WARNING!!!!!!!!!!

ALL THE COORDINATIONS FOR VOLUNTARY WORK WITH SAINT NICOLAS URRACA AND ALSO FOR ANY TYPE OF SOCIAL HELP AND DONATIONS FOR THE CHILDREN AND FAMILIES TO BE CONTACTED DIRECTLY WITH:

sannicolasurraca@gmail.com

sannico44@hotmail.com

Telefono: +51 084 974753903

WE DO NOT HAVE INTERMEDIARIES... NO ORGANIZATION.. NOT EVEN SPANISH SCHOOLS ARE ALLOWED TO REQUEST ANYONE HELP TYPE FOR OUR ORGANIZATION .. do not be left to surprise.

http://www.volunteering-peru.com/ is not allowed too!!!!!!!

Thanks!!

Una experiencia inolvidable!

This last summer I've spended 2 months in Peru, the first month to learn Spanish and the second month to work with the kids at San Nicolas Urraca. It was an incredible experience, the first day I got there I immediately felt welcome and appreciated! The kids are so nice and sweet and Luisa and José, the project-leaders, are also the best! Every week we had a shower-day, a cooking-day and if the weather was good and there were a lot of kids we would go to the park one day! It was so great to see how those kids appreciate every little thing you do for them and how happy they are, having nothing at all. At first it was difficult to see how some kids are always dirty or not wearing underwear just because they are so poor. But it really makes you realise how good life can be also without all the luxury stuff. Those kids are so inspiring and maybe an example to us all! Really feels good to just cook for those kids and hear them scream "gracias" a thousend times, while for me it was just such a small effort to give. It really was incredible how much love the kids gave and how greatfull they were just because you are willing to help them out a little.

It was the hardest thing going back home, with all the kids giving you drawings with "te quiero", I couldn't keep a dry eye! But I don't regret one moment because I had the best time of my life! Also because I had the luck to be working together with Karolin, she was so great! Karolin, honey, I miss you, hope to read from you soon too on this blog!

San Nicolas Urraca really is a great project and I still miss working there every day. Luisa, José thanks a lot for keeping this project alive, I miss you and I really hope to be coming back to Peru one day! Give the kids a big kiss from me! For always in my heart!

It really was, an unforgettable experience.

Sabrina

We bought toothbrushes for the kids (some of them had never brushed their tooth before, unbelievable!). But it was really great, they loved brushing their teeths, so cute!

A wounderful experience

In February 2011 I spent nearly 4 weeks in the volunteerin project "San Nicolas Urraca"and I had a wonderful time there. The children, mostly aged 8-12 (but there are even some kids who are just 3 years old) come from underpirivleged and often very difficult families. Nevertheless, they contain so much love and happiness in their hearts and they give you really good energy. During my stay in this project I planned activities, played with the kids and gave and received love. Moreover we got some colours to paint the walls outside because the building next door nearly destroyed the project during construction. We all had a lot of fun, painting the walls and adding our handprints to them. It was a great feeling to know that I can make these kids happy and that I can help to improve the situation of the project. The coordinators, Luisa and José are lovely people who do everything to make the children and the volunteers feel happy in the project. And, indeed, you feel like a part of a big family there. All in all, I had a great and intense time in the project "San Nicolas Urraca" and I enjoyed every minute of it. I can highly recomend to go and spend some time in this project because it is a precious experience which will definately broaden your mind.

(Laura P. Germany)

Hello, I'm Rozan from the Netherlands and during my stay in Cusco I visited this project. I did my volunteer work at another place, but I raised a lot of money which I wanted to spent on different projects. And San Nicolas Urraca was one of them! I met the directress Luisa and she showed me a very warm project with nice kids. So we went shopping! We bought learning books, which she can copy for all children, colored paper, glew, adhesive tape and all kinds of other things for the children to tinker. During our shoppingtime I got to know Luisa much better and it became clear to me that she has a very big heart. Because of her courage San Nicolas Urraca is a good project with a lovely atmosphere! Also her quality to take initiatives makes it possible for the project to exist. For example Luisa asked a few mothers of the children to make shawls for selling so that she can use this money for the project. Today they are still doing this so if you would like to buy one, send an email to sannicolasurraca@gmail.com! See also the pictures.
Rozan

Volunteering at San Nicolas Urraca - Elise

Hi, I am Elise from the Netherlands, and in January and February 2010 I volunteered for 4 weeks at the San Nicolas Urraca project in Cusco. This was a great experience for me! I really didn’t know what to expect, since I had heard lots of different stories about projects and the way the people there respond to foreign volunteers… Lucky for me, from the first day on I felt so much happiness and gratefulness from Luísa and the children towards me, being there and helping them! However, for me it was intelligible to volunteer, being a rich girl from Europe with enough money to go on a holiday to the other side of the world, where most of the people don’t even have the means to go on a weekend trip or something!

