Details of Trip:
Flying in to Lima, then 1hour Flight to Pucallpa.
We will be helping out a school performing any work they need done, which may include, painting, fence building, and general building repairs. We are asked to play soccer with the children every day.
Here is how we can help and the background, as I highlight below, we will be assisting with one of their greatest needs, "El Refugio de Esperanza needs improvements to the school building,"
El Refugio is a place where handicapped children will have the opportunity to become educated, self-sustaining individuals. Pastor Victor and six other founders (all handicapped by polio) sought out disabled children to attend their school.
Even with minimal resources and supplies, El Refugio has grown to accommodate nearly 400 children every year, including more than 50 boarders. Each year, Pastor Victor continues to pursue his goal of showing handicapped children their worth by mobilizing and motivating them to live independent lives.
Goals: Approximately 60% of the students have some form of disability. Integrating these children with their non-handicapped peers teaches them to find their social role and grow in the knowledge that they have a place in a normal society. The school runs from April to November and the curriculum is designed to give children a well-balanced education empowering them to achieve beyond their expectations. The goal of El Refugio is to motivate and train each student to care and support themselves in today's society.
Program: A significant part of the educational program at El Refugio is vocational training. Each student is taught a trade such as metalworking, sewing, shoe repair, prosthetics and physical therapy. By learning a functional occupation from an early age, the students prepare themselves to re-enter society with a means of supporting themselves.
Greatest Needs for the Home:
El Refugio de Esperanza needs improvements to the school building, numerous school supplies and a new bus to transport children to and from school.
Even with minimal resources and supplies, El Refugio has grown to accommodate nearly 400 children every year, including more than 50 boarders. Each year, Pastor Victor continues to pursue his goal of showing handicapped children their worth by mobilizing and motivating them to live independent lives.
Goals: Approximately 60% of the students have some form of disability. Integrating these children with their non-handicapped peers teaches them to find their social role and grow in the knowledge that they have a place in a normal society. The school runs from April to November and the curriculum is designed to give children a well-balanced education empowering them to achieve beyond their expectations. The goal of El Refugio is to motivate and train each student to care and support themselves in today's society.
Program: A significant part of the educational program at El Refugio is vocational training. Each student is taught a trade such as metalworking, sewing, shoe repair, prosthetics and physical therapy. By learning a functional occupation from an early age, the students prepare themselves to re-enter society with a means of supporting themselves.
Greatest Needs for the Home:
El Refugio de Esperanza needs improvements to the school building, numerous school supplies and a new bus to transport children to and from school.
Further Details of the Trip:
PROJECT: REFUGE OF HOPE
The Refuge of Hope (Refugio de Esperanza) is a school and vocational center for children and youth with physical disabilities that live in Pucallpa and the surrounding area. The school and center were started 18 years ago by the current director, Victor Izquierdo, who is himself handicapped with Polio. The Refuge offers opportunities for special needs students to become productive men and women, actively participating in the economy, which in turn helps them to better integrate into society. The school currently has 120 children in grades K-6. There are 48 youth and young adults (many who live at the center) who receive 2 years of vocational training in the areas of shoe repair, electronics, carpentry, and sewing. In the past few years they have begun an elementary school class for deaf-mute children, many who did not previously attend school. Several have graduated and are now integrated into the local middle school.
PROJECTS: There will be two projects: 1) the team will assist the Refuge with general repairs and upkeep (painting, replacing walls, landscaping, etc.; 2) the team will assist with the construction of a fence on the recently acquired property to be used for expansion of the tree planting project OR other needed project involving the tree planting project. The Refuge was able to acquire land and get funding for a larger tree planting project which should move them towards greater economic sustainability in the coming years. The team’s assistance with getting this land ready will enhance its use and will hasten the sustainability this project needs
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To get psyched up for the trip listen to VAn Halen's Panama, not about Peru, but some good rockin guitar music!
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