18 October 2007

computer class

so some of the highlights of each week are the computer classes i get to teach to the secondary kids. we officialy got the class kicked off in march of this year and for the most part it has been a success. we havent moved all that fast in regards to covering a bunch of different programs but it has been thorough, kind of.
that last thought brings me to today. so there is two classes of computers on thursdays, one for the kids who have mornings free and the other for the kids who have afternoons free. generally speaking i have an incredibile sense of accomplisment every thursday morning when i see the kids working away on their computer home work, the most i usually have to do is remind them to not open messenger (they always are looking for former SKIP english teachers to talk with) and that they can listen to music after they have finished there work.
so the afternoon class brings about a host of other feelings, mixed feelings actually. for instance, today we were finishing up a test - generally speaking a test is something you do by yourself to TeSt your own knowledge, hence the word TeSt. i think that some of our students have an intense commitment to one anthers well being and good grades though because at some point i ceased to exist in the classroom and one of our little darlings got up and started giving pointers to two of the other kids - and all free of charge. so the mixed feeling came up in a few diferent ways.
first, how in the world did i do such a bad job of teaching that these two kids cant complete this part of the test - i am awful at this teaching gig.
second - wow, that kid is instructing two others at the same time and is doing a dang fine job at it (even though technically it was cheating) - she must have had an amazing teacher.

to satisfy the curiosity of you former Skippers, the ever so helpful student would be the freckled one that asks all the questions.

02 October 2007

Pictures from the Artisanal Fair



Huanchaco Beach and the volunteer dance group that performed at the artisanal fair.

Huanchaco, Huanchaco, Huanchaco!




"Huanchaco!!" bellowed the cobrador of the "H con corazon" micro as we climbed aboard the bus on Sunday. We were headed to Huanchaco beach, about 20 minutes from the SKIP house in Trujillo, to work/hang out at the artisanal fair set up by Mythri, our reigning queen of Economic Development volunteers. She had organized this fair as her ultimate project, before jetting back to the US on Monday.


SKIP had a tent set up where we sold scarves and purses knitted by the SKIP mothers in El Porvenir, along with free food- a big big hit. There was music, balloons, flyers and even a march with posters and banners advocating womens rights and feminine power. A local dance school provided a volunteer dance group who drew a large crowd with their traditional dances.


The weather even cooperated, as the sun shown breifly, but brightly.


The mothers were most excited to see their work actually being sold to strangers, for some it was their first time to Huanchaco even, and I could see the pride on their faces as scarf after scarf was picked up. Overall, we sold over 200 soles of merchandise, and gathered 50 soles in donations. More importantly, we handed out countless flyers to draw attention to SKIP and its motives.


Looking to the future, two stores in Huanchaco have now agreed to sell some the mothers' work, as the quality and technical skill has improved tremendously over the 9 months of Mythri's rule. A potential collaboration between the Huanchaco Club de Madres and the Madres de SKIP is on the horizon- the mothers would get together to teach each other new knitting techniques and other skills. SKIP has also started hosting knitting and jewellery making classes, and we hope to find stores in downtown Trujillo willing to sell some of the mothers' wares. Overall, nothing makes me smile more than to see the mothers collaborating on taking loans to buy the wool and working together on design ideas or helping each other with difficult stitches.


Laura