Volunteer diaries: An average day at HOOP!

In this week’s blog Misha Zala from the UK gives us an inside look at an average school day for HOOPsters staying at the volunteer hostel.

Like most HOOPsters, I’m staying at Home Sweet Home, a relaxed hostel in the centre of Arequipa. A ‘typical’ day at Home Sweet Home goes like this:

Breakfast is on the roof terrace from 7.30am to 9.30am… guess what time most of us aim for! It’s great here: pancakes, fresh juice and a fried or scrambled egg… probably the best breakfast we’ve had in a Peruvian hostel! Then we fight over the showers before getting ready for the day.

Interns head to the office to start work at 10am. Teachers (like me!), can hang out together at the hostel and plan our lessons – or we head to the office (a 10 minute walk) to print things – but mainly just to distract everyone at HOOP HQ with questions!

On the way, we stop for a chat with one of my favourite people in Arequipa, or maybe the world...  the ‘Pare Man’ on Calle Santa Catalina. He’s part of the tourist police and he stops the cars so we can cross. The journey isn’t the same without a high five or quick song from this guy!

Next, it’s time to grab lunch at a local restaurant or nip back to the hostel. Here, restaurants offer a really good value set menu for lunch! Honourable mentions to the fabled ‘Six Fifty Place’ on Puente Bolognesi (loved by our volunteer Philipp for the lomo saltado and well... it only costs 6 soles 50). The great thing about staying here for a while is that we get to discover all the best secret food places.

After lunch, it’s time to gather the troops to catch the combi bus to school. Always an interesting experience - the first rule of the combi is that... there are no rules! It’s got as many people as they can squeeze on.

We get to school around 2.30pm and set everything up. At 3.15pm, we greet the children, who play and do warm up exercises together. Class begins at 3.30pm where we engage the children in English lessons. Our aim is to show our kids how fun learning can be, through play, games and crafts. The hour usually flies by!

Then the older kids stay back at the school to get help understanding their homework from their morning school. For everyone else, it’s Cancha time at a local playground where we play games and sports. At 5.45, we pack up, marvel at the gorgeous sunset and get back on the combi. We always hope it’s the route that stops near the ‘Churro lady’ on Puente Grau, so we can pick up our favourite snack for one sole!

For dinner, there are tons of great choices like ‘The Chifa Place’ or ‘El Misti grill’ which fellow HOOPster Tom thinks is the best restaurant in Arequipa. But if we’re cooking at Home Sweet Home, that’s when the best comedy moments occur. There’s a kitchen, but with so many volunteers it can get chaotic. I’ve got a Facebook photo-series called ‘Cooking with HOOP’ (Rule no. 1: always use a bread knife to chop onions). Sometimes local volunteer Evaldo likes to cook for us and we love trying local specialities!

In the evening, we might watch a movie in the living room, hang out on the roof or go out for a drink together. The hostel is always happy to let us have guests over if we want a little fiesta on the roof terrace. By the end of the day, everyone is pretty exhausted and heads to bed. For me and my roommate, Amina, that usually involves playing silly games or telling late night stories!

I’m really happy living at Home Sweet Home, and definitely recommend it to future volunteers!

Curious to find out more? Check out our 'Day in the Life of a Volunteer' video.

All about happiness

Why does HOOP exist? Sure, it’s about improving education. Yes, we want to help our students and families create better lives for themselves. And yes, we absolutely want this generation to be the last to ever experience poverty in Flora Tristán. But what HOOP is really all about, is happiness.

 

Every single person on the planet wants happiness, so it must be important (right?). But how do we get it? Well, better education can help by leading to better futures, more financial security, better health, and better opportunities...

But of course, it’s not that simple. And to make happier societies, it’s useful to know where we’re starting from on the happiness spectrum. But how do you work out how happy a society is? It’s not straightforward, but the 2015 World Happiness Report has given it a go. As well as getting serious about happiness from all possible angles, the report ranks countries based on the happiness of their people.

So the big question is… is Peru a happy country? Well, on the world rankings, it comes in as the 58th happiest country, about a third of the way down. But when you compare it to the rest of South America, Peru is the least happy country on the continent. So what’s going on here? After all, our friends over in Venezuela come in at 23rd – happier than France, Germany, Spain and Japan.

