Monday, June 27, 2011

The transformation from drawing to reality



Hello teachers,
For everyone who has worked on the Tierra del Ninos project, I wanted to send you a quick update and some pictures from Aima Molinari, who has formally transferred the leadership of the project to a teacher at the Manco Inca school. Aima is now dedicating her volunteer time to a new daycare center in Ollantaytambo, which World Leadership School is also now supporting. I’m excited by the fact that a local teacher has taken on Tierra del Ninos and that it will continue inside of Manco Inca.

The first few pictures are the current state of the Tierra del Nino project – the last few are of the new green areas at the school, which were also inspired by the Tierra del Nino.. Here’s what she says – see original Spanish version below.

THANK YOU for all your work on this project and good luck finishing the school year. I am also copying Joaquin and Aima on this email, if you want to communicate with them directly.

Ross

“Tierra del Ninos at the Manco Inca school is in good hands . . . and being led by the right people. During the recent vacations, I was able to send the most active and involved teacher from Manco Inca to the annual ANIA (Asociación para la niñez y su medio ambiente) training seminar in Ica. Peru (this is the same training that I went to and which inspired me). Of course, she returned very motivated and with all the material and with lots of eagerness to work with her class of 30 kids. She is also going to speak with the other teachers and try to involve the director. She is a teacher who has worked at Manco Inca for more than 15 years and has a lot of influence. This year, ANIA will probably do another training in Cusco and this teacher and I are meeting to review her work plan for the coming year. I am working to support her but in the future I want her to be the principal voice for this project. The kids miss me so I go every week to meet with them, for now. Sometimes I get frustrated when I think about the fact that the Tierra del Ninos is completely open to intruders, who occasionally damage a plant or steal something. Other times I worry that the complex has become dirty and has to be cleaned . . . but then I remember that every problem has a solution, that this teacher is really on board and eager to school and that the school – by its own initiative – has created three more green areas in the school. One teacher showed me, very proudly, how the school has even planted fruit trees. The kids from the Tierra del Ninos club want to meet always and carry in their hearts care, conscience and happiness.

Aima Molinari.

Tierra de Niños en la escuela Manco Inca está en buenas manos…y en las manos en las que debería estar. En estas vacaciones pude hacer el esfuerzo de enviar a la profesora más activa y participativa al curso de capacitación que Ania brinda cada año en Ica (al curso que yo fui). Por supuesto ella regresó muy motivada y con todo el material y las ganas de trabajar con su clase de 30 niños. Además piensa hablar con otros profesores e involucrar un poco más al director. Es una profesora que trabaja ahí hace 15 años y es muy influyente. Este año es probable que se dicte otro curso de capacitación por primera vez en Cusco. Estamos reuniéndonos para ver su plan de trabajo. Yo me dedico a asistirla por ahora pero quiero que más adelante se sienta la promotora principal de la escuela. Las niñas me extrañan así que voy una vez por semana a reunirme con ellas, por ahora. A veces me desmoralizo pensando que falta seguridad en la Tini, o otra vez, dañaron una planta, o se robaron algo, o está sucia y hay que limpiarla…pero luego recuerdo que todo tiene solución, que la profesora está realmente convencida y tiene ganas de trabajar voluntariamente, que la escuela, por iniciativa propia ha creado 3 áreas verdes más en toda la escuela, que otro profesor me ha enseñado orgulloso como ha plantado frutales con sus alumnos y que los niños que han formado el grupo de Tierra de Niños siguen queriendo que nos reunamos siempre y que sobretodo llevan en su corazón cariño , conciencia y alegría.
Aima Molinari

Ross Wehner, Executive Director, World Leadership School
2135 Gilpin Street
Denver, CO 80205
o: 303-679-3412, f: 303-945-2229, toll-free: 1-888-831-8109, http://www.worldleadershipschool.com/