RT Gooch
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RT here.
Every year, the PeruTops guys get together and raise funds to bring Christmas to one of the poorer areas of Peru, usually in the outskirts of Lima. Our participation in the English Forum has been limited to fundraising, both with me asking people to donate cash and Sly's annual Benefit Orgy.
This year, I was swamped at work and didn't push too much for money, nor did I get Sly going in time to raise the funds early enough. I did, however, plan my visit to coincide with the actual event, which took place yesterday.
Well, fair warning: You guys are screwed for next year. It was really great, and very, pero muy, fulfilling to interact with the kids and families in Ventanilla yesterday. You might as well get your wallets out now because I will be hitting you up for money big-time next year.
The PeruTops folks aren't always the most organized bunch, but they really had their shit together for the kids. There were two busses (and some cars) to make the hour+ trek on Sunday morning, plus a large truck with the gifts and chocolate and cake and other supplies for the day.
I didn't get a lot of details on the nuts and bolts, but it seems that this year, we partnered with some sort of health-related business to get more participation and also set up a mini- health/help fair at the event site.
The church in Ventanilla had sufficient space to house the fair... there were lawyers, psychologists, medical people, nutritionists, learning disabilities assistance and a couple of other services available. I didn't have much to do with this other than hanging a few signs, but it appeared that they were doing a brisk business. I did see some moms walking out of the building with boxes of medicine in hand, so I guess they did what they could.
For the 'fun' part of the day, every kid got some chocolate milk and paneton to start. Then there was a lot of running around and yelling (well, they ARE kids) while they waited for the show to start.
The show people arrived, four girls, three boys and a DJ. The boys and girls danced and sang, they played a few games, and everyone enjoyed the hour. There was a special appearance by the Santa Cuy. It was pretty odd, but the kids loved it.
Then, the big finale: Gift Time. The kids lined up by age (more or less), and everyone got a Christmas present. I'm not sure how many of these ninos and ninas were going to see anything wrapped for them on Christmas morning, so this was a real treat for them (and for us as well). I got to be there as they received their presents, and their smiles made the time, effort, and money more than worth it. Some moms also got bags with some household essentials like rice and oil and powdered milk and some other stuff, too.
We had over 600 gifts at the church; they were all gone at the end of the afternoon. I am guessing that we saw about 650 kids at the event.
These kids were really well-behaved and polite. We heard a lot of 'gracias' when we served the drinks and distributed the gifts, and when we were walking around with garbage bags, many of the kids either searched us out to give us their trash, or they picked up what was on the ground to put in our bags. One of the church ladies explained to me that they have a class every Saturday for the kids on 'doing the right thing'... I guess the lessons stuck.
Was I any help at the event? Well, I know that the money I donated was a help, and I guess my being there didn't hurt. I helped carry boxes, I walked around with the garbage bags, I helped keep the kids in line for the gifts, and I got to make some children giggle, so I guess that I helped. A few of the braver children figured out that I was American, so they came to me to practice their English. That was fun both for them and for me. I do know that anyone who did any ACTUAL work on this did a great job.
I took approximately 763870324029 pictures, and it will take me a while to organize them all, but here's a few of the money shots. You'll have to wait a little bit for Health Fair/Santa Cuy/Paneton photos, but here's a few Christmas heart-pullers to get you going. Click on the images to see larger versions.
Every year, the PeruTops guys get together and raise funds to bring Christmas to one of the poorer areas of Peru, usually in the outskirts of Lima. Our participation in the English Forum has been limited to fundraising, both with me asking people to donate cash and Sly's annual Benefit Orgy.
This year, I was swamped at work and didn't push too much for money, nor did I get Sly going in time to raise the funds early enough. I did, however, plan my visit to coincide with the actual event, which took place yesterday.
Well, fair warning: You guys are screwed for next year. It was really great, and very, pero muy, fulfilling to interact with the kids and families in Ventanilla yesterday. You might as well get your wallets out now because I will be hitting you up for money big-time next year.
The PeruTops folks aren't always the most organized bunch, but they really had their shit together for the kids. There were two busses (and some cars) to make the hour+ trek on Sunday morning, plus a large truck with the gifts and chocolate and cake and other supplies for the day.
I didn't get a lot of details on the nuts and bolts, but it seems that this year, we partnered with some sort of health-related business to get more participation and also set up a mini- health/help fair at the event site.
The church in Ventanilla had sufficient space to house the fair... there were lawyers, psychologists, medical people, nutritionists, learning disabilities assistance and a couple of other services available. I didn't have much to do with this other than hanging a few signs, but it appeared that they were doing a brisk business. I did see some moms walking out of the building with boxes of medicine in hand, so I guess they did what they could.
For the 'fun' part of the day, every kid got some chocolate milk and paneton to start. Then there was a lot of running around and yelling (well, they ARE kids) while they waited for the show to start.
The show people arrived, four girls, three boys and a DJ. The boys and girls danced and sang, they played a few games, and everyone enjoyed the hour. There was a special appearance by the Santa Cuy. It was pretty odd, but the kids loved it.
Then, the big finale: Gift Time. The kids lined up by age (more or less), and everyone got a Christmas present. I'm not sure how many of these ninos and ninas were going to see anything wrapped for them on Christmas morning, so this was a real treat for them (and for us as well). I got to be there as they received their presents, and their smiles made the time, effort, and money more than worth it. Some moms also got bags with some household essentials like rice and oil and powdered milk and some other stuff, too.
We had over 600 gifts at the church; they were all gone at the end of the afternoon. I am guessing that we saw about 650 kids at the event.
These kids were really well-behaved and polite. We heard a lot of 'gracias' when we served the drinks and distributed the gifts, and when we were walking around with garbage bags, many of the kids either searched us out to give us their trash, or they picked up what was on the ground to put in our bags. One of the church ladies explained to me that they have a class every Saturday for the kids on 'doing the right thing'... I guess the lessons stuck.
Was I any help at the event? Well, I know that the money I donated was a help, and I guess my being there didn't hurt. I helped carry boxes, I walked around with the garbage bags, I helped keep the kids in line for the gifts, and I got to make some children giggle, so I guess that I helped. A few of the braver children figured out that I was American, so they came to me to practice their English. That was fun both for them and for me. I do know that anyone who did any ACTUAL work on this did a great job.
I took approximately 763870324029 pictures, and it will take me a while to organize them all, but here's a few of the money shots. You'll have to wait a little bit for Health Fair/Santa Cuy/Paneton photos, but here's a few Christmas heart-pullers to get you going. Click on the images to see larger versions.
