Young Peruvian family receives the all clear from doctors about TB

Two of our young people, Natali and Hugo, and their family were diagnosed with TB back in March. But, thankfully, they have now been given the all clear by doctors.

Hugo is now officially non-contagious, even though he has to continue his treatment for at least another four months. Four-year-old Luís is also non-contagious and has been allowed to go back to his nursery. He too will have to continue his treatment for several months yet, but he's very glad to be able to see his little nursery friends again.

Baby Lenny hasn't caught the disease and Natali is undergoing regular tests for the foreseeable future to make sure that she's still clear. She has been able to go back to work at her training placement with Wall Luxury Essentials and is coping very well.

The Colour of Hope continues to provide regular financial and emotional support to this young family, mainly thanks to funds donated from Wall staff. This is enabling them to eat a better diet, including fresh fruit and vegetables, vitamin supplements and high protein foods.

Despite all their problems and difficulties, Natali and Hugo are two of our most highly motivated young people. They always put their all into caring for their two children and really deserve the support they are receiving. Once again, thank you to all those who are involved in helping this young family.

Young family copes with TB diagnosis

Back in March, Natali’s husband and four-year-old son were diagnosed with TB. Natali also had to undergo tests to see if she had been infected. The test results came back a week ago, and she was over the moon to be given the all-clear. This means she has been able to go back to work and resume her normal routine.

Hugo is now a few weeks into his treatment, which is long and extremely intensive, but apart from expected side effects, he says he is starting to feel stronger and more himself. Luís, Natali’s four-year-old will also be starting treatment in the next few days once the necessary documents come through.

TB is sadly extremely common in Peru, perpetuated by cramped living conditions and poor diets. But with the right treatment and a good diet the disease is curable in the vast majority of cases.

A couple of weeks ago, I was able to take a car load of donations up to Natali and her family, with the help of staff from CEDRO, a local NGO. The items included vitamins for the whole family, kindly donated by Judith and Hernán Balcázar and staff at Wall Luxury Essentials, tins of fish, rice, lentils, beans and other pulses from CEDRO and milk, tuna and other tins from Blanca de Romero from Bianco de Mare textiles factory. I also included some clothes and toys that had been donated to The Colour of Hope.

Thank you to all those who are supporting Natali and Hugo’s young family, especially their sponsors Jess and Rosa Batten-Stevens, Judith and Hernán Balcázar and all the representatives of Wall Luxury Essentials, Monica Ochoa from CEDRO, and Blanca de Romero and all her staff at Bianco de Mare textiles factory.

New youth employment scheme provides hope for our young people

Last Tuesday, I went to visit Bilela at her new job at Colegio Euroamericano, Pachacamac.

Bilela has been one of our more difficult young people because of her severe lack of self-confidence and self-worth. Dumped in a care home at the age of 7 and neglected by her family throughout most of her young life, it's not surprising that she's still suffering from the symptoms of rejection. She has a speech impediment which, in a country where anti-discrimination laws are seldom exercised, makes finding work much harder.

But a couple of weeks ago, Bilela was overjoyed to find out she'd been accepted at Colegio Euroamericano (Euroamerican School) as a kitchen helper. Sr. Aldo Lazo del Carpio (pictured right), owner of the school, is supporting The Colour of Hope by giving jobs to some of our young people. Bilela is the first to benefit from this new scheme. It is a great opportunity for her financially speaking and will also give her excellent work experience. So far she's doing very well and really enjoys the school's friendly atmosphere.

Thank you very much Sr. Aldo for all your support, and thank you also to the staff of Colegio Euroamericano for giving Bilela such a warm welcome to your team.

Wall Internship Program Peru

This video is about Wall Luxury Essentials Internship Program in Peru and The Colour of Hope's involvement. Natali, one of our most promising young people, talks a bit about her past and how much her life has changed thanks to Wall and The Colour of Hope's help.

