And the Winners Are (and yes, a drum roll please)...

In the spirit of the award season, LLI is announcing our own winners! For the month of February, LLI held a contest to recognize the highest test score in each English and French class for ages 6-15.

The prize? A brand new backpack full of school supplies. Kids were excited about new folders, fresh markers, cool erasers and more. School starts this week, so our winners were ready with new gear. Backpacks were packed with pencils, notebooks, folders, markers/crayons, erasers, pens, scissors, glue, rulers, compasses, pencil sharpeners, ABC games (for little ones!), jump ropes and/or jacks.

Why a backpack and school supplies?

In one of our meetings with mothers of our students in Zone Z in February, it came up that several families struggle to afford the long list of school supplies (the average list costs about 500 soles/175 USD) for every child. Although LLI is unable to provide backpacks to all participants (over 140 this semester!), we decided to offer a contest in every class to help alleviate the burden of some families. Kids got very excited and eagerly awaited the results from their teachers (pictured above... French students gathering around to see the contents of the new backpack).

So onto the winners...!

Zone D:

Alessa (also perfect attendance for January/February)

Anel (also perfect attendance for January/February)

Erick (also perfect attendance for January/February)
Mao and Renzo (tie!)
Gabriela (French II)

Deysi (French I)

Zone Z:
Valery (Los Alamos; also perfect attendance for January/February)
Deysi (UCV 232)
Anabella (UCV 232)
Mery Jane (UCV 231)
Andrea (UCV 231)
Xiomara (UCV 231)

Zone S:

Natividad

Valery in Los Alamos (Zn Z) showing off her new backpack

Gabriela and French teacher Lorene Mermin

Natividad with her backpack in Zone S

Anel and English teacher Lauren Kenyon


Andrea with her new backpack.

Special thanks to all LLI's volunteers for teaching this summer and to our supporters for giving us the opportunity to do such contests! In total, 13 backpacks were given out. THANK YOU!

Published by Lara DeVries on behalf of Light and Leadership. For more information, visit www.lightandleadership.org. Special thanks to Connie Wood, Elizabeth Jongetjes for the photos... and for being great volunteers, too.

Say "FROMAGE!"

French teacher and volunteer, Lorene, and a few of her French students say "Fromage" (or "cheese!") as they wrap up the summer session of French classes. Exams are this week!

Stay tuned for who achieved the highest score on their test... and who won a backpack with lots of great school supply goodies.

Published by Lara DeVries on behalf of Light and Leadership. Looking to volunteer? We have opportunities in our French and English education programs starting August 2011. Apply now at www.lightandleadership.org

WANTED: You.

Just a friendly invitation to join us in Huaycan this August - December! LLI is currently looking for volunteer English teachers to work with kids and women from August 1st - December 12th. We NEED you!

Are you a student? Just recently graduated? Complete an internship with us in English Education! We are looking for one to two Interns/Volunteers.

Not a student? Not recently graduated? We still want you here :) No matter your age* or current college standing, fill out an application online to volunteer now!


*Only half true, must be 18 or older.

Nutrition: More Than Just Fruit and Veggies.

This past Tuesday, LLI kicked off its women's program for 2011 with a Nutrition workshop. Elida, Huaycan's hospital's nutritionist, kindly volunteered her time and led a workshop to thirteen women in Zone Z.

Elida led the women through eating a balanced diet and lifestyle. She specifically focused on nutrition for kids, starting with nutrition during pregnancy. What did we learn? Nutrition is so much more than eating your "choclo" (Peruvian corn) every day. It's about balance. It's about understanding what nutritional value our favorite Peruvian dishes offer us, or what they don't. It's about making sure Huaycan's (and all over the world) kids get accustomed at an early age to eating right. And lastly, it's about making the right decisions about nutrition for yourself, so that your family follows in your footsteps!

Special thanks to Elida and to Sarah Renkert, LLI's house manager, for organizing the workshop. We look forward to the next workshop in March!

Interested in working with our Women's Program long term? We are looking for a program manager to start asap in Huaycan! Please view our internship/volunteer opportunity here and apply if the position is right for you (advanced Spanish skills a must)!

Zone Z's women's group

Published by Lara DeVries on behalf of the Light and Leadership Initiative. Thanks to Enora Guerinel for the provided photos. For more information, please visit www.lightandleadership.org.

UBELONG Visits Light and Leadership!

Light and Leadership had the pleasure of hosting UBELONG's first Expedition group for a day in Huaycan last month. Thank you to the entire Expedition group and to the founders of UBELONG, Cedric Hodgeman and Raul Roman for such an incredible day! See you all back soon :)

Check out more of the good work UBELONG is doing in Lima and elsewhere around the world on their website.

