Video Clips from our Goodbye Celebrations

Here are a selection of short videos taken at our recent goodbye celebrations. To view better quality versions in larger windows please check The Colour of Hope's YouTube channel.

The little ones dancing...

Thank you from José...


Thank you from Luís...


Thank you from Hugo...


Thank you from Trinidad...


Thank you from José Luís Lima...


Thank you from Natali...


Thank you from Katherine...


Thank you from Bilela...

Goodbye Celebrations at The Colour of Hope

As many of our supporters already know, I will be returning to the UK on the 15th July with a view to staying there permanently. I have been directing The Colour of Hope’s work in Peru since 2007, and have worked with children and young people out here for the best part of the last eight years. But now I need to begin thinking about my own personal development and what the next step will be for me.

Although we won’t be running the same project for the time being, The Colour of Hope will continue to exist as a funding body, redirecting any funds that haven’t yet been allocated into other similar effective and trustworthy projects in Peru. Those of you who make regular donations are very welcome to continue to do so if you feel it appropriate.

A couple of days ago, we had a small get-together here at The Colour of Hope to celebrate all the good times we’ve shared and the skills we’ve all learnt. Many of the young people and families we’ve supported over the last few years were present at the gathering, as well as some of the local volunteers who’ve helped us along the way. In true Peruvian style, there was a place for both tears and laughter, sadness and joy. Each of the young people gave thanks for what they've learnt and then the music was turned up and the little ones (and some of us big ones!) started dancing. As usual, everyone enjoyed the cake, fizzy drinks and other party nibbles.

I will leave Peru with mixed feelings; sad that it is the end of an era, but content and confident that each of our young people will continue to improve their lives, putting what they have learnt into practice. Of course it will take some much longer than others to truly get on the straight and even, but the overall atmosphere at the gathering was one of progress and hope for the future.

Thank you to each and every one of the people who has supported The Colour of Hope and our work over the last few years, albeit by giving your time, financial aid, advice, positive thoughts or any other form of help. Great work has been done here, work that would not have been possible without you.

Amy New, Project Director, Lima - Peru

Tany & Katherine's Birthdays

Last Tuesday, we celebrated Tany and Katherine's 19th birthdays. It was a small gathering this time, as most of the young people are now working. But everyone enjoyed themselves, especially Katherine's 2-year-old, Christian. Thank you to Jess and Rosa Batten Stevens for the support they provide Tany and Katherine and their respective families.

Christmas at The Colour of Hope

This Christmas we celebrated in the traditional Peruvian way, with steaming mugs of hot chocolate (despite the hot summer weather!) and panetone bread. Two Peruvian volunteers, Katherina and Bertha, kindly contributed edibles, as well as giving presents to the young people and their children.

Everyone enjoyed themselves and it was a good end to a very successful year for the charity and our project participants. Many thanks to all our supporters, without whom such success would have been impossible. Happy New Year to you all and best wishes for 2009.

The Colour of Hope Birthday Fun

On Thursday, 4th December The Colour of Hope celebrated 5 different birthdays - Christian (2 years old - Katherine's son), Luis (4 years old, Natali's son), Abraham, Natali and my own.

We united young people from all four groups, together with their children, and it was an excellent opportunity for everyone to share experiences and mix with their peers. Great fun was had during pass the parcel and of course the birthday cake always goes down well!

Afterwards we went out to the cinema and saw Madagascar 2 which was enjoyed by the children and adults alike.

Charity Jazz evening goes with a Swing!

Friday 14th of November saw the roof raised at Ottery St Mary Football Club when the City Steam Jazz Band played to an enthusiastic and appreciative crowd to raise money for The Colour of Hope. Here's a report of the evening from the Charity Chair, Margaret Stevens:

"We were packed to capacity, but still found room to dance. The audience gave terrific feedback to the band in response to a mixture of hot numbers, blues and super vocals from David Martin and Ron Hurst. We had hearty audience participation during a rendering of "You are my Sunshine", dedicated to the people of Ottery who have suffered hardship as a result of the recent flooding. It was particularly pleasing to see such a wide age range from young to young at heart!

Thanks to all the local people and businesses who donated raffle prizes, we raised a wonderful £93. We raised a further £172.50 on the craft stall, by selling a range of beautifully hand-crafted items from Peru. In total, we made £691!

