Partnership with Helping Hands
Project Profile
Based in Cusco–once the center of the Inca Empire, and now a bustling city in the southern mountains of Peru– Helping Hands (www.helpinghandscusco.com) works to improve the lives of disadvantaged women and children. The text below indicates their need for volunteers and other resources. We are proud to represent the work of this organization on our website, and we hope that Helping Hands will benefit from being part of the Omprakash network. To learnmore about ways that you can support Helping Hands, contact willy@omprakash.org or Mario at mariodiazugarte@yahoo.com.
Partnership History
Helping Hands has been an Omprakash partner since March, 2008.
-In April, 2008, Omprakash gave $40 to help buy books for the Helpìng Hands school.
-In May, 2008, Omprakash donated $300 to buy art supplies for the Helping Hands school. These supplies were delivered to Cusco by a group of volunteers from Saratoga, NY.
Need for Volunteers
The Helping Hands school in Cusco is funded entirely by donations, and thus can employ only one 
full-time teacher. However, the project´s directors, Mario and Rosa, are trying their hardest to find ways to expand the reach of their program, and eagerly hope to receive the help of volunteers. Spanish-speaking volunteers could contribute to the growth of this inspiring project in the following ways:
-Help teach reading, mathematics, and the other basic subjects that are already being taught from 8:30-12:30 and 2:30-5:30 five days a week.
-Introduce art, physical education, and other subjects that are not yet being taught at the school. Mario and Rosa also want to initiate a Reading Program, and need volunteers to read to the children every day and also to manage the school´s book collection.
-Help Mario and Rosa initiate a “street school” so that children working in the streets of Cusco can still receive some education.
-Volunteer during January and February, so that Helping Hands could initiate a summer-school program. At the moment, the school is forced to close during these months because no teachers are available.
-Help Mario and Rosa reach their long-term vision of founding a new high-school in Cusco. At the moment, Helping Hands teaches students only up to age 13, and then hopes that they can be admitted into local high-schools. However, with additional human and material resources, the school could potentially expand to offer education to children until the age of 18.
Need for Material Resources
The Helping Hands school is constantly in need of the following resources:
-Basic school supplies- pencils, notebooks, etc.
-Elementary-level books in Spanish.
-Art supplies, especially oil paints.
-Clothes for the children.
If you are a volunteer coming to Helping Hands, please try to collect some of these items in your home community and carry them with you. If you cannot volunteer at Helping Hands, but would like to try to meet these material needs in another way, please contact willy@omprakash.org.
Below, please find two short videos of Helping Hands. Learn more about the social context in Cusco and the mission and future plans of Helping Hands>>