Friends of the world! It's been a while since I've written, but I have been very busy looking for work and fund raising opportunities in the United States for the past three months. I left the states in early 2007, and lots has definitely happened in my absence, including a terrible economic recession that’s made it very difficult for me to meet all my goals set for this trip. Anyhow, today, just a few days before the second anniversary of the earthquake tragedy in Chincha, and despite some BIG economic hurdles, I want to think back and remember with you how La Casa De Mayten Project started, what it has achieved with help from volunteers, supporters and communities, what its needs are, and what it aims to accomplish in the future.
Overview & description of the program/organisation
The independent social project La Casa De Mayten was born in Chincha, Peru, in August 2007, after a devastating earthquake hit this area, laying bare the levels of abandonment and neglect that disadvantaged communities have suffered for generations. This project originated as a very personal reaction to the immediate needs left behind by the earthquake, as well as direct response to the degrees of poverty, violence, neglect, ignorance, and indifference seriously affecting people in Chincha.Given the overwhelming needs I found among people who lost everything in the earthquake, and understanding their economically precarious history prior to the earthquake, I asked my family’s permission to turn my childhood home overnight into a communal and educational multi-purpose resource center for thousands of economically disadvantaged people from different neighborhoods who found little or no support from local authorities. Today, I am proud to say that La Casa De Mayten will soon turn 2 years old, serving as clinic, school, cultural center, training site, shelter, organization hub, volunteer headquarters, and overall safe house for people, particularly children of different neighborhoods in Chincha.
Objectives
La Casa De Mayten, as a small, independent, self-initiated, self-financed, ethically committed project aims to provide opportunities and alternatives in a dignified, respectful, creative and sustainable manner for children, youngsters, and adults living in neglected communities in Chincha. The project’s principal objective is to help organize both human and natural resources found in this region and use them to develop self-sustaining, long-lasting initiatives that help meet people’s basic needs (food, health, education, shelter) in a dignified way. The long-term goal is to have well-knitted communities that are better prepared, better informed, and actively using their collective skills, knowledge, values and experiences to meet their own needs as a community, and to generate change as a united force when necessary. This project envisions communities projecting themselves into the future through their children, providing more opportunities to change the reality of poverty, violence, negligence, and ignorance that plague current and prior generations.
Free Creative/Educational workshops are the corner stone of my project and are actively used as a vital tool to:· enable children and teenagers to creatively and safely express their thoughts, fears, frustrations, desires, dreams, aspirations, and so on;· educate the rest of the world about the reality people live in Chincha, and introduce us to their extraordinary potential in a more comfortable atmosphere;· expose people in Chincha to new and diverse ways to learn, express, create, organize, think, feel, work, demand, defend, build, and break patterns;· provide different creative, non-threatening alternatives for children, teenagers and adults, to share, deal with, and treat physical, psychological, and emotional traumas suffered before, during, and after the earthquake;· introduce locals to people from the world, and through them, their cultures, languages, perspectives, and so on.
While La Casa De Mayten does not charge volunteers I do ask that you consider making a donation to the project in the form of money, needed equipment, medicines, personal hygiene items, or much needed supplies for workshops. Can you donate/bring any of the needed items listed below?
Workshop Materials: pencils, crayons, notebooks, colored pencils, water colors, body paint, tons of glue, scissors, macramé, recreational games, glitter, carpentry-related tools, lots of markers, highlighters, soccer/volley/foot balls, blank paper, construction paper, bookbags for kids, age-appropriate music CDs, books in Spanish or bilingual dictionaries.
Equipment: projector, laptop, voltage converter, microphones (5), memory cards, head-phones with microphones, DVD player, monitor to play movies and documentaries, battery charger, flash lights, construction gloves, dust masks.
Personal Hygiene Items: individual shampoo and conditioner, soaps, tooth brushes, toothpaste, combs, individual towels, anti-bacterial sheets, sun block 45+spf, insect repellant
Medicines: all first aid items, cough medicine, pain and fever-reducing medicine, minor stomach conditions medicine
Appliances to help make volunteer life more comfortable at La Casa De M: coffee maker, juice maker, baking items, blender, bed sheets, electric fans
All services, materials, medical/dental/psychological attention, trips for kids, etc have always been, and will continue to be made available to the people of Chincha FREE OF CHARGE.