Thank you also to our hosts for the evening - Ottery St Mary Football Club - who were so helpful and supportive throughout, providing us with a lovely venue for our family evening. Thank you to all those who helped with promotion by selling tickets and advertising the event.

Our biggest debt of gratitude is to The City Steam Jazz Band without whom this wonderful evening would not have been possible. We are sure that Jazz lovers in the Ottery area will be eagerly awaiting their next local performance."

Read more about the evening's success in this Sidmouth Herald article: "Jazz concert trumpets £700 Peru charity bonanza".

Welcome Gathering for our Fourth Group of Young People

Yesterday afternoon, six of the young people who have already completed their training got together with our two psychologists, Juan Pineda and Eduardo Cabos, and me (Project Director) to welcome four new project participants to The Colour of Hope.

José Trinidad, José Luís, Katherine and Tany, from San Francisco de Asís and Reina de la Paz care homes, will be starting their training phase on Thursday. Despite initial shyness, they seemed to enjoy themselves very much yesterday, and listened carefully to what their peers had to say.

Hugo, Natali, Abraham, Bilela, Edinson and Gaby gave an insight into the problems they came across when they left care and the ways in which they went about solving them. Their comments served as very pertinent advice to the new group, as well as testimonies that there is "light at the end of the tunnel" and that difficulties can often be overcome, even they seem impossible at first.

More news about the new group's progress coming soon.

Update on The Colour of Hope's Star Fundraisers

The Colour of Hope's star fundraisers for 2008, Jess and Rosa Batten-Stevens from Ottery St Mary, Devon, are still going strong with their fundraising campaign. A very generous donation has just raised their total to an amazing £1350!

The girls have won 5 firsts and one third prize so far, and still have a few carnivals left to go. If you happen to be in the South West, do look out for them at Exmouth carnival tomorrow evening, or log on to The Midweek Herald's Carnival Capers blog for carnival photos, videos and news.

The Colour of Hope's Top Fundraisers 2008

The Colour of Hope's star fundraisers this year are Jess and Rosa Batten-Stevens, aged 10 and 8. The girls are yet again taking part in all of this year’s East Devon carnivals in aid of the charity. Their entry, “Little Chief Big Totem”, has met with great success so far, winning first prize at all four of the first carnivals.

Dedicated Jess and Rosa have worked tirelessly over their summer holiday getting sponsors from local people, businesses and churches, raising a stunning £1150 so far! But with more than half the carnivals still to go, they’re hoping their final total amounts to even more!

All support for these inspiring young girls’ charity efforts will be much appreciated. If you’d like to make a donation on their behalf, please contact The Colour of Hope directly at info@thecolourofhope.org

Bowling with Colchester Sixth Form College

Earlier this month, members of Colchester Sixth Form College, UK, arrived in Peru to work at a school for special-needs children. During their stay they paid The Colour of Hope a visit too and were able to meet some of the young people we're working with. It made for an interesting cultural and social exchange, given that both groups were around the same age and at the same stage of life, thinking about job opportunities or further education.

After chatting at the training centre, we took everyone bowling, thanks to the generosity of one of our volunteers, Will Gale, and Kevin Murphy, who accompanied the sixth-formers. This was an excellent activity for raising our young people's self-confidence and everyone enjoyed the outing very much.

Trip to the Cinema

Yesterday was Bilela's birthday, so we celebrated in the usual style with a cake and a few party games for Angelica's son José's benefit, whose 7th birthday is this Tuesday.

But it was afterwards that the real fun started - thanks to some funds that volunteer, Will Gale from the UK, had raised for us before he came to Peru, we were able to take all the young people to the cinema. This is something they are hardly ever able to do, apart from perhaps a one-off outing with the care home during their stay.

All of our current three groups of young people have now finished their training (apart from the third group who are starting a couple of weeks of maths lessons), so the outing was a fun climax to end their training phase.

Everyone had a great time, especially José because it was the first time he had been to the cinema. A big thank you goes to Will Gale for helping make this treat possible.

Edinson & Clever's Birthday

Clever and Edinson, from our third group of young people, turned 18 this month, so yesterday we threw them a surprise party after the training.

Everyone enjoyed themselves, especially Angelica's little ones, and it gave the second and third group members chance to mix and get to know each other better.