East Lancashire students help poorest in Peru (From Lancashire Telegraph)
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East Lancashire students help poorest in Peru
5:00pm Thursday 20th September 2012 in News
By Emma Cruces, Reporter
STUDENTS from an East Lancashire school have been helping Peru’s poorest people.
Stonyhurst College students spent three weeks working with a mission organised by the Diocese of Salford in, and around, the shanty towns of Pamplona, near Lima.
Teenagers from the Clitheroe boarding and day school repainted the wall and steps of the area’s soup kitchen, and looked after small children, who came to eat their meals there.
The young people also taught classes to primary children, helped at the disabled children’s school, and held a party at the Old People’s Community Centre, complete with a dancing competition.
After raising funds in Clitheroe before their departure, the students were also able to supply baskets of food to the area’s poorest families.
They even helped in the construction of a church which, by the time they left Peru, had foundations and walls.
The five students were James Powell, 17, from Clitheroe, Charly Redmond, 17, from Rossendale, Steffi Link, 17, from Cheshire, Gloria Fernandez, 17, from Madrid, and Natalya Filvarova, 17, from the Ukraine.
School staff member Dawn Johnson said: “With the aid of sponsorship, they were able to deliver many food baskets to the poorest families around Pamplona and, having seen the scale of poverty there, they were really grateful for that.”
While in Lima, students also visited the schools of Villa Caritas and San Pedro for a cultural exchange. The group gave presentations about the ten best things about England, including Harry Potter, Shakespeare and rugby.
Charlotte Redmond, Stonyhurst head girl, said: “One of the worst realities is that many people move from their beautiful, scenic mountain villages in search of non-existent jobs and education for their children in Lima, and then live in the muddy, unsanitary shanty towns around the capital.
“There are many projects emerging to make a difference, but the need is just enormous.”
