. I’m 18 years old and over the past three years I’ve been lucky enough to become involved with the Chicuchas Wasi School.....that it catered to the poorest indigenous girls in the area....."

"I asked the girls to tell me the one word to describe why they loved their education. Their answers were unexpected, yet indicative of a special type of education. I was anticipating answers such as “friends, recess,” or other traditional remarks. Instead of reading typical answers I was greeted by ones such as “I love my education because it teaches me to be a strong woman,” or “because at school is where my family is,” or “because it helps me get a career” or just plain “love.”

"Chicuchas Wasi provides an education unlike any I have ever experienced. In addition to being taught traditional subjects such as math and languages, girls learn about gender inequality, independence, confidence, and female empowerment. It’s important to note that although Chicuchas Wasi is rich with love and support, the school is dependent on outside donations. The school is a symbol of hope and innovation amongst the rural countryside, but sits along a winding, steep dirt road. The school does not receive enough funding to cover the cost of transportation for all girls. During the rainy season the road is washed out and it isn’t safe for the girls to walk to school. Because just one day away from their education, girls may never return to school, as their parents see it as a danger and a burden."

"I used...their One Words to raise money to chip away at the cost of improved transportation. This is one of their most dire needs, because without reliable vans there is no way for the girls get to school....It is clear that every one of the girls at Chicuchas Wasi values her opportunity to learn. Especially when it’s an uncommon experience: conventional education combined with lessons about striving to be a successful woman who prides herself on her independence."

"Over the past three years I have been introduced to a group of young women who hope to break the constraints of being indigenous and impoverished girls in Peru, and seek to bring positive change to women in similar situations from all over the world. There are infinite lessons to be learned from girls that merely want to go to school."

                                 "One word: grateful."

Mason has raised $11,000 toward the purchase a new CW school bus and is planning another fundraiser now. THANK YOU Mason.

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A generous supporter of CW girl’s education has pledged $5000 to DOUBLE your donations

                  Double your Donation STARTING MARCH 1 

                      100% MATCH (until $5000 runs out)

PLEASE DONATE ON OUR OTHER GG SCHOOL PROJECT FOR THE SCHOOL BUS HERE:

https://www.globalgiving.org/projects/send-disadvantaged-rural-girls-to-school-in-peru/

Links:

• Official NEW Chicuchas Wasi website-please have a look

The school registration is in full swing and incoming little girls are hardly able to control their excitement. March 1 is the first day of school and the next report will update you more.

                        ************We Promote Quechua Pride***********

                                                        By Rosa, CW Board of Director

"A few months ago, one of our CW students had questions about how we used the word indigenous to refer to the Quechua people of Peru. Not sure if it was a misunderstanding of the context of the message or her feeling of being looked down upon. Her concern made me realize how our Quechua and mestizo (mixed race) still faces a social and economic imbalance in Peru. This sensitivity is due to the discrimination that indigenous groups, such as Quechua, are worth less and not treated well. I believe the lack of education and understanding play a role in this. Many girls initially come to CW school speaking only the Quechua Language.

In other parts of the world indigenous people today, such as the Native Americans in North America celebrate and honor their uniqueness and beauty of their people, after years of oppression.  

It is time for the indigenous Quechua to recognize the beauty in our culture and take pride and ownership of our blood. One of the ways of doing that is through education and embracing our culture and its traditions. 

The picture of our girls speaks volumes. They have Quechua in their blood and should be proud of it. It is our facial features and pigment that makes us stand out. It wasn't until the recent years that I began to pay attention to my race and background and began to embrace myself. Growing up in Peru and having experienced the discrimination first hand I understand the inequalities in races that still exist to this day. In a country where the majority of the population is of mixed race, there is a lot of discrimination against us. We are treated as a second class citizen and its upsetting. One of the biggest culprits of maintaining this racial prejudice is the media and lack of education and understanding. Most of the media portrays white people who make up a small percentage of the population. This is because the bulk of the power in Peru is located in Lima where the "white elite" live and have established power. Not long ago people who spoke Spanish as their second language were ridiculed by the Spanish speakers, however, the views are changing and slowly being embraced. Today, many schools and colleges teaches Quechua as a second language and in some colleges it is requirement to speak Quechua in order to graduate college. In a country where 57% of the population is mixed race, it is time to wake up and embrace our native blood."

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CW is blessed to have global supporters from many countries that cheer on the girl's progress and keep in touch on Facebook, emails and write reviews on    www.greatnonprofits.org   

YOUR DONATIONS provide the quality of education and personal guidance that our girls receive. 

                                                   THANK YOU

  ***DOUBLE YOUR DONATION MATCH STARTING MARCH 1***

A generous supporter of Chicuchas Wasi has put up $5000 to MATCH 100% of your donations until the $5000 runs out.    Please mark your calendar.   You will receive a reminder for this rare event. 

We are raising funds for a school bus desperately needed to deliver girls safely to and from our distant school. No public transportation is available and no school bus = no school for our girls. This is a private Match event for CW. 

Click here on March 1 for this school bus campaign and double your donation. 

https://www.globalgiving.org/projects/send-disadvantaged-rural-girls-to-school-in-peru/           

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What Kristen, a college volunteer, has to say about Chicuchas Wasi School for Girls.

"..I taught English to“initial” (4 and 5-year-old girls), helped with older English classes, created a pen pal initiative between CW and my Lower School in the US, and connected CW to a sports organization that runs sports classes for girls in Cusco, Peru. Chicuchas Wasi is having a very strong impact...I was so impressed by the collaboration and care between the girls. They all help each other so willingly and this leads me to think that this foundation of helping one another will stick with them and they will continue to help each other as they grow older and graduate from CW. Not only do the girls work well together and help each other, but also the professors work tirelessly for the girls. They work so well together and work as a team and I think that this fosters a great atmosphere for the girls. While in Peru, I was working at a few other schools so I had a great opportunity to compare CW to other schools. The professors at CW were so much more invested, energetic, and committed than I observed at some other schools where professors seemed exhausted and sometimes uninterested.

Furthermore, the girls’ eagerness to learn was incredible and contagious. This was something that I especially noticed when seeing girls from other schools- CW’s distinct culture. One of my favorite memories from my time at CW was with the 4 and 5-year-old girls that I was teaching. I had taught them the song “Head, Shoulders, Knees, and Toes” so that they began to learn some body parts in English. I cannot put into words how proud and happy I was when the young girls ran up to me at the bus stop early in the morning to show me that they knew the song and that they had even taught it to their families, especially to their mothers and younger siblings. This reminded me of the importance of cultivating the love of learning in education, something that CW does VERY well."

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                                              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-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 website-please have a look
• Chicuchas Wasi Annual Report 2015