Overview & description of the program/organisation
The independent social project La Casa De Mayten was born in Chincha, Peru, in August 2007, after a devastating earthquake hit this area, laying bare the levels of abandonment and neglect that disadvantaged communities have suffered for generations. This project originated as a very personal reaction to the immediate needs left behind by the earthquake, as well as direct response to the degrees of poverty, violence, neglect, ignorance, and indifference seriously affecting people in Chincha.Given the overwhelming needs I found among people who lost everything in the earthquake, and understanding their economically precarious history prior to the earthquake, I asked my family’s permission to turn my childhood home overnight into a communal and educational multi-purpose resource center for thousands of economically disadvantaged people from different neighborhoods who found little or no support from local authorities. Today, I am proud to say that La Casa De Mayten will soon turn 2 years old, serving as clinic, school, cultural center, training site, shelter, organization hub, volunteer headquarters, and overall safe house for people, particularly children of different neighborhoods in Chincha.
Objectives
La Casa De Mayten, as a small, independent, self-initiated, self-financed, ethically committed project aims to provide opportunities and alternatives in a dignified, respectful, creative and sustainable manner for children, youngsters, and adults living in neglected communities in Chincha. The project’s principal objective is to help organize both human and natural resources found in this region and use them to develop self-sustaining, long-lasting initiatives that help meet people’s basic needs (food, health, education, shelter) in a dignified way. The long-term goal is to have well-knitted communities that are better prepared, better informed, and actively using their collective skills, knowledge, values and experiences to meet their own needs as a community, and to generate change as a united force when necessary. This project envisions communities projecting themselves into the future through their children, providing more opportunities to change the reality of poverty, violence, negligence, and ignorance that plague current and prior generations.
Project achievements to date: Since its foundation, La Casa De Mayten with help from friends and volunteers who have donated needed materials and/or work, has been able to, among other things:
1. help organize 87 community kitchens throughout the province; 2. run a home-based cultural/community/educational center since August 2007; 3. build a temporary school which operated in addition to the home-based center during the months immediately following the earthquake (August--November); 4. build temporary homes for locals who lost their homes in the earthquake; 5. offer a variety of free, intensive, creative-educational workshops to children and young adults, developing a loyal cohort of children and teenagers who are part of special projects and exchange programs. Workshops offerings include: English, Geography, Reading & Writing, Mathematics, Arts & Crafts, Painting, Photography, Origami, Creative Writing, Yoga, Music, Dancing, Puppet Making, Soccer, Volleyball, Self-Defense, Violence Prevention, Civic Rights and Obligations, Anti-Seismic Adobe Construction, Guitar Playing, Intro to Computers & Internet, Chocolate Making, and others; 6. offer three free educational health campaigns that included doctors, dentists, and psychologists attention and follow up visits; 7. work with a local public school and offer free workshops, health care, psychological support, and personal hygiene campaigns; 8. build a comfortable, modern two-bedroom house using reinforced anti-seismic adobe techonology for a physically disabled family in Sunampe, Chincha; 9. organize cultural festivals and cultural/educational exchange programs which help take kids out of their cultural/social contexts and expose them to other places, cultures, peoples, and realities; 10. bring diverse volunteers from all over Peru and from over 20 countries together, to work in unison to help the people of Chincha. Argentina, Brasil, Uruguay, Holland, Italy, France, New Zealand, United States, Colombia, England, Madagascar, Spain, Canada, Australia, Germany, Switzerland, Chile, Belgium, Austria are some of the countries volunteers have come from.
Free Creative/Educational workshops are the corner stone of my project and are actively used as a vital tool to:· enable children and teenagers to creatively and safely express their thoughts, fears, frustrations, desires, dreams, aspirations, and so on;· educate the rest of the world about the reality people live in Chincha, and introduce us to their extraordinary potential in a more comfortable atmosphere;· expose people in Chincha to new and diverse ways to learn, express, create, organize, think, feel, work, demand, defend, build, and break patterns;· provide different creative, non-threatening alternatives for children, teenagers and adults, to share, deal with, and treat physical, psychological, and emotional traumas suffered before, during, and after the earthquake;· introduce locals to people from the world, and through them, their cultures, languages, perspectives, and so on.