But happiness isn’t a competition; it’s something we’re all entitled to. So to help shed light on this joyful but elusive human condition, I asked some of my ever-happy co-workers and friends here in Arequipa about happiness in Peru…

The response from two born-and-raised Arequipeñans, plus a long-time resident here, is that yes, Peruvians are generally happy. But at the same time, no, they’re not. One friend explained to me the happiness balancing act taking place in Peru. An optimistic bunch, Peruvians can appear to be content with their lot. But the flip side is that despite many people living in adversity, there is a general air of acceptance – if you can’t change things, why not at least be content with what you’ve got?

It’s an attitude that’s hardly going to have the population jumping with joy. And the kind of long-term, sustained happiness that people aim for comes from things like financial security, good healthcare, good education and a good social support network. These are the kinds of measures included in the World Happiness Index, and they’re the kind of things more readily available to a privileged section of society in Peru.

So to say Peru is a completely happy country wouldn’t be true – after all, what country is? But you only have to live here for a few months to see that there is plenty of happiness around. After all, all Peruvians share an unreserved love of dancing. Every taxi driver in the country will glow with excitement if you start talking about Peruvian food. And if you get a chance to go to one of the many carnivals or festivals, it won’t be long before you’re sharing a drink and a laugh with a group of strangers you just met.

These moments of happiness are great, but improving overall life-long happiness is the bigger goal. And if HOOP can help the Flora Tristán community achieve that then, well, we’ll be pretty happy.

Words and images by Tom Hornbrook

Our first HOOP Hero!

Every so often, someone steps up and proves themself to be a real hero. At HOOP, this could be someone who has made sacrifices to personally help the Flora Tristán community, or someone who has gone to great lengths to support HOOP through fundraising or simply spreading the word about what we do here in Arequipa. So, to celebrate the heroic deeds of some of HOOP’s best and most dedicated supporters, we’re delighted to be launching our new HOOP Hero Award for people who have made significant contributions to the Flora Tristán community.

Our first winner is so awesome that if you gave him the power of flight, it would probably only be his fourth or fifth best superpower. He has made sacrifices in his medical career to set up HOOP as an official charity and has gone to remarkable lengths to help give the people of Flora Tristán better opportunities in life. He has even published a book to spread the word about HOOP in his home country (oh, with 100% of the profits supporting HOOP!).

I am of course talking about Li Shang-Ju from Taiwan. I don’t want to go into too much detail about all the great things Dr. Li has done, since (as such a great hero) he is super humble. Li has accomplished some inspiring feats for HOOP. He once sat outside San Fransisco church here in Arequipa writing down the names of HOOP’s kids in Mandarin on paper to raise awareness and donations from passers-by. He also hosted a Taiwanese camera crew in Flora Tristán to document his endeavors, and once travelled to Lima to seek support from the Taiwanese Embassy and a Taiwanese company, which is now donating a whole new building to Flora Tristán.

Fellow HOOP co-founder, Teresa recalls some of his other heroic deeds: “Li started the HOOP Scholarship Program and raised the money for it on his own. He would prepare and teach the first three scholarship students before and after school or even during the weekends to make sure they weren’t falling behind. If we couldn't solve a math problem, we would sometimes take it home, figure it out in the volunteer house and then Li would go to school in the early morning to explain it to one of our kids before their class started. No one is as respected and loved by the community as he is!”

As songwriting legend Bob Dylan once said, “A hero is someone who understands the responsibility that comes with freedom.” Li understands this and has shown it through his heroic powers of kindness, dedication and an infectiously positive attitude. So we are delighted to announce him as our very deserving and gracious recipient of the first award. Thanks, Li, you’re our HOOP Hero!

Volunteering = Happiness

All over the world, millions of people are working hard and giving their time for others - for free! Why? Well, they’re probably passionate about helping others, and they probably want to make a meaningful contribution to their community. But really, beneath these virtuous and benevolent motives, is a very simple equation: VOLUNTEERING = HAPPINESS.

Micha, from Austria - another happy HOOP volunteer!

There are tonnes of academic studies, including one from the brainy people at the London School of Economics, showing that people who volunteer are happier than people who don’t. And it’s got nothing to do with your personal background or how wealthy you are… simply, whoever you are, volunteering has the incredible power of making you happy!

What the research whizzes can’t work out though, is a scientific reason why volunteering should make you happy. So to help them out a bit, I asked some of HOOP’s friends from around the world why volunteering puts a smile on their face.