Charity Talk at The Latymer School, London

Many thanks to Trustee Georgia Platman for the talk she gave at The Latymer School this month. Here is a report from Georgia:

Last week I went back to my old secondary school - The Latymer School, Edmonton - for the first time in six years to give a talk to the sixth formers about The Colour of Hope. I was extremely nervous and had no idea what to expect, but the students and teachers made me feel welcome to be back and their support for the charity was overwhelming. I gave a forty minute talk about my life since leaving in 2003 in front of nearly 500 sixth formers (16-18 year olds). As they are all on the cusp of leaving school, I think they appreciated hearing about what a fellow Latymerian did upon striking out into the world - I got positive feedback from all the students who came to talk to me afterwards.

A collection from the students also showed what a generous bunch they are - they donated £192 to The Colour of Hope after hearing my presentation! That will go a long way to helping another young person escape the poverty cycle in Lima. So a HUGE thank you to all of those students who gave money, and also to those who enquired about the charity afterwards. Feel free to either write to me - georgia@thecolourofhope.org - or to Amy in Peru - info@thecolourofhope.org - for more information about fundraising or possibilities of fundraising in your gap years.

Many thanks to the teachers at Latymer who made the talk possible, and to Shaun Newport for assisting.

Work for 5 disadvantaged young people

To all our Peru-based supporters:

5 of our young people are now at the stage of looking for work. One of them (Trinidad) is about to confirm a computer apprenticeship, but the other 4 haven't managed to find anything yet. All of them are from orphanages and have have tragic life stories, previously suffering from extreme poverty, sexual abuse, living on the streets etc. But they're all are keen to put their suffering behind them and start building a positive future. The Colour of Hope is supporting them at this crucial stage because life as a young person in Peru isn't easy, and is far harder without the family support and love that we all need.

If you can help one or more of these five young people, or know someone who can we'd be very grateful. Perhaps you know a business with staff vacancies, or maybe you could put a word in at the shops/businesses you use to see if they'd be willing to take on another worker/apprentice.

Here are some brief details of the young people and I can send CV's if necessary:

Bilela (19 years) is skilled at cake-making and cake-decorating. She's looking for work in a Pastelería/Panadería (cake shop/bakery). She lives in Pachacamac, so would be able to work in La Molina, Lurin, Pachacamac, Cieneguilla type area. It would be her first job, so she would probably start off as an apprentice and do "practicas" (perhaps in exchange for her bus fares and food).

José Luís (18 years) has studied Panadería (bakery) at ProJoven and is also looking for work in a bakery. He will be living in Pueblo Libre when he leaves care, so could work anywhere near there (Pueblo Libre, San Miguel, Magdalena, Cercado de Lima, Breña, Jesus Maria, San Isidro, Miraflores etc.). It would also be his first job, so he could start of with "practicas".

Katherine (18 years) is very skilled at most types of sales work. She's also very creative and has taken a course in "Manualidades" (Handicrafts). She will be living in Central Lima when she leaves care so, like José Luís, could work anywhere central (Pueblo Libre, San Miguel, Magdalena, Cercado de Lima, Breña, Jesus María, Miraflores, San Isidro etc.) She has had several jobs and also been self-employed, selling a variety of products. She is a single mother, but her son is now 2 and will be looked after by his grandmother while Katherine is at work.

Tany (18 years) is one of our most intelligent project participants. She has a good understanding of small business administration and management and is trained in Corte y Confección (dressmaking). She'd like to find work in this field, but is happy to do something else in the meantime. She has experience as a waitress and kitchen helper. She lives in Huaycan, but is happy to travel to wherever the work is located. She's a single mother of a 2-year-old, but she can leave her daughter at the nursery while she goes to work.

José Luis and Trinidad don't have any family or anywhere to go when they leave care so The Colour of Hope will help them to rent shared accommodation. They'll need a few basic household goods such as a small stove and gas bottle, kitchen items, bedding etc. If you have any items you no longer use or need, please get in touch because it will be a great help to these two young people.

Please contact me on 990336722 or at info@thecolourofhope.org. Thank you all so much for your ongoing support.

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".

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

It's Carnival Time!

Carnival season will soon be upon us in the UK and once again Jess and Rosa Batten-Stevens from Ottery St Mary will be taking part in all the East Devon Carnivals as a walking pair.