2009/ 2010 Goals1. prepare, organize and launch a province-wide anti-violence educational campaign using educational institutions, local support agencies, and local media to promote, educate, prevent, denounce and (we hope) decrease violence in Chincha
2. organize two cultural/educational exchange programs within Peru
3. organize, develop, and present a proposal to the mayor of Sunampe, Chincha to obtain approval and financial support to build the first official community/cultural/educational center in that area
4. continue to generate reconstruction opportunities in Chincha through which locals can continue to be trained on how to build homes with reinforced adobes
5. continue to offer a variety of creative/educational workshops to children, teenagers and adults
6. continue to work to develop an even stronger relationship with the project’s target communities
7. with help from young adults who are part of the project, develop workshops to help illiterate adults learn how to read and write
8. develop more activities to involve my kids’ parents
9. continue to provide cost-free services, materials, and overall support to local people
10. continue to provide free room & board and internet access to all volunteers who become part of La Casa De Mayten
11. continue to organize fundraising activities/campaigns to help realize our 2009 goals
2. organize two cultural/educational exchange programs within Peru
3. organize, develop, and present a proposal to the mayor of Sunampe, Chincha to obtain approval and financial support to build the first official community/cultural/educational center in that area
4. continue to generate reconstruction opportunities in Chincha through which locals can continue to be trained on how to build homes with reinforced adobes
5. continue to offer a variety of creative/educational workshops to children, teenagers and adults
6. continue to work to develop an even stronger relationship with the project’s target communities
7. with help from young adults who are part of the project, develop workshops to help illiterate adults learn how to read and write
8. develop more activities to involve my kids’ parents
9. continue to provide cost-free services, materials, and overall support to local people
10. continue to provide free room & board and internet access to all volunteers who become part of La Casa De Mayten
11. continue to organize fundraising activities/campaigns to help realize our 2009 goals
About the Volunteer Program:People wanting to volunteer at La Casa De Mayten will be able to choose from any of the following responsibilities: teach workshops to kids, teenagers or adults, organize fund raising activities, participate in exchange programs as mentors/chaperones, work with local entities to organize educational and health campaigns, organize cultural/recreational activities/events, maintain and update our blog and website, promote our project and recruit volunteers, help attract potential financial supporters, help build homes, and share all house-keeping responsibilities. Anyone wishing to volunteer will need to be ready and willing to do physically demanding work, endure long working days with kids, deal with house limitations (sometimes no water days, temporary electric black outs, no air conditioning, few domestic appliances, NO TV, and so on. 5 days would be the minimum commitment we would ask of you. Presently, our work schedule is as follows: Monday- Friday 8am – 5pm; Saturday & Sunday 10am – 6pm. Hours vary when we have special trips or events outside of our home base. At my house, I work to personally rescue and encourage a culture of exchange; volunteers are offered room and board, food and internet access free of charge, in exchange for committed work. Transportation fees from Lima to Chincha, or from any other departing destination to Chincha are NOT covered. La Casa De Mayten will not and cannot pay airfare or transportation fees for any volunteer coming from any point in Peru or the world.
While La Casa De Mayten does not charge volunteers I do ask that you consider making a donation to the project in the form of money, needed equipment, medicines, personal hygiene items, or much needed supplies for workshops. Can you donate/bring any of the needed items listed below?
Workshop Materials: pencils, crayons, notebooks, colored pencils, water colors, body paint, tons of glue, scissors, macramé, recreational games, glitter, carpentry-related tools, lots of markers, highlighters, soccer/volley/foot balls, blank paper, construction paper, bookbags for kids, age-appropriate music CDs, books in Spanish or bilingual dictionaries.
Equipment: projector, laptop, voltage converter, microphones (5), memory cards, head-phones with microphones, DVD player, monitor to play movies and documentaries, battery charger, flash lights, construction gloves, dust masks.
Personal Hygiene Items: individual shampoo and conditioner, soaps, tooth brushes, toothpaste, combs, individual towels, anti-bacterial sheets, sun block 45+spf, insect repellant
Medicines: all first aid items, cough medicine, pain and fever-reducing medicine, minor stomach conditions medicine
Appliances to help make volunteer life more comfortable at La Casa De M: coffee maker, juice maker, baking items, blender, bed sheets, electric fans
All services, materials, medical/dental/psychological attention, trips for kids, etc have always been, and will continue to be made available to the people of Chincha FREE OF CHARGE.
