KIDS AT THE CROSSROADS PERU
This organization has already been registered
Someone in your organization has already registered and setup an account. Would you like to join their team?Profile owner : g*******x@h*****l.c*m
Mission Statement
Our mission is to help break the cycle of poverty in low-income communities in Peru by promoting the wellbeing of children and by preparing and empowering children and adolescents to become productive, responsible and self-sufficient adults. A good education is the greatest resource we can give children to move beyond the bounds of poverty. Using educational reinforcement and personal and social skills training, we equip young people with the tools and skills they need to make healthy and productive choices as they reach critical crossroads in their life. KATC provides the academic, personal, and social training and support children need to break down barriers to self-sufficiency and social justice. We also strive to ensure that their basics needs for regular meals, health care, education, clean water, safe surroundings, respect, and affection are met today so that they can continue to grow, study, play, and thrive tomorrow. We work in both urban and rural areas in the department of Ayacucho, Peru.
About This Cause
Kids at the Crossroads runs 3 major programs in Ayacucho, Peru: 1. A year-round after-school and summer school program; 2. A program assisting children in rural schools; and 3. A holiday gift program for children living in extreme poverty. Niños en la Esquina Acuchimay is a year-round after school and vacation program based in Carmen Alto, Ayacucho. It provides no-charge reinforcement classes in math and communication to primary school children, a homework study hall with tutors and internet access open to primary and secondary students, and one-on-one or small group tutoring to children who need extra help. We also provide daily food support, school supplies, recreational activities, workshops dealing with health, personal and social development topics, arts and crafts and special events. Average daily attendance during the school year is 100 and 135 during summer vacation. Kids at the Crossroads Peru’s Christmas Cheer program shares the joy of Christmas with children living in extreme poverty and very harsh conditions in the high Andes by delivering Christmas Cheer packs including toys, treats and food to 1500-2000 children each year. For a few days, we simply want kids to enjoy the fun and excitement of being kids at Christmastime…to feel the anticipation and simple pleasure of getting a new toy and something special to eat. Christmas Cheer delivers gift packs to children in towns and villages so difficult to reach that other organizations don’t even try to go there. We send toys and Christmas Cheer packs by burro where there are no roads. We collaborate with churches, municipal governments, schools, and community volunteers to reach children living in very remote and “forgotten” corners of the state of Ayacucho. The Rural Schools Program, reorganized in 2016, works to provide comprehensive support and services to children and schools in remote rural villages. The children in high-altitude villages encounter barriers to education and learning that are difficult for them to overcome with the limited resources available to them and their families. Kids at the Crossroads Peru will be partnering with parents, teachers and community leaders to help eliminate or reduce the impact of these barriers. In 2016, our goal is to improve our support in two villages where we have been working since 2011--Rosaspampa and Santa Fe--and with time to expand our program to include additional villages where children face similar barriers. Together with parents, teachers, and community leaders, we have developed a prioritized list of things we can do as KATC and community funds permit. Following is a partial list of some of the suggested ideas and goals. Ongoing support with school supplies and materials, including more books for the school library; Warm coats and boots for all school children; Heaters for the classrooms; Bicycles for children who walk long distances to/from school; Augment the limited food the government provides to the schools to include more fruits, vegetables and dairy products. An alternative suggestion was to help build high-altitude greenhouses so they can grow more vegetables and legumes for personal consumption; AV equipment for the schools; Laptop or PC with printer for each school; and Help find markets for the hand-spun alpaca yarn and other products the families produce.