Julianne Ezra, from England (but an Arequipa resident of two years), thinks enjoying yourself is essential for volunteering. “Earning money is out of the equation so the focus is on enjoying the experience which immediately makes you a better volunteer - you're not just sharing skills, you're sharing happiness. And that's got to be the best thing about it, knowing you have positively affected someone else.”

Chris Kondas with Kenzie and the kids at Cancha time

Chris Kondas, from Ohio in the USA, is a bit of a volunteering veteran (which you can read about here), and volunteering makes him feel so good he feels bad! “Sometimes I feel guilty because I feel so good after doing volunteer work or something for someone who wasn’t expecting it. What you take from the deed is far greater than what you leave.” Well, that’s definitely going to vex the people at the London School of Economics when they read this. But I’ll be sure to give them Chris’ details so they can do some research on him. 

One of our local HOOPsters, Christian Collazons, thinks the happiness that comes from volunteering is simply a good feeling from helping someone else. “I really like HOOP’s slogan, ‘Breaking the cycle of poverty through education’. That’s the only way we can help people to live better lives.”

But there are big personal rewards to volunteering too, says Bianca Berti from Austria: “Helping kids learn English might give them a way out of poverty and it also enriches my own personality through working with the children and seeing their progress and also their struggles.” And our Program Director, Alison, agrees: “You give back and you’re rewarded when you see the difference you’re making with the kids, and how appreciative the families are that teachers come from all over the world to teach in their community. It’s very fulfilling!”

Carol Mitchell from England, who has years of volunteering experience (including setting up an NGO in Uganda!), says: “Volunteering tends to give you back a hundred times what you offer. It develops you, stretches you, relieves you and allows you to really experience things from other perspectives rather than just trying to imagine what life might be like for other people. And then you can translate your newfound experience into other areas of your life making them richer too… But you will never be a know-it-all no matter how long you volunteer, so it keeps teaching you new things all the time.”

If you’ve ever volunteered, you’ll know the happy feeling you get from being part of a valuable and meaningful experience. You’ll also know that you don’t need a PhD in psychology to understand the link between volunteering and happiness. It’s just a simple fact of life. So be happy. Volunteer J

Five Reasons Why Volunteering is the Best!

We volunteer first and foremost for the people, but let’s face it; the other benefits aren’t half bad. Volunteering can be an absolute life changer in a number of ways and here are just five of them.

The chance to learn a second language.

Volunteering in Arequipa means there are lots of opportunities to learn Spanish, a language which is desirable to a number of employers since it is the second most spoken language in the world. Oh and it’s also immensely rewarding to learn! You will be able to wow all your friends and family back home with your newfound skills.

Meeting people from all walks of life



You will make friendships and meet people that can change your life! Working alongside people from all ages, nationalities and walks of life is great for escaping from your comfort zone. HOOP is such a diverse NGO; we have had volunteers of all ages and nationalities and are proud to have received so much positive feedback from former volunteers.



 Meeting the kids of Flora Tristán is also such a breath of fresh air. Sometimes people back home take an education for granted, but the kids who turn up have such an enthusiasm for learning.

Two of our former volunteers who married in Flora Tristán! 

 

The chance to make a serious impact

We volunteer because the thought of helping someone else is truly rewarding. Giving your all to a community such as Flora Tristán and knowing you are making a difference is one of the best feelings in the world. Words can’t fully describe the experience, you just have to come and see it for yourself! The families’ appreciation is so sincere.

It’s a great opportunity to be an inspiration to children at an important time in their developments. We all have that one teacher who we remember as being particularly inspirational, this could be you!

Developing career skills



You can learn a number of things whilst working with HOOP that are great for putting on the CV. From helping with fundraisers, to assisting on the communications side; there are so many ways you can leave your mark with HOOP and wow potential employers with your Arequipa experiences. One of the really fun things to do here is participate in the pub quiz which can do wonders for people who might be looking to improve their public speaking.

HOOP volunteers at a previous fundraiser

Experiencing a new culture!

It’s so much fun to wake up somewhere each day that is completely different to home. Each experience is new and exciting and will stick with you forever. You also get the chance to try lots of exotic new foods, fruits, drinks that you have never before had access to! If you choose to volunteer in Peru then you are highly unlikely to be disappointed with the food. (Peru has been voted as having the best food in the world on a number of occasions now)

So what are you waiting for?

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! 