The girls raised a stunning £450 for The Colour of Hope last year, which has not only enabled one of our young people to set up his own grocery store, but also brought emergency medical care to his 3-year-old son Luis, saving his life after he drank bleach at nursery. (Read the full story here.)

Jess and Rosa are hoping to top last year's record and any donations will be very gratefully received. If you'd like to sponsor the girls, please contact The Colour of Hope directly at info@thecolourofhope.org

View the girls in their winning 2007 carnival costumes here (2008 costumes yet to be revealed)!

Theatre and Arts Workshops with Healing Hearts

Alongside their regular lessons, our second group of young people has been doing some theatre and arts workshops with a group called, Healing Hearts.

The Healing Hearts group worked for years with victims of the break-up of the former Yugoslavia, visiting schools, kindergartens, orphanages, hospitals and homes for displaced people, promoting reintegration and reconciliation between different ethnic groups and helping minority groups to overcome their sense of isolation. They have recently moved their mission to Peru, and kindly agreed to run some workshops with our young people.

Yesterday afternoon the young people learnt how to be clowns, dressing up in an array of costumes and acting out short skits. It was excellent for strengthening friendships between group members, raising their levels of self-confidence and esteem, and simply for having a bit of well-earned fun. But more than that, it was a type of therapy for our young people. When you put your clown costume on, you cease to be “you”; for a moment you can do what you like, act the fool, the wise-guy or the joker and no one knows it’s you behind your costume. You’re suddenly liberated from all the prejudices, criticisms and stigmas of today’s society.

For young people who have grown up in a world of violence, abuse, criticism and rejection it’s very important to be able to “act the clown” and escape from reality sometimes.

Thank you to Healing Hearts for the time and effort they dedicate to our young people.

Health & Nutrition Advice for Young People

Chronic malnutrition affects one in three Peruvian children under five, with much higher rates in rural areas. Over time, malnutrition can lead to stunted growth and diminished intellectual capacity.

A volunteer from Lima's D'Gallia Catering College has kindly designed a course in Health & Nutrition for The Colour of Hope, which he is now teaching to our first and second groups of young people on a voluntary basis.

Topics include eating a balanced diet, water safety and hygienic food preparation and storage. The course will not only help the young people take care of their own health, but also that of their children - three of the group already have babies and toddlers to bring up.

Thank you to Andy for his dedication to The Colour of Hope's work and the health of our young people.

English Classes for Disadvantaged Young People

English teacher, Heather Thomas from the UK, has kindly put together a course in Basic English, which she has now started teaching to our second group of project participants. They are all thoroughly enjoying the lessons so far and are beginning to pick up the basic phrases already. As you can see from the photo, one of the participant's 6-year old, who joins us for training occasionally, is also enjoying himself!

The course will not only help them to develop a new skill and boost their confidence, but will also be very valuable for them on their CV's.

Heather will leave the course materials with us when she returns to England so that future volunteers can teach it to later groups. Thank you Heather for all the time and enthusiasm you pour into The Colour of Hope and our young people.

Young People take a Course in Chocolate Making

Last Saturday The Colour of Hope project participants and volunteers learnt the fine art of chocoteja making.

Chocotejas are typical bite-size Peruvian chocolates filled with "manjar blanco" (a sticky fudge made from condensed milk and sugar) and nuts or dried fruits.

The Colour of Hope invited a professional choco-teja maker to give a course to some of our young people who are particularly interested in pastry and dessert making. They learnt to produce 5 different types of filling - coconut, pecan nut, raisin, peanut and fig.

This new vocational skill will come very much in handy if they decide to look for work or set up their own business in this line.

Everyone thoroughly enjoyed the afternoon and went home with bulging pockets full of chocotejas.

Special thanks goes to Mervi Vera Buitrón for the time and enthusiasm she poured into preparing and teaching the course.

WebSpanish & The Colour of Hope Press Release

Last Saturday, 15th March, The Colour of Hope published its first press release! Here is the published text, and click this link to see the original on Yahoo! News

British Charity, The Colour of Hope, confirms that online Spanish language program, WebSpanish, will begin to donate a percentage of each class fee to its youth reintegration program.

