Group Project - Main Project

During the work days the Casady students have in Ollantaytambo, they will be working with children. Casady students will be able to engage children in arts and crafts activities, English classes, and discussions centered on pre-arranged topics.

Casady students will also commit to a singleschool-related infrastructure project, a playground. The materials to build this playground will be bought with the donations raised by the Casady students. This playground will be the first step towards building a planned children's park in Ollantaytambo, the goal of which is to build cultural and environmental awareness in Ollantaytambo's children.

We will be working this summer to begin the children's park of Ollantaytambo, which will be built on land donated by the school to the children of Ollantaytambo. The children themselves decide what will be done with this land .
There is also a possibility that it will be a recycling center.

I think what is appropriate at this point, since we don't want to rush the children's decision-making process, is that we talk in general terms about an infrastructure project on the children's playground. For more information about the organization behind this and other similar children park efforts around Peru, see:http://www.mundodeania.org/

I have as of April 16, 2008 $300 from students for this project. Parents were asked to donate $100 per child and the deadline is at their convenience by June 1. We are also trying to collect used cell phones for this purpose, but we have not had much luck. The Casady environmental club is helping our effort.

Personal Projects

Jake's Project: Jake will teach English and the kids from Ollantaytambo will teach him Spanish. Jake has contacted the Metropolitan Library Systems Outreach Coordinator and he will be receiving as many books as he can take to Peru from the Come and Read with Me Program. The donation expects a book in return. A book created by the children of Ollantaytambo about their village.

Jake will join efforts with Carmen Clay as the youth facilitator of:"In Our Global Village Project" Jake and Carmen will help the kids of Ollantaytambo create a book similar to the one created by kids in Tanzania: http://inourvillage.whatkidscando.org/. We have digital cameras, a laptop computer, and a process on how to create a book demonstrated to Carmen by Free Spirit Publishing http://www.freespirit.com/ at a workshop led at the publishing company by service-learning author Cathryn Berger Kaye, M.A during the 2008 National Service-Learning Conference in Minneapolis.

Next week we will be requesting additional funding for resources such as book writing software and a computer and video equipment for the village from the In our global village project http://inourvillage.whatkidscando.org/global_village_project.html and What Kids Can Do http://www.whatkidscando.org/ organization, as well as from the Do Something. org and Shinnyoen Foundation http://www.sef.org/grants.

Communication while in Peru

Will we hear from the group or you while you are on your trip? When Jake traveled to Costa Rica last year, we received updates form his advisor guide every other day or so via a group email. As you would imagine it allowed us as parents to rest a bit better while he was gone.
Anwers:
Ross: Yes, there is internet access and there will be a blog. It would be great to find a student who took personal care of organizing students to update it on a regular basis.
Students will be required to take turns updating this blog on a daily basis.
Jake: Mondays
Kendall: Tuesdays
Rosie: Wednesdays
Louisa: Thursdays
Mackenzie: Fridays
Nina: Saturdays
Grayson: Sundays
The same schedule will be followed sending this group e-mail to parents

Carmen: I have already set-up a blog which I will be updating while in Peru as often as time and schedule permits it. http://cyclonexploringpossibilities.blogspot.com/. Please check updates for students projects there now.

I have asked students participating in this trip to send me their project proposal this weekend. I have only received a formal proposal from Jake. Students can use the online project proposal available at http://www.casady.org/podium/default.aspx?t=107861 or simply e-mail clayc@casady.org.

Yellow Fever Vaccine NO LONGER NEEDED

I received the following message from Ross regarding "yellow fever shots."

I checked on the CDC web page and Yellow Fever is now not required for Cuzco and Machu Picchu. This is a change over the last six months and it must be based on the fact that Yellow Fever is no longer in these zones at al and has not been for some time. It was still required by the CDC six months ago when I last checked. Can you alert your parents to this change? Thanks for sending this along. I still would recommend the Typhoid booster, however, though parents should always follow the advice of their doctor. Ross