Please donate and help KATC!

A few months ago, I was staying with a friend in Peru and was lucky enough to do some volunteering at Kids at the Crossroads (“KATC”). KATC is a non-profit organisation located in the Andean foothills in the town of Ayacucho. It provides supplemental education and a safe recreational environment for at-risk children.

The organisation is situated in the suburb of Carmen Alto, a hilltop with beautiful vistas of the city and the surrounding countryside. Yet it is also home to some of the poorest families in Ayacucho. The city has a relatively recent past of brutality and conflict. It is still recovering from the atrocities perpetrated during the 80s and early 90s by the Peruvian government and Sendero Luminoso or the “Shining Path” communist insurgency.

Andean city of Ayacucho

KATC provides after-school supplemental education to children aged 4-14. The project is the brainchild of the maternal GeGe Coleman. GeGe who draws no salary herself, has hired several Peruvian teachers to assist the children with basic learning. Kids typically finish school around 1pm and head to KATC in the afternoon to receive classes in mathematics and reading & writing. As a gringo volunteer with limited Spanish, I was assigned to provide one-on-one tuition to some of the struggling kids who needed special attention. Many of these kids were well behind other children for their age group at school.

Courtyard and outdoor teaching area 

I soon found the kids were incredibly attentive and eager to learn. I was able to communicate easily with my gringo-Spanish and a few hand gestures. Although more than once one would relay to me an exciting part of their day in rapid espanol and I would smile and nod (“Ahhhh si, si!”). I would typically sit with the kids in their afternoon classes before taking individuals aside and going over the alphabet, arithmetic and playing ultra-competitive bingo which could get intense.

Abrahan and I chilling on kite day.

Despite the simplicity of such activities, the experience was very rewarding. It was nice to deal one-on-one with a small bunch of kids, glimpse their personalities, and see progress, even for the short time I was there.  It was also cool to see little things like John’s pride at writing his name for the first time. As was customary, I would reward such herculean feats with a sticker; gold to these kids. However some of the more cunning ones soon devised ways to haggle with this new gringo and my select tutor group soon became the envy of the rest of the school with their lucrative sticker monopoly.

Vanessa enjoying kite day.

KATC supports a wonderful bunch of happy and endearing children. I regret not finding more time to spend volunteering there on my travels. It was certainly one of the more rewarding things I did during my time in South America. 

Part of the realities of running an NGO like KATC is that it is very much dependent on the goodwill of sponsors and donors. The organisation needs stable funding to stay open and continue supporting low-income children by empowering them with an education. If you want to donate or find out more about KATC, you can visit their website: 
http://kids-at-the-crossroads.org/

Additionally, GeGe and KATC run a “Christmas Cheer 2013” programme which delivers Christmas packs which include a toy and food treats for children living in extreme poverty in remote parts of Peru, and costs just $5. If you wish to donate and help out some of these kids this Christmas, you can visit:
 http://kids-at-the-crossroads.org/christmas-cheer.html