School is Back!

We began our teaching programme this week! With some new faces and some who have taught before, it was great to get back in the swing of things. More kids than ever have showed interest in being part of our lessons and it is amazing to see so much enthusiasm. 

I somehow managed to find a second to catch up with some HOOP volunteers to see how the first week went!

Philipp is from Germany and is teaching our Kangaroo class.

So far I have been getting to know my class better. Finding out their level of English was an integral part as well in order to make sure that all the kids reach a similar level! It is a challenging but very inspirational experience. 

Cancha time is a highlight for me, It’s just so rewarding to see the kids smiling non-stop.

For anyone thinking of volunteering, what could be better than facilitating the future prospects of impoverished kids by sharing your knowledge and gaining a unique experience. No money in the world could ever make up for it! 

Nikky, from Taiwan, teaches the Butterfly class. 

I teach the butterfly class, which is the youngest! We read story books for the kids, we paint and also sing songs. The kids are really cute, and the love from them is so pure! They always run up to me like little angels. To anyone who is thinking about volunteering..don't think, just do it! It’s the best experience. 

Misha, from England, teaches our Koala class

In lessons this week we have been learning about Earth Day. We also play games and sing songs! I have a lot of kids in my class but I am enjoying getting to know them and taking it one day at a time. Cancha time is a lot of fun, and usually involves skipping with hundreds of happy kids! 

Silvia, from Italy, teaches the Parrot class

The kids seem really interested in art or word games like hangman. As I teach a younger class, we start off with some exercises so they are ready to pay attention when the class begins.

Teaching in Flora Tristan is a great way to get to know a different culture, and the memories will stay with you forever!

Would you like to teach at HOOP?

If you like the sound of teaching with us, then we would love to hear from you! 

HOOP gets lessons in business from some sharp Wharton MBA students!

This week we've been lucky enough to have four bright MBA students from The Wharton School on the HOOP team, who are helping us be even more effective as an NGO. The group has developed some new key performance indicators for us, to help keep us focussed on our vision of breaking Flora Tristan free of poverty forever. With such a wealth of skills and experience, we've been very lucky to have them this week!

In between meetings, presentations and an energetic workload, I managed to find a brief moment to catch up with them!

A bit of background

Eun Jung Ro, from South Korea, has more than three years’ management consulting experience. As a member of the social impact team for her last job, helping NGOs and social enterprises become more effective is a subject close to her heart.

Lesley Duong Do, from Vietnam, completed an undergraduate degree in finance. She has worked in market research and consulting. 

Rekha Marda grew up in both the US and India, before graduating from New York University with a major in Finance.  She spent four years working in investment banking. Her passion for education for children began in India after teaching English for a year.

Eunsoo Shin, from South Korea graduated from Seoul National University with a major in Pharmacy. After graduating she worked in consulting and commercial banking. Her passion for NGO activities began after working with a child education and health NGO in Nairobi.

Why will this be a valuable experience for you?

Lesley: “As someone coming from a developing country, education and poverty eradication is a topic that is dear to my heart. I greatly value this opportunity to make a meaningful contribution to the organization and the community.”

Eun Jung: “I love that I can apply some of the skills I learnt from consulting towards educating children and contributing to the community.”

Rekha:  “I am really interested in helping educate children, so feel really great about helping HOOP deliver on its mission of alleviating poverty through education. By working on the project, I am getting the chance to learn more about the workings of education non-profits. This will be very valuable to me in future volunteer experiences.”

Eunsoo: “I want to learn about Peruvian culture and meet people here. For me, I strongly believe that I cannot say that I know Peru after just visiting Machu Picchu, without interaction with Peruvians!”

What attracted you to work with HOOP?

Rekha: “I really liked how professional and competent the management of HOOP is. During my first few conversations with Alison, I was struck by how knowledgeable she is and how well HOOP is run, particularly given its small scale.”

