 Claire,
the British nurse in Ethiopia who inspired Live Aid 20 years
ago when at a young age she had to decide the fate of thousands
of starving children: it fell to her to select 60 children
each night to fill the vacant places in a shelter where they
would be cared for and fed: leaving up to 2,000 in line, knowing
they would probably not survive the night - such were the
harsh realities of the 1980's famine in the Horn of Africa,
and the heavy burdens placed of the care givers who went to
help. Claire continued her career in Kenya and in other countries.
Recently she returned to Ethiopia to look for some to the
people she had brought into the shelter as children in the
'80s. She was able to find many of them, all survivors. Some
were as poor as their parents had been before the famine,
while others were prosperous - there was a marked difference
between them. She asked some of the successful ones to what
they attributed their success, whereas so many of their peers
remained badly off. They all said
"A charity sponsored us in school, we received an education." |
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We
salute our Volunteers who keep returning
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(While
many others still work with us in their home countries)
When we started our volunteer program we didn't dream
so many kind talented people would take up the challenge
of aiding Peru's poorest children as their own personal
project. Thank you all. |
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| On 9 January - We reopen
our programme to educate the poorest children in Cajamarca.
When we left our original project in the hands of ex volunteers
it was with the understanding that they would carry on this
work;however they chose to operate a homework |
club for children we had already goten into school over a year
ago. So we have returned. Above is our new, larger centre. |
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We opened new
schools
Trujillo (Esperanza),
Chiclayo/Lambayeque
(Las Dunes). Now we will stop growing until we can
sustain our present commitments. |
 |
Pictured
here is Las Dunas school outside Chiclayo
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Quiet Irishman
sponsors and names a school after his Alma Mater
back home.
Gavin Molloy, with
help from some generous friends has patroned "Scoil
losa"school
in the barrio La Esperansa
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So far 24 children are attending. |
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|
 Volunteer
Life at Bruce Peru - Photos of volunteers who
have served or are serving at the various centres of Bruce Peru.
Also photos of some of our children in class, & at play.
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.
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This year we had 35
babies born in the Delicias Project.. One hundred percent
of our dear at-risk teens elected to keep their babies, and
we still help them. If we were an orphanage this would be
the equivolent of finding homes for 17 orhpans, for worldwide
50% of teen rape victims abandon their babies at the hospital..
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Our combination of love, self esteme building, classes in motherhood,
social support, defending them, workshops and education seems
to be working. |
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Children's Christmas
parties throughout the country.
At 14 parties, in 6 cities, spread over 10 days we entertained,
celebrated with and gave presents to nearly a thousand poor
children. |
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HIV / AIDS pandemic thrives
in Latin America
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The publisher of the book "What's
a Virus, Anyway", is coming to volunteer, and giving
a quantity of these books in Spanish.. |
The UN has declared
that the number infected with HIV/AIDS in Latin America
is greater than that of Europe and the USA combined.
If you live in one of these countries you would not know
this - it is not reported in the media, talked about in
the chambers of Government. They are in denial. But we
know it is there, children and families in the communities
we help are suffering: and there is little help available.
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|
 For
over three decades Latin America has endured the unenviable
distinction of having more street children per capita than
any place on earth. What is less known is that for every child
who sleeps in the street there are 300 more in practically
the same condition who live on the street by day but at night
sleep under a plastic sheet or in a woven read or adobe hovel
with their siblings. Both are classed as "Street Children",
the distinction being 'IN' the street, as opposed to 'ON'
the street [those 'IN' are more likely to be addicted to drugs].
When we first arrived in Peru we worked with both types of
Street Children, but for the past two years we have concentrated
our efforts and resources in helping the much larger but less
known population of Street Children who live On the street;
those abandoned in their own homes. During this time we have
managed to open hub centres in 6 cities, with 20 satellite
children's centres located in the poorest barrios: where we
educate, feed, medicate and care for them.
Won't
you join us!. |
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Festivals in Cusco
and Trujillo
About 50 children from our 3 schools in Cusco and 200 from our
schools in Trujillo came together at
separate festivals for games, competitions, sports, singing,
dancing, prizes and lots of refreshments. No one went home empty. |
 We succeeded in
enrolling all 27 children of our Las Palmeras shanty school
into the local state school. This was unique in our experience
in view of the facts: it was mid term, we only had a
few months to prepare them, all entered into grades near to
where they would have been had they been regularly attending
school all these years. We congratulate the teachers and Volunteers
who have workd so hard at Bruce Peru Palmeras. We now participate
in the state teacher's salary + plus payed for the children's
uniforms & registration costs.. |
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The Ministry
of Education have invited us to install our little schools
for very poor children within sellected primary and secondary
schools. We have agreed to operate a pilot in one school,
and if the relationship works: will consider others. |
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They will still go
to bed hungry tonight..
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......
......