Peru, (PRWEB) March 15, 2008 -- The Colour of Hope charity was officially formed in August 2007* and works to reduce poverty, advance education and promote employment amongst disadvantaged young people leaving care homes in Lima, Peru.

Margaret Stevens, Chair of The Colour of Hope, said, "We are so grateful to WebSpanish for its support and commitment to our work. Many people and businesses give to children's charities or the elderly, but often less so to young adults. Thank you, WebSpanish, for recognizing the difficulties faced by these underprivileged young people in Lima. Your donations will go a long way in making a difference and providing the opportunities they need."

The majority of the young people The Colour of Hope works with have previously been street children, coming from backgrounds of domestic violence, extreme poverty, drug addiction and abuse. Once they grow up, they're forced to leave care, find a job and start supporting themselves. Yet the problems of their past, lack of family support and insufficient financial resources make this almost impossible. Many end up right back where they started - on the streets.

The Colour of Hope's youth reintegration work helps these young adults at this crucial stage, enabling them to find their feet, become part of their community and find dignified employment. It also provides business training and microfinance opportunities for those who want to set up small businesses and enterprises.

Alan La Rue, founder and director of WebSpanish, said, "I'm delighted to be able to partner with The Colour of Hope NGO to help these former street children in Peru. It has given us the opportunity to give something back to the community and I know the money will go exactly where it's needed."

WebSpanish, offering Spanish language classes online, was developed by a team of highly qualified Spanish language instructors at El Sol Spanish Language School. El Sol is one of a select group of Spanish language schools in Peru approved by the Peruvian Ministry of Education, and has been helping students learn Spanish in Lima Peru since 2002.

The WebSpanish corporate sponsorship will allow The Color of Hope to extend its community work to more disadvantaged young people in Peru, providing them with much needed emotional, social and financial support. For more information about the charity and its work please visit The Colour of Hope Blog or write to info@thecolourofhope.org

*The Trustees recently submitted an application for registered charity status, which will likely be granted by the UK Charity Commission within the next few weeks.

The Colour of Hope
Amy New
511-90336722

The Colour of Hope receives another round of donations thanks to American Expats

We’ve had plenty more donations these last couple of weeks. Karie, from the USA, has given us a whole truck full of household items, some of which have helped to furnish our training centre, and others which will slowly be distributed amongst the project participants.

One of the beds will be going to Angelica and her family, who currently share a single bed between two adults and two children (see picture). Another will go to Abraham, along with a chest of drawers, when he leaves care in a couple of weeks.

Jason, also from the USA, has now not only donated us a computer, but also 3 bags full of office supplies and equipment! These will come very much in handy for the next few groups of young people.

Thank you Jason and Karie for your immense generosity and ongoing support.

We constantly need the following items for the young people's accommodation and our microfinance projects, so if anyone else can help, please get in touch:

* Computers (computadoras)
* Printer (impresora)
* Projector (retro/multi proyector)
* Beds & bedding (colchones, tarimas, frazadas, sábanas, almohadas etc.)
* Clothes for young people (ropa para jóvenes)
* Kitchen appliances & utensils (electrodomésticos, loza, vajilla etc.)
* Any items that would be useful to young people setting up small businesses, e.g. electrical equipment, counters, shelving, tools, tills etc.

Thank you very much for your support.

Amy New, The Colour of Hope Director, 90336722, info@thecolourofhope.org

The Colour of Hope’s microcredit scheme helps families escape the poverty trap

Most of The Colour of Hope’s work with our project participants is conducted at the training centre. But occasionally we visit the participants where they are living or they take us to meet their families. This is an important element of the work because it enables us to get to know the young people better and see firsthand the backgrounds they are coming from.

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Some of the participants live independently because there is either some reason why they cannot live with their families or because they are orphans and have nowhere else to go. Others live with friends or godparents and a few go back to their families.

Last weekend I visited Hugo and Natali’s home, as well as Natali’s sister, Angelica. They all live in Canto Grande, a shanty town on the outskirts of Lima. Their living conditions are very primitive and sadly typical of most shanty town homes – no running water, no drainage, just one kerosene stove between them all and both families each struggling to share a single bed.