Eun Jung: “I have so much respect for the staff and volunteers at HOOP who live up to their passion and beliefs – they are a true inspiration.”

Lesley: “This is my first time in Peru and South America in general. I feel really lucky to not only have the chance to visit the place, but also to work with an amazing and committed team, to bring a positive impact to the community.”

What are your first impressions of Arequipa and Peru?

Lesley: “I am so glad to have Arequipa as the first city I visited in Peru. Everyone that I have met has been truly friendly, welcoming and helpful. I also got a chance to visit a family in the Flora Tristan community and to see how much they value education and the work that HOOP is doing.

Eun Jung: “The best part so far is when I visited a family - I felt so lucky to be able to contribute to the community of such warm, wise and confident people.”

Eunsoo: “Arequipa is a beautiful city. I don’t think I can forget the beautiful scenery of the Plaza de Armas at night.”

Working alongside the girls has been an absolute pleasure, and we can’t wait to put into practice what they have taught us this week! We wish them all the best with the rest of their MBA!

Written by Oliver Adams

Closing the Gender Gap in Peru

With International Women’s Day taking place tomorrow, in this week's blog we’re putting the spotlight on women’s issues and progress towards gender equality in Peru.

What are the traditional gender roles in Peru?

Traditionally men and women in Peru and Latin America have conformed to ‘machismo’ and ‘marianismo’ gender roles. ‘Machismo’ is the idea that men are supposed to be seen as the head of the household and expected to live up to strong, masculine characteristics. For women, marianismo characteristics reflect femininity, modesty, purity, faithfulness and submissiveness.

But do modern Peruvians still conform to these gender roles? While there is huge diversity within the country, machismo and marianismo ideals are still very much alive, especially outside of the cosmopolitan urban areas and in more traditional communities.

The existence of these roles is troublesome as it creates a divide between women and men. The kinds of issues that can arise from traditional gender roles are widely documented, and are by no means restricted to Latin America. Women all over the world tend to shoulder the burden of care for the young and elderly, take on the majority of household work, earn less money, and are more likely to live in poverty. Issues such as violence against women and child marriage infringe on human rights and stop women from living secure, fulfilling and happy lives. Worryingly, figures from the World Health Organisation show that 49% of women in provincial Peru have been subjected to physical violence from a partner, and this could be partly a consequence of the machismo vs marianismo gender roles.

Are things changing?

Fortunately, things are changing. Women’s groups are doing great work across the country towards creating a fairer gender culture based on equality. There is also evidence that the gender gap is closing. According to the ‘Global Gender Gap Report’, which tracks gender based disparities and progress, Peru has jumped up 35 places since 2013.  This shows signs of truly meaningful advances in a number of sectors such as political empowerment, health and survival, and educational attainment.

Peru has seen new programs that hope to increase opportunities of entrepreneurship for women, and attention is being placed on increasing the number of female private sector workers, which has already increased by nearly a million people since 2001. (OECD)

Positive signs can also be seen with the life expectancy of Peruvian women rising above the global average over the past ten years. Casa Maternas (maternal houses) have also become more common in rural areas, supporting women who would otherwise give birth at home without a skilled attendant. Measures such as this have the potential to drastically reduce the number of maternal mortalities.

Closing the gender gap in education is another big challenge in Peru, especially rural regions, where 10% more of boys are literate and  a third of girls never finish primary school.  This however is being addressed through programs by the Peruvian government and UNESCO.

Education is something obviously close to our hearts, and our work at HOOP is enabling more girls (and boys) in impoverished areas on the edge of the city to be educated. 53.4% of mothers in the community didn’t finish primary level education, and our English and business programs are offering them a chance to enhance their skills, confidence and knowledge.

One of the HOOP mums joins the parent's association meeting

Gender equality is increasingly being seen as one of the keys to bringing communities out of poverty, so we aim to create an equal playing field amongst the boys and girls, as part of our wider vision of breaking the cycle of poverty in Flora Tristan for good.