Volunteer RequirementsWe need creative and socially committed people who are physically, mentally and emotionally able and prepared to work hard and handle the many challenges, unexpected situations, and difficulties one does face when working in neglected, historically poor and violent communities still recovering from a natural disaster. Having knowledge of the Spanish language is VITAL.
We look for volunteers who embrace diversity, have a global perspective, feel responsible for the well being of others, and genuinely commit their academic training, professional and life experience, energy, talents and resources to the service of others.
Ideally and given the many demands of working in a devastated area, our volunteers would be between the ages of 21 and 65. While everyone is encouraged to volunteer, individuals with prior volunteering experience have proven invaluable to La Casa De Mayten.
We look for volunteers who embrace diversity, have a global perspective, feel responsible for the well being of others, and genuinely commit their academic training, professional and life experience, energy, talents and resources to the service of others.
Ideally and given the many demands of working in a devastated area, our volunteers would be between the ages of 21 and 65. While everyone is encouraged to volunteer, individuals with prior volunteering experience have proven invaluable to La Casa De Mayten.
How to apply: Contact Mayten Sanchez; Project Director
I need at least 3 weeks notice. Potential volunteers need to initially contact me via email from wherever they are expressing their interest in volunteering and providing basic information about themselves. I will then email them a simple questionnaire to complete and email back. Upon receipt of the completed questionnaire, they will get a response within 3 days with more details. I prefer that emails be written in English or Spanish, but emails can also be written in Portuguese or French.
I need at least 3 weeks notice. Potential volunteers need to initially contact me via email from wherever they are expressing their interest in volunteering and providing basic information about themselves. I will then email them a simple questionnaire to complete and email back. Upon receipt of the completed questionnaire, they will get a response within 3 days with more details. I prefer that emails be written in English or Spanish, but emails can also be written in Portuguese or French.
Other information
Pros: 3 hours from Lima (Peru´s capital), near MIND BLOWING Nazca Lines, Huacachina Oasis, Paracas National Reserve, and Lunahuana. Beach weather most of the year, cool (not cold) during winter months. Buses leave from Lima to Chincha every 20 minutes. Real grass roots, independent, 1000% committed non-profit volunteer program. One of few in South America offering FREE ROOM & BOARD & INTERNET SERVICE. HOT showers. 25 minutes from quiet shores, especially in off season, surrounded by vineyards. Chincha has a great market with fresh produces. Friendly people! Extraordinary opportunity to make a difference in people’s lives, and developing a world-wide network of socially committed friends. Chincha offers all essential services: internet, laundry, hospitals, & transportation for very little money.
Pros: 3 hours from Lima (Peru´s capital), near MIND BLOWING Nazca Lines, Huacachina Oasis, Paracas National Reserve, and Lunahuana. Beach weather most of the year, cool (not cold) during winter months. Buses leave from Lima to Chincha every 20 minutes. Real grass roots, independent, 1000% committed non-profit volunteer program. One of few in South America offering FREE ROOM & BOARD & INTERNET SERVICE. HOT showers. 25 minutes from quiet shores, especially in off season, surrounded by vineyards. Chincha has a great market with fresh produces. Friendly people! Extraordinary opportunity to make a difference in people’s lives, and developing a world-wide network of socially committed friends. Chincha offers all essential services: internet, laundry, hospitals, & transportation for very little money.
Cons: Chincha is new to tourism, so while you can find some attractions, in comparison to other tourists spots, Chincha may appear dull. Dusty. My house is modest which means no coffee maker, no blenders, no sofas, no tv, no sheets, no dish washer, no washer or dryer, no oven, no air conditioning, basic kitchen.
The reasons this little project makes me proud are many and are far too meaningful to explain in a few words, but those of you who have spent time working as volunteers shoulder to shoulder, slept on the floor, swallowed dirt, and gone without much rest or comfort with me at La Casa De Mayten these past two years know how special our work has been and continues to be. Today, my dear friends, despite an incredible lack of resources, I feel fortunate and very proud of the extraordinary human web of responsive global minds and socially committed spirits that this little project continues to weave as it pushes ahead and through all sorts of difficulties....Thank you to all who have helped this project begin and continue in the past, and please do help La Casa De Mayten remain in this gigantic attempt to be alternative and opportunity for many. One can affect and improve the whole world, one valuable human being at a time!!!! Laughter, warmth and possibility to all! Mayten Sanchez, Project Director, La Casa De Mayten, Chincha, Peru
