Zappallal
Action in cooperation with local initiative
Project presentation
Beneficiaries : 350 children
Actions : The main aim of the Mi Otro Mundo project is to foster the development and wellbeing of the children in the Zapallal community (fighting ignorance, enhancing personal belief, developing a sense of initiative) to:
- Provide quality education adapted to the local context
- Foster children’s personal and social development in the Zapallal community and the surrounding area
Develop the cultural vision of children and the community
Financial data : The overall budget amounts to € 170,000 and Okworld has provided € 30,000.
Project life
April 2007 : based on an email received from a French student in Peru for one year and the Mi Otro Mundo newspaper, written by the teachers.
The school opened on 12 March. The children who attend are aged between 3 and 5.
A typical day is as follows :
- 08:00-12:00 : lessons in the morning, learning adapted to each age and English lessons (later on, basics in French).
- Lunch : the children bring their own lunch or go home to eat.
- 13:30-16:00 : theme-based activities.
The summer holidays in Peru run from January to mid-March. Children aged from 3 to 5 go to the Mi Otro Mundo centre three mornings a week. The centre organises various activities supervised by teacher-monitors.The aim is to make their holidays more enjoyable because children often spend them indoors at home due to a lack of money.
Children from the two centres have been able to discover the faces of their counterparts.The children from the Rigolo Comme La Vie leisure centre have made a number of small flags that they were able to recognise through a colour game. The team explained where Peru was by asking them questions about different countries. The two centres have sent photos of their activities by email.
September 2007 : based on French students photograph album who participated actively in the realization of the project.
The buildings : Work to renovate the buildings went on for 5 months. The external facade is used to inform parents of the activities offered by the school.
The rooms : Various areas have been laid out in order to accommodate children by age group. The classrooms have been furnished and decorated with the children’s drawings. One of the rooms is currently dedicated to psychomotricity, an essential activity for the development of very young children. Other areas have been built to ensure good functioning of the school (sick bay, office, etc.). One of the centre’s teachers lives on the premises and receives the association’s volunteers.
Inauguration on 12 March 2007 : a solemn ceremony: the children receive their uniforms. Paid for by a local business which supports the association directly, these uniforms symbolise the child’s presence at the school and remove the financial differences which exist between their families.
The first day of school : On the first day of school, another huge occasion, the children made their handprints on the wall of the centre to mark their entry into the school. Colours represent levels (3, 4, 5 years old). This ceremony will take place every year, and the children will be able to mark their progression to the next level in this way.
Parties : The school is a real place of exchange, where many parties are organised. The country’s culture means that each event is marked by a great ceremony with dances and parades.These shared moments are a way for the inhabitants to forget their day-to-day lives and enjoy moments of fun and relaxation with their families.
Different workshops of sharing between children and between parents are set up in the structure. Some workshops (chocolate workshop, macramé workshop) are also organised for both children and parents. They promote family ties, strengthen community bonds and enable parents to make use of their talents.
Parental assistance : The centre also provides for family support and parental assistance. Families discover the program based on the development of a system of compost in place in the school. The aim is to encourage them to expand this system within the community for better management of organic waste. A day devoted to health and safety was also organised with nurses. After checking the children’s health, they gave the parents a medical file, and explained to them any health problems their children were suffering from and details of treatment or care.
The Mi Otro Mundo centre therefore successfully achieved its main objectives in just a few months. The children’s development is guaranteed by the quality of the educational activities provided and the bonds between the Zappallal community are strengthened by the many exchanges organised.
The children’s development of cultural awareness is continuing, and the exchanges between Mi Otro Mundo and the Rigolo Comme La Vie centre in Roubaix are reinforced by the presence of a volunteer from Roubaix in Peru, who met the manager of the center before her departure.