One only needs to spend a very short amount of time at the HOOP school to see the enthusiasm and excitement for learning, where good education is considered a luxury but should be a right!

Social change doesn’t happen overnight, and takes awareness, compassion and advocacy from men and boys as well as women and girls. There is still a long way to go with regards to gender equality and rights for women, but there are definitely reasons to be optimistic for women in Peru.

Written by Oliver Adams

Images by Tom Hornbrook

Working for an Organization with a purpose

For many people the words non-profit or non-governmental organizations (NGOs) are a bit of a mystery. What do those words actually mean, what do NGOs do and what is it like to work for such an organization? This is exactly what we will try and answer with today's blog post.

An NGO is the term commonly used for an organization that is neither a part of a government nor a conventional business that operates on a profit generating basis. NGOs are usually set up by ordinary citizens, and could be funded by governments, foundations, businesses, or private individuals. The funding NGOs receive will not benefit the organization though, but the beneficiaries it is working with. That's why it called non-profit. NGOs are highly diverse groups of organizations engaged in a wide range of activities, from fighting human rights issues, to providing education, medical treatment or disaster relief efforts.

It will definitely be no waste of time working or volunteering with an NGO. When you decide to work with an organization of that kind, you already know that you would like to contribute to the social good and try and do your bit. Your values will probably match those of the organization, which means you will work with a lot more energy and integrity.

Your commitment will almost definitely be shared by your co-workers and the so the work environment can be very rewarding. The atmosphere in a purposeful organization creates the feeling of achieving something bigger, and what could be better than that?

Written and photos by Charlette Voss

Teaching kids how to think, instead of what to think

Teachers usually go to their classroom very well prepared, knowing that they have to get the students through standardized tests, and prepare them for the standardized systems of either universities or the working world. This often tends to include teaching the children what to think instead of encouraging them to think for themselves though. But in a world where not everything is always perfect, wouldn`t it be more beneficial for students to become more self aware and stimulate them to think for themselves and also challenge opinions?

Encouraging students to solve problems by themselves and not just say there is only one correct answer is very important in order to improve their creative and critical thinking. A lot of children just have to memorize facts, but then they don`t know how to apply their knowledge in real life. Teachers could assist their students to do exactly that though.

For HOOP teachers it is very important to not crush the genius within the child, but to tickle it out of them, because intelligence is not always about the ability to remember and repeat, but also about the ability to apply one`s knowledge on an every day basis. Most of us are wrong at times, including teachers, so sometimes it is important not take the word of authorities all the time, and challenge them when necessary as well.

Sometimes it may also be worth for teachers to listen to their students too, because a lot of the times when you listen to someone else`s perspective or experience, you learn something new as well, even it is is from a child.


Written by Charlette Voss

Jess taking on the Butterfly class

Finally, after months of planning and preparation I have arrived in the beautiful city of Arequipa with plans to spend the next four months volunteering with HOOP Peru. I had initially planned to take on the role as the “assistant” in the newly created Mother and Toddler Class. However, once I arrived we began discussing re-structuring the classes as it quickly became apparent that the class needed to be split up, as it had grown so large. We decided to move the older/ more advanced children up to the “Parrot” class and the younger ones stayed with me in the “Butterfly” class.

We have started implementing a new curriculum in the Parrot and Butterfly classes. One of the volunteers, Mariette, helped to develop the curriculum based on 26 weeks of teaching, focusing on activities to teach specific colors, letters, numbers and shapes each week. We are also working to focus on developing the children’s motor and social skills through arts and crafts and cooperative play games.

The kids have responded really well to the new class structure and curriculum. In just a few short weeks I have watched them learn to recite new English words, say please and thank you and to grow more comfortable using tools like scissors and glue. The best part was hearing one of the kid’s mother say that her daughter has been reciting the words she learns in school when she goes home at the end of the day! It’s such an incredible feeling to see their little smiling faces every day and to watch them learn and grow.