Seeds of Hope is a registered Peruvian non-profit organization that provides academic and emotional support for 55+ impoverished students aged 6-18.
We help impoverished students, who are often at risk of dropping out of school, achieve academic and social success through our social development program. Seeds implements a multi-faceted approach that combines tutoring, emotional well-being classes, recreational activities, and daily nutritious meals in a family-orientated environment. Both international and local volunteers work with the children to raise their standard of reading and writing to improve their chances for success in the education system. We offer two sessions a day from our centrally-located building, Monday through Friday (older students in the mornings, younger students in the afternoons).
Seeds of Hope provides a supportive environment where the children obtain help and encouragement with their homework. This is crucial as most of the children come from families where the parents have to work long hours to support the family and/or cannot read or write in Spanish (the language of education). In either case, they are unable to provide the support needed to ensure that the children remain in the education system until they graduate secondary school. We also encourage the children's parents about the benefits of their children attending school, and the long-term opportunities that this will bring to the children and the family.
We recognize that these children need to overcome economic disadvantage and many other barriers to succeed in education, so Seeds of Hope Peru tries to ensure the children have everything they need to participate in their education through emotional, material, and financial support. The children are taught to take responsibility for their own education and to value the opportunity they have to learn. They are also given emotional support from our volunteers, taught the importance of personal hygiene, and provided with a nutritious meal at the end of each session. Seeds helps to provide the children with school uniforms, study materials, and school matriculation fees as required. In addition, we also contribute to medical expenses as the need arises.
Project work: If there is a particular project that you have in mind, we would love to hear your ideas. We can even start working on your project remotely before you arrive. Our current projects consist of the following below. These projects run dependent on the time of year. For example, in the dry season we do not run a gardening project as it is too difficult with no rain for months. - Environmental education and sustainability e.g. recycling and gardening projects - Building construction and maintenance (often done in the school holidays over Christmas and in July) - Media and communication e.g. video and photography projects (all year round, we are always looking for new ways to promote our work and get more people involved) - Performing and visual art workshops e.g. puppet show and mural projects. - English classes - (all year round, many of our alumni students who we are now funding through their final two years of high school or university often need to learn English as part of their studies). - Literacy and numeracy e.g. developing literacy learning resources and mental maths competition. (all year round, we are always looking for new ways for the children to learn and developing a wealth of resources from around the world) - Health and wellbeing e.g. health education, sports and games to encourage physical fitness. (all year round, we are always keen to learn new initiatives on how to deliver health programmes especially sexual health). In the past previous volunteers have completed weekly swimming lessons with children who were keen to progress.
We are currently renting a four bedroom apartment right in the heart of the city for our volunteers. It is easy to walk to most places from here - including the school, which is around a 10 minute walk away. The apartment is fully furnished with wi-fi, two bathrooms, a kitchen, living room, access to a large roof space, and laundry facilities. The rent is very affordable for such a central location. Living in the volunteer apartment is a great way to connect with your fellow volunteers! The apartment will become your home away from home in no time.
We are still a small NGO & funding is limited. Much of our annual budget comes from volunteers. We require a volunteer fee, 550 soles/month (approx. $210 US) or 150 soles/week (approx. $58 US) depending on your length of stay. This money goes directly towards the children and operational costs of Seeds. We have reduced costs for volunteers staying over 6 months. In our volunteer apartment there are 3 room options: private room & bathroom 800 soles/month; private room & shared bathroom 600 soles/month; shared room & bathroom 500 soles/month. We recommend budgeting between 15-20 soles per day for spending money.
A simple way to help is through sharing on Facebook the volunteer link on the Seeds of Hope website (http://www.seedsofhope.pe). Child Sponsorship is an aim we have for all of our students. By sponsoring a child for $25/month for 6 months, you will allow a student to come to Seeds of Hope every weekday where he or she will receive a nutritious meal, academic and social support and healthcare if necessary. By sponsoring a child for $25/month for 12 months you will provide a student with the mandatory uniform and school supplies needed to attend public school. You will also allow that student to come to Seeds of Hope every weekday where he or she will receive a nutritious meal, academic and social support and healthcare if necessary. As a sponsor you will receive regular updates on the progress of your sponsor child. If you do want to do this or help us promote this then a monthly direct debit can be set up with Omprakash on their donation page.
To get to Huaraz we recommend taking a bus from Lima, this takes approximately 8 hours. The bus journey will help with acclimatisation as Huaraz is above 3,000 meters. We strongly suggest travelling with a reputable bus company such as Cruz del Sur or Oltursa, their are other companies available. Ticket prices may vary but should be between 40-50 soles. You can fly to Huaraz with the airline LC Peru but this is considerably more expensive. You can book single and return tickets online. We will meet you at the bus station or airport in Huaraz and take you to the volunteer apartment. Please note if you decide to fly in the airport is 30 minutes outside of Huaraz and you will need to cover the cost of a taxi.
