I spent the decade prior to meeting Lourdes waking up to certain painful realities, namely that our western industrial culture is fundamentally insane and unsustainable. Furthermore it is based on an economic system predicated on death and slavery in that the three most profitable business ventures for the worldwide elite are 1. Arms dealing, 2.Drugs, both legal and illegal, 3. Human trafficking (source: Amnesty International).
When Lourdes and I got together in 2006 we decided to pool our resources and do something, however seemingly insignificant, to provide a countercurrent to the social insanity of our modern world, starting with educational assistance for children and young people and deriving our inspiration from the worldwide Waldorf alternative educational movement. Consequently we set up the legal non-profit entities of Estrella del Sur in Peru and Star of the South as a state level non-profit corporation in Oregon, USA.
During our five years in Cusco Estrella del Sur began its work by acting as a vehicle to receive international volunteers who worked with us in projects outlined below in previous entries on this blog.
Now we have made the step of purchasing two plots of land in Sauce where our organization can have a permanent base from which to operate. We are in the process of building a small classroom, woodwork shop and bathroom but in the meantime we have been provided with this humble building with dirt floors and no bathroom from which to begin our educational and social community outreach program here. Our volunteers from Germany, Lena, Annalena and Marieke have done a great job in painting and getting the space ready for classes. There will be handwork, art and help with academic subjects for primary age children, a twice weekly playgroup for pre-schoolers, English classes for children and adults as well as woodcarving.
Oh and thank you for the items you sent us. The monkey and the plywood violin were particularly useful.
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