Read about Xeina and her experience at McDaniel college, our donor spotlight for Amanda VandenBosch, the latest Peru tour, Quechua Benefit’s partnership with ONEHOPE, the screening of Vicuña Salvation in Graz, Austria, and other upcoming events.
GAW-Newsletter-7.2-8.5×11
Join us as we celebrate the graduating class of 2022! Our students faced so many challenges during the COVID pandemic. With their determination, hard work and your support, they are ready for the next step of their education journey!
Pictured above, in their red Casa Chapi uniforms, is our proud graduating class of 13 students. They will graduate Casa Chapi this month and move to our Arequipa campus to begin secondary school in March 2023.
From our Arequipa campus, we want to celebrate the following students on their upcoming graduation from Paola Frasinetti Secondary School this year.
We also heard from our Casa Chapi alumni who are currently at University.
Alex
Age: 16 years old. He has been at Casa Chapi since he started 1st grade in 2013.
Hobbies: Reading about current famous people and painting portraits and landscapes.
Favorite school subject: Language, literature, and history.
Career aspiration: Lawyer to defend poor people.
Abdon
Age: 17 years old. He has been at Casa Chapi since he started 2nd grade in 2013.
Hobbies: Drawing, painting, and playing football (soccer).
Favorite school subject: Math
Career aspiration: Technical career
Scian
Age: 17 years old. He has been at Casa Chapi since he started 5th grade in 2016.
Hobbies: Playing guitar and fixing cell phones.
Favorite school subject: Physics and math
Career aspiration: Systems Engineer
Miguel
Age: 18 years old. He has been at Casa Chapi since he started 4th grade in 2014.
Hobbies: Sports
Favorite school subject: Math
Career aspiration: Aviation Pilot
Florina
Age: 17 years old. She has been at Casa Chapi since she started 3rd grade in 2015.
Hobbies: Dancing
Favorite school subject: Language and literature.
Career aspiration: Psychologist (desire to help children and poor families).
Current University Students / Casa Chapi Alumni
Jairol entered National University of Saint Augustine (UNSA) in Arequipa City this year. He is studying Geological Engineering.
Maria Fernanda is studying Business Administration at SENATI, a technical institute in Arequipa City.
Ronald has been studying Business Administration at SENATI since 2021.
Vidal will be studying to be a chef this year at Institute.
Isaac is studying at SENATI and should finish in 2023.
We thank our donors for the opportunity to make higher education possible for these students, and others like them. For those who have not donated and are interested, please click the button below.
Don’t forget! Our students are in need of encouragement as they transition into different grades, change schools, and graduate. Read all the details here.
Congratulations to the Casa Chapi class of 2022! Read about our Vicuña Salvation premiere in Picotani and Arequipa. Celebrate our ribbon cutting of the first phase of our Picotani Water Project, read our donor spotlight, how the Holiday Bazaar went, and results of End of Year Giving!
GAW-Newsletter-7.1-8.5×11Your support makes Casa Chapi possible. Find out how to become part of the family and pledge your support for Casa Chapi here.
Our students are in need of encouragement as they transition into different grades, change schools, and graduate. We are inviting our community to send some positive thoughts to help our students (kindergarten thru college) continue to thrive. The pandemic has caused some insecurities for some our students and they just need an extra boost and some positive vibes. This could be in the form of a letter, a drawing, a video, etc.
Feel free to address a single student or a class.
We look forward to hearing from you!
Please send your messages to info@quechuabenefit.org or mail it to: 11785 SW River Rd., Hillsboro, OR 97123.
We have received updates from some of our students at Casa Chapi. They are doing really well and loving school. Read the letters below written by each of the students, translated from Spanish to English.
Hello, how are you?
Nice to communicate with you! I want to tell you that I am doing well in my studies.
At Casa Chapi there are fun things like workshops. My favorite workshop is the knitting workshop because I can learn how to knit my own scarf!
We have five pets named Chocolate, Ringo, Sashi, and Bichota. We also have other animals like cats, dogs, guinea pigs and pigs. My favorite pet is the little dog, Bichota.