Published by Lara DeVries on behalf of Light and Leadership. Special thanks to Cedric Hodgeman for the photo provided above.

Q&A with Sarah Renkert: Why Keyboarding Rocks.

Just this month, LLI opened up its long anticipated Computer Education program. Sarah Renkert, LLI's volunteer house manager, has taken the reigns of the program and has developed a basic keyboarding curriculum, which includes a pen pal program. Read on to learn about Sarah's take on the program:

Why do you enjoy teaching keyboarding with LLI?

The greatest part about the keyboarding and basic computing course is that the women are enthusiastic and truly seem excited to be enrolled. Thus far I have had 100% attendance and nothing but positive reactions. Overall, it is really wonderful to have a class where the women come, not out of obligation, but because they truly want to learn and feel that material will be beneficial to their everyday lives. This feedback really drives me to continue developing and improving the course.

What are the levels of your students? Were they at a higher or lower level that you had thought?

While we do have a couple more advanced students, the overall computing level of the women is quite low. The majority needed instruction on how to use both a mouse and basic keys. Admittedly, I was expecting the women to have a slightly higher understanding. Several homes in Huaycan do have personal computers and for those who don’t, cheap Internet cafes are available. Nonetheless, it is easy to forget that without basic instruction, approaching a computer would be extremely intimidating.

Why do you think computer skills/typing skills are important for women to have? Why do you think they signed up for the course?

There is no doubt that computers will continue to play an ever growing and integral role in the Peruvian job sector. Therefore, learning basic skills such as typing and general computer functions could potentially lead to greater economic opportunities for the women. On a personal level, the women will gain confidence by measuring their own progress and improvement, while also feeling secure in their ability to both approach and successfully use a computer.

Can you explain the pen pal program and what it brings to the keyboarding class?

The pen pal program in itself is a very straightforward project. In each class, the last half an hour is specifically set aside for the women to write a letter to a former Light and Leadership volunteer. The LLI volunteers will then write a letter in return that same week. The goal is to continue this program throughout the length of the course. I truly believe that the pen pal program will be dually beneficial for both the women in the course and the participating former LLI volunteers. For the women in Huaycan, they are able to continue practicing and developing their typing skills in a more applied manner, which is unquestionably more exciting than copying text straight from the typing program. In addition, the women are able to build cross-cultural friendships, while those who had personal relationships with the former volunteers are able to stay in touch. From the volunteer perspective, the girls [volunteers] are able to continue playing an active role in Light and Leadership, while also staying updated on life in Huaycan.

LLI now offers three sessions of computer classes to a total of 12 women. The program session will run until the end of July. We'll be looking forward to some great WPM results!

Published by Lara DeVries on behalf of the Light and Leadership Initiative. Special thanks to Louella DeVries for the photos. Looking to volunteer? Visit www.lightandleadership.org.

Starting 2011 off right!

Light and Leadership is having a really busy, but great, January!

January 10th kicked off our new year of programs. English, French, chess, math, physical education, art, computer and dance classes were full swing last week across Zone D, Z, I, and S. These programs will run until the end of our summer term, February 25th.

We've opened up a few new locations for classes:

• Zone Z UCV 231 previously only had been offered English for adolescents 14 years and up. This year, we've began working with 6-13 year olds as well! Twice a week, kids now are offered an hour English lesson and a half hour of physical education. In addition, our chess program was opened up to 10 years and up!
• Zone Z UCV 232 gladly welcomed chess classes! Every Thursday, 6 kids wait to call "jaque mate" or "check mate" and celebrate their victory. Stay tuned for Chess tournament results early next month.
• In Zone D, Sarah Renkert, LLI's house manager, began offering basic keyboarding classes to 12 women (3 different sections of classes) to much success! Stay tuned for WPM updates :)

In addition, LLI hosted Trinity Christian College's Interim group's Day Camp! For five days, 14 Light and Leadership kids participated in educational workshops involving Environmental, Artistic, and Linguistic themes! Excellent job Trinity :) Check out more pictures on their blog here. Special thanks to Katty Allcca Rojas, LLI student and volunteer, for helping out with the Day Camp. Couldn't have done it without you!

Look out next week for another update, as LLI has been quite busy this month and we show no signs of slowing down! For now, enjoy the photos below!

Chess in Zone D (also in Zone Z 231, 232!)

Monica and Mao in Zone D after the TCC Interim Day Camp

Dinner with all friends and volunteers of LLI. Thanks Louella!

Published by Lara DeVries, on behalf of the Light and Leadership Initiative. Special thanks to Louella DeVries and Amy Ravenhorst for the photos. Please visit www.lightandleadership.org for more information on how to get involved in LLI's programs!