Last spring the students at Orchards Elementary where I teach raised around $1200 to buy books and misc supplies for two remote village schools up higher in the Andes. When GeGe visited them in April they asked for the
boxes that pencils and erasers came in so that their students would have something to read. For the last month we have used the Orchards' money to buy story books, reference books, dictionaries, notebooks, crayons, clay, art supplies, instructional posters for the walls, puzzles, and collected/organized many math worksheets and copies of A-Z books. On Monday morning Ingrid, who is a Scottish woman living here in Ayacucho, picked up GeGe, Maya, Gail and I in her small SUV. We piled in with crates on our laps and under our feet and started the climb to Rosas Pampa. We timed the excursion to coincide with Gail's visit. Gail is a literacy specialist for my school district. She had been in Lima and lucky for us was albe to make a three day visit to Ayacucho. Here are the crates before we loaded up.
After about 1 1/2 hours and climbing from 9000 ft to around 14,000 ft we arrived at Rosas Pampa. We were surprised at the amount of snow. Last year there had been very little. Everyone was happy to see us. We presented the supplies promising that this was only a start. We spent some time in the classrooms and took many pictures of the beautiful children.
There is no heat so the kids stay bundled up. Their cheeks are dry and cracked from the cold dry air.
The head teacher giving a math lesson.
Outside the kindergarten classroom.
Inside, still waiting for some children to arrive.
The school bathroom. No door.
The Andes surrounding Rosas Pampa.
We said our good-byes and drove just a short ways to say hi to the alpacas.
Who could not love this adorable face????
We then drove for about 15 minutes to the village of Santa Fe. The school is larger than the one in Rosas Pampa although the village is smaller. RP only goes until 4th grade. Santa Fe includes 5th and 6th. Here we again presented the supplies and toured the classrooms. This time we had a chance to have an honest discussion with the teachers regarding the challenges faced by them and their students. They explained that many of their students have to walk 2-3 hours
each way every day to get to school. They arrive very cold, and frequently wet from the snow and little rivers they must cross. When the rivers swell they must stay home. There is no heat. Many of the children do not have socks. The teachers are from Ayacucho and clearly dedicated to their students. They expressed frustration with standard national exams being given to children in these dire circumstances. They explained that because of the altitude nothing grows. The villagers are able to raise alpaca but that is all. They said that the local people use a bartering system since no one has money. Again we found the adults to be gracious and the kids to be kids.
This dog was sitting near the school watching all the excitement.
3rd and 4th grade classroom
5th and 6th grade classroom
We returned to Ayacucho with about 30 minutes to spare before starting our own classes.
Here is Maya working with Andrea.
Here is Gail with some of her new best 100+ best friends.
Hilda, Gail, Maya, and GeGe hugging the kids good-bye and giving out snacks.
It was a full day of loving and supporting kids! Thanks to all of you in Orchards Land for helping make this day possible. As you know every penny here makes a difference. Hope this finds you all well. Mil Gracias! C
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