I like to use the sports field. My favorite course is Science and Technology. I like it because it talks about plants and the human body.
I like Casa Chapi because they teach me to be an educated girl. I also like it because there is hot water because it is very cold in Chivay.
Greetings,
Brighith Calachua Quispe (6th Grade)
Hello, how are you?
Pleasure to communicate with you. I have something to tell you.
I really like Casa Chapi because I like teachers and my dreams come true here.
There is hot water in the bathrooms, because Chivay is so cold. I like all the plants at Casa Chapi.
My favorite subject is Social Science because I like to learn about my country: Perú.
At Casa Chapi, there are funny things like weaving workshop, music workshop, and this last workshop I like because I can sing loud and make high singing notes!
We have some pets. We have dogs and a cat. Their names are Chocolate and Chavela, and we have other animals like guinea pigs, pigs and ducks.
I hope you could come here very soon, I would like to eat my favorite dish with you: Pastel de papa.
Greetings.
Edmir Chuquimamani (4th Grade)
Hello. I like to communicate with you.
I like the food and fruits they give us in Casa Chapi.
My favorite subject is Communication because I like to read.
I like Casa Chapi because I can learn more every day. I also like that there is hot water and I can take a bath and be clean.
At Casa Chapi, there are fun things to do such as workshops. My favorite workshops are music workshop because I can learn to sing. I also like the knitting workshop because I learned how to knit my own scarf!
I am also doing well in my studies.
I hope you come soon to eat my favorite dish: Pastel de papa.
Greetings,
Isabel Karina Ccaza Mendoza (6th Grade)
Hello. I am glad to communicate with you!
I tell you that I am doing well in my studies.
I like Casa Chapi because my aunts treat me. There is hot water here and I can clean myself frequently and be healthy. I like having my own bed also.
My favorite subject is Math because with numbers, I can learn a lot of things.
At Casa Chapi we all get along well and I really like it. Music workshop has all my attention because I love to learn to sing.
We have pets and their names are: Chocolate, Shashi, Chavela, Ringo and Bichota and also we have other animals like Guinean pigs and ducks.
I hope you can come here really soon and cook things like Chicharrón de alpaca to eat.
Best regards to you,
Rosalin Chipa Inca (6th Grade)
Simon is a Norwegian student with an interest in Quechua culture. He documents his experiences and findings here.
I am a Norwegian student from Oslo, currently writing my bachelor thesis in Development Studies at the University of Oslo. My thesis concerns: Exploring and identifying essential factors to Peruvians of Quechua origin and their identity with or resistance to the Quechua culture.
Peruvians of Quechua origin either reject or uphold their Quechua identity. The main findings in this study demonstrate that cultural identity issues continue to persist, and are often inter-woven in complex structures affected by social, cultural and economic factors.
One of the most interesting findings is that gender should not be seen as an isolated factor but in conjunction with social mobility and rural-urban environments where males are less willing to uphold their cultural Quechua identity and females limitations in social mobility.
A female from Maca emphasized how connected she and the Maca community are with the preservation of their cultural identity by addressing the importance of wearing traditional clothes and arranging competitions rewarding young Peruvians who perform in their native Quechua language. In contrast, her male cousin visiting from Arequipa expressed his dislike for the sound of the Quechua language and his lack of association with its culture.
Among the main observations is that tourism may potentially function as a pull factor, helping communities to resist cultural degradation by providing possible economic gains through the preservation of traditions and language.
Religious differences also arose during interviews (Catholicism versus Andean spiritualism). These variances are worth further investigation regarding the manner in which they influence Peruvians of Quechua origin to reject or uphold their Quechua identity.
In short, my findings involved social mobility, gender, rural vs. urban residence, economic empowerment, tourism, hybridization of Quechua, and intellectual bilingual educational policy (IBE).
My Journey in Peru
I reached out to Quechua Benefit for the possibility of volunteering as an English teacher at Casa Chapi.
Dale, Quechua Benefit