An Arequipeñan Easter!

Depending on where you’re from, you might think Easter is all about bunnies and chocolate eggs. That definitely seems to be how things are back home in England, where the traditional message of Easter gets hidden somewhere behind all the chocolate wrappings. Well, that’s not quite how things go down here in Peru (although there is a lot of food!).

This week has been lively so far, with the streets full of people coming to see different churches carrying statues of Jesus and Mary through town. On Friday and Saturday, back at people’s homes, tons of food is cooked! Semana Santa is a time for families to get together for all sorts of great Peruvian food such as fish dishes, different soups and desserts. Every member of the family usually makes at least two dishes, so it can be an absolute feast!

Fanesca, traditionally eaten on Viernes Santa (Good Friday)

I asked fellow HOOPster, Tom, who’s staying with our Peruvian homestay family, how the celebrations have been at his casa. “I was lucky enough to be invited to join my host family for dinner yesterday, and we had a rich dish with all kinds of seafood and fish, which is traditional on Viernes Santo – Good Friday. There were four different desserts, and my host family insisted I try them all, and have seconds, which was great since I love desserts. We think of corn as just a savoury dish, but Peruvians will make pretty much anything out of it, including a fruit pudding in a kind of sweet, purple corn jelly, called mazzamora. It’s better than it sounds! They’re also really big on arroz con leche, which is pretty similar to rice pudding.”

On the Easter Sunday, a traditional broth is made with seven different types of meat. Arequipa celebrates this day slightly differently to other cities, with the burning of an effigy of Judas, which will take place in the main square.

Semana Santa parade in Plaza de Armas

Cuzco is also known for having a memorable Easter Week. It all began after a major earthquake occurred in 1650, causing destruction everywhere – apart from the Cathedral of Santo Domingo. Legend has it that a painting of a crucifix helped protect the people inside. From then on the city holds an annual event, El Senor de los Temblores (“The Lord of the Earthquakes”). Thick, smoggy clouds of incense fill the streets. Many people help to hold up El Senor, who is then paraded around the city. It’s meant to be quite the spectacle with a whole spectrum of colours filling up the streets.

If you’re in Peru this week then you are in for an experience! Celebrations across the country are a great chance to immerse yourself in traditional Peruvian culture. If you end up somewhere exciting, let us know!

By Oliver Adams

Earth Hour : Just One Hour to Save the Earth!

This week’s blog has been inspired by Earth Hour, which takes place tonight at 8:30pm (wherever you are!)

What Is it?

Earth Hour is a global event where millions switch their lights off and use no electricity as a sign of solidarity for our planet. It’s a great opportunity to take part in something creative without electricity, like swapping stories in the dark, or doing a bit of stargazing! HOOP volunteers will be using the time to get together and play games by candlelight.

Climate change isn’t just an issue for the future, it is affecting us now. Here in Peru, plants, people and animals will be heavily affected, with dry season average temperatures expected to increase in between 0.7°C and 1.8°C by 2020 according to the Peru Support Group, 2014. 

Although Peru is just responsible for 0.1% of global CO2 emissions, it is not going to get an easy ride when it comes to climate change. According to TreeHugger.com, it was the only country achieving the ‘sustainability sweet spot’ in 2007, where it managed to balance high development without heavily consuming resources.

A few months back, Lima hosted the Conference of Parties (COP20), a global climate summit of leaders from all over the world. The outcomes of conferences like this, where climate science meets politics, are going to have a big impact on all our lives, and the future of the planet.

Thinking sustainably

Since Arequipa is bathed in sunshine for 300 days of the year, it is a big opportunity for generating solar energy. Companies like Caja Arequipa are giving ‘green’ loans to small companies who want to be using cleaner and efficient energy.

A solar water heater on the Home Sweet Home Hostel

Not long ago, there was mention of Arequipa being considered as a possible destination for a wind farm project. From living in Arequipa, I see solar panels and solar water heaters every now and again, often on hotels and hostel buildings. So it’s good to see alternative energy sources becoming more of a ‘thing’.

Earth Hour gives us the chance to think about how we can best protect our planet. These days, pretty much everything we do relies on electricity in some way, so going without it, even for just an hour, is a great way to make us think of ways we can be more sustainable in our day-to-day lives.

Get involved in Earth Hour tonight, and think about how you can live more sustainably every day - and don’t forget to share what you get up to!

By Oliver Adams