Yet despite their desperate situation, both families hold their heads up high, proud of the little they’ve got and fighting against all odds to bring in enough money to feed their children. The support they are receiving from The Colour of Hope is helping to lift some of this weight from their shoulders, and our microcredit scheme will eventually help them to improve their living conditions and escape the poverty trap.

Hugo is working hard on the budget for his shop, as well as beginning to level the land where it will be built. This is by no means easy – it involves literally hacking into the mountainside to break up the rocks and boulders (see photo).

Angelica, who lives on the other side of the mountain, will probably be setting up a shop too, although she is not as far into her training as Hugo, so plans may change.

Natali is doing extremely well at her Wall textiles placement, despite her son Luis’s accident a few weeks ago, and her own ill health. Her supervisor and fellow workers say she has a real talent for the work.

Luis is still recovering well from the accident at his nursery and is looking much stronger thanks to the special diet and vitamin supplements funded by his parents’ sponsors, Jess and Rosa Batten-Stevens from Ottery St Mary.

Easysearch Version 2.0 has arrived!

The brand new version of charity search engine, Easysearch, is now live and ready for you to use!

When you search the web with Easysearch Version 2.0, you'll still raise around 1p for The Colour of Hope with every search you make, but the Easysearch team has made some important improvements which have greatly enhanced the quality of their service.

Easysearch Version 2.0 is a now 'super' search engine, which combines the strengths of several search providers together - Yahoo!, MSN Live Search, Ask.com and many more. So, when you use easysearch to search the web, it will track down only the most relevant and accurate results, which means you'll find what you are looking for quickly and easily every time - all in one 'easy' search!

They've also made some changes to the design, so you can now see how many searches have been made by all The Colour of Hope supporters and how much has been raised so far, directly from our Easysearch Homepage.

Happy searching everyone!

3-year-old Luís makes a full recovery thanks to sponsors

Natali and Hugo, two of The Colour of Hope’s project participants, have a little 3-year-old called Luís. A few weeks ago, Luís became extremely ill after accidentally drinking bleach at his nursery.

Natali and Hugo rushed him into hospital and thankfully he recovered after a few days. However, he was very weak afterwards and had lost a lot of weight. On top of the effects of the bleach, the doctors found that he was anaemic and suffering from malnutrition. They said that he would need a whole cocktail of different medicines and vitamins to help him recover from the bleach, as well as a special diet to combat the anaemia and malnutrition.

Hugo and Natali have done everything to care for Luís since he was born, often going without food themselves in order to make sure he doesn’t go hungry. However, the only work open to them (busking and begging on buses, morning to night, day in day out) simply didn’t bring in what they needed.

Their situation has greatly improved now that Natali has begun her placement with Wall Luxury Fibre Clothing Company, and will continue to improve further once Hugo gets his grocery store up and running. However, 3 years without the protein, vitamins and minerals Luís needs have taken their toll, and he will require constant medical care over the next few months to monitor his progress.

Even with Natali’s wages from Wall, the expenses that the medicines, diet and medical care will incur are far beyond their reach. So Hugo and Natali’s sponsors, Jess and Rose from Ottery St. Mary, have kindly dedicated part of their sponsorship funds to covering Luís’s expenses. This will ensure he receives all the support and medical attention he needs, hopefully meaning that his health will see some steady improvements over the next few months.

Easysearch & Easyfundraising Updates

Our Easyfundraising total has now reached £83.71! That's enough for 4 and a half months of accommodation for one young person!

Support The Colour of Hope by shopping online with Easyfundraising. It doesn't cost you anything extra to shop and raise funds in this way and there are hundreds of retailers participating. See Sept 27th entry for more details.

£43.67 of this Easyfundraising total is thanks to all those who have been searching the internet with charity search engine, Easysearch. Like Easyfundraising, Easysearch is a highly effective way to support The Colour of Hope at absolutely no cost to you! See Sept 27th entry for more details.

Plus, a brand new version of Easysearch is about to be released! It will combine the search results from several major search engines, such as Yahoo!, MSN Live Search, Ask.com, MIVA and many more, which means you'll find what you're looking for quickly and easily every time. More info coming soon.