News Newsletters December 2007
December 2007
Expenditure for September - December 2007 Trip
All amounts are in Soles; 1 Euro = 4 Soles approx.
Community projects for 2007 include but are not limited to the following:
- Complete the dining room for the Santa Rosita community in Cruz del Norte
- Had some problems after the last trip in December 2006, now progressing
- Concrete construction with reinforced columns and beams and bricks
- The building will also serve as a community centre
- Complete the dining room for the Juan Pablo II community
- Had some problems after the last trip in December 2006, now progressing
- Concrete construction with reinforced columns and beams and bricks
- The building will also serve as a community centre
- A new dining room for the community of Mi Amigo Jesus
- Currently using shelter beside a lady's house
- Site leased for 7 years
- A new dining room for the community of Juan Pablo Vecinal
- Concrete construction with bricks and reinforced columns and beams
- Site owned by the community, building will also serve as a community centre
- Currently have Vasso de Letche using someone's house
- Refurbish the existing dining room for Villa Rica
- New floors, New roof, new windows and doors, extension for toilet, shower and food storage
- Site owned by the community
- Complete refurbishing dining room for Virgen de Carmen
- Extension for toilet, shower and food store
- Work began November 2006
- Build new Family Support Centre for the community in Los De Carabayello.
Cost: 5,000 - Build a new dining room for the community in Las Casverinas
Cost: 3,000
Total cost of community projects: 35,350 (€8,837 approx.)
Community projects for 2007 include but are not limited to the following:
- Build a small house for Sandra, mother died last year with cancer, father dead a few years, has 2 children no husband. In addition, she is taking care of her 2 smaller brothers. Friends building the house.
Cost of material: 3,500 - Build a small house for Luis Alberto's family, father died last year. Sister has a small baby, no husband, Mother working part-time, Luis in wheelchair, brother building the house.
Cost of material: 3,000 - Roof, windows, door, and floor and small extension for Maria Segura. Has 3 children aged between 2-11 years, Kevin has epilepsy but through medical help he is now at school and playing football. Maria doing any kind of work she can get e.g. washing clothes.
Cost (Other social case being paid 450 to do the work): 2,300 - Complete purchasing material for Segundino Moutveilo. Poor family in a shelter 9 children, (6 still living at home). 1 boy with epilepsy and other problems.
Cost to complete (reinforced concrete and brick construction): 3,200 - Build a house and buy a plot for Liz and family. Mother with 4 children the eldest was raped at 12 years and has a baby. Eldest now going to school and we pay for the baby in a Nursery. Eldest brother Solin has a M.D so we arranged medical attention for him and purchased a wheelchair.
Food and Family support: 1,500
(Estimated cost of a new house and plot 6,000) - Sofia Margurite is a similar case to the above, eldest daughter raped by stepfather. She is also going to school again and baby in Nursery. Mother Pregnant again, husband in jail.
Food and Family support: 1,200
(Estimated cost of a new house and plot 6,000) - Lady with cancer, 3 kids no husband needs a small house.
Food and Family support: 1,000
(Estimated cost of a new house 3,000) - Margruite Bara, with 2 kids and alcoholic husband after 2 other kids were burned in a fire 2 years ago.
Small house: 1,500 - Hermalinda Ascodero very poor, no husband and 3 children.
Small house: 700
Cost of food for the year: 750 - Prono I kindergarden put a new roof on the building and build toilets.
Cost: 1,750 - A grandmother looking after her grandchildren, her daughter died last year from a spider bite.
New roof needed on her house: 500 - Maria Paitan Javiar very poor, husband died a few years ago. 3 children, 1 working for a farmer in the jungle so not home very often. Other 2 children at school, 11 year old boy with depression. Needs a small house and food aid.
Cost of food for the year: 3,000 - Isobel is 23 she has 3 small children husband abandoned her. Has no house.
Cost of food and family support: 1,500
Cost of a new house and plot (6,000) - Various medical expenses (including wheelchairs)
Cost 2,000 - Money for food (poor families) and pay nursery costs
Cost 3,000 - Miscellaneus expenses
Cost 1,000
Total cost of social projects: 31,400 (€7,850 approx.)
Destitute families are also being fed by the centres and the charity reimburses the centre for the food. This currently costs approximately €200 per month. Unfortunately this need is always increasing and therefore the figure increases too.
Progress update from September - December 2007 Trip
New dining rooms are being constructed for the Communities in El Bosque, the Villanueva, Cruz del Norte and Mujares Hacia del Nuevo Melenio. Family centres are being constructed for the Los Angeles de Carabayello community and for the Casuerines Community in San Benito. A third family centre is planned for Valle Hermso El Miridor community in spring 2008. The cost of constructing a family centre will be approximately €5000.
The work keeps on developing, as has been the case since I first came here in March 2004. Dining rooms being constructed now are family support centres, and when space allows we include a Kindergarden, and a Nursery, as well as the space for the kitchen and dining room which also serves as a community centre and meeting room.
We actively encourage each community to use the centre for after school study for the kids and for life skills classes for the children on Saturday mornings. We also encourage the committee to have talks on cooking skills and general parenting skills, and any other topic which would benefit the community. They are also used as small workshops for handcrafts or other activities which may generate a small income for the people in the community. The Investment we make will have a much more long term benefit than just feeding children.
Ongoing help is being arranged for sick children, and social assistance for families in dire need. For example, Julio-Cesar, a 17 year old was supporting his family working in a Bakery while also trying to attend the local High School. He needed urgent medical attention for depression. He felt the whole responsibility for providing for his parents and family and he is little more than a child himself. We arranged medical help and support for him. He is now coping much better.
We had a visit from a Grandmother in the jungle to come and help build a Family Support Centre. We will research this request in March 2008 on my return to Peru.
Fundraiser in Dublin
A very enjoyable and successful fundraiser was held after I returned from Lima on the 19th December 2007. The centre piece of the evening was the Game Deal or no Deal and the winnings were donated to the charity. As well as being a fundraiser the main emphasis of the night was a party to celebrate all that had been accomplished in Los Lomas and to say a big thank you to all our generous donors and for the wonderful work of all those who were fundraising during the year.