Luísa, the directress, is a person with a big heart, who cares about all of the children of the project as if they were her own. The children too gave me a hug or a kiss every day I went there, which really felt great for me, like being a part of the ‘family’. And although they don’t have a lot to wear, to eat or to play with, I never saw any sad face in those 4 weeks.

I loved to play with the children: to puzzle or make rompecabezas, to play volleyball outside, to make calendars with all their birthdays on it or to paint their faces (see pictures). We cooked for them almost every Wednesday and also went to a playground once and helped them shower. They really liked it and I loved it when all the children shouted ‘GRACIAS!’, all at the same time and really loud! That and their happy faces is enough for me!

At my weblog I asked my friends and family for some small donations to help buying stuff for the project, but I got a lot more than I expected! Because I was there at the time of the big floods and heavy rainfall, I spent a part of the money to let the roof get fixed and to buy new tiles (see pictures). I hope it all works again, because I think that a stable and strong building is one of the most important things for the project!

I would like to share some more pictures with all of you and hope to come back there once.

Gracias Luísa!

Resumen en Español:

Hola, soy Elise de los Países Bajos, y durante 4 semanas en enero y febrero de 2010, estuve voluntario en el proyecto San Nicolas Urraca en Cuzco. Era una experiencia grande para mi! Me gustó la alegría y la gratitud de Luísa y los niños, aunque sentí como si fuera inteligible para ayudarlos. Luísa, la directora, tiene una corazón grande para el proyecto y para los niños. No ví ninguna cara triste de los niños tampoco en todas las 4 semanas, a pesar de su mala situación de vida!

Me gustó jugar con los chicos: rompecabezas, volley, hacer calendarios con la fecha de nacimiento de todos, ir al parque de juegos, pintar sus caras… También cocinamos unas veces. Con una parte de las donaciones de mi familia y de mis amigos arreglé tejas y dos hombres para reparar el techo, porque creo que es muy importante para el edificio del proyecto estar en una condición buena y estable. Estuve en Cuzco en el periodo de las inundaciones y lluvia fuerte, entonces el techo tenía prioridad.

Luísa, gracias por todo y mucha suerte con el proyecto! Espero que vaya a visitar Cuzco y San Nicolas Urraca otra vez en el futuro! Añadí unas fotos.

Saludos, Elise

Raising money for San Nicolas

I volunteered at San Nicolas in 2008 and when I saw the recent devastation wanted to help raise some money for the centre. In the UK a quick way to raise money is by doing a 'car boot sale' where you sell unwanted items from the 'boot' of your car. In November my friends and I did this in Edinburgh, Scotland. Friends donated unwanted items and also helped me on the 2 'sale' days. We were happy to able to send San Nicolas $470 and I am posting this blog so that the people who bought from us can see that Luisa has now received the money and can watch the progress of the renovations.

I promised in 2008 that the children at San Nicolas would always be in my heart and they always will be. The kindness, hard work and love evident at San Nicolas is inspiring to us all!

- Gill from Scotland

Participate in San Nicolas Urraca new projet from home!

With a lot of motivation, the moms from San Nicolas have started a new project "San Nicolas Urraca Tejidos" in order to gather some money and to rebuild the local! You can help them out even from home!!


Indeed, Luisa, Ana and all the others are knitting scarves and chalinas made out of 100% Alpaca (see the pictures)! If you are interested in buying one or several for yourself or for a gift (Christmas is just around the corner!) or if you have any contacts that could commercialize them outside of Cusco or even Peru, do not hesitate to get in contact with Luisa (sannico44@hotmail.com) or with the blog crew for English speakers (sannicolasurraca@gmail.com).

If you wish, you can even make a special request (in terms of colors, model etc...) and Luisa will try to accomodate it as best as she can!

Many thanks in advance from Luisa, the kids and everyone involved to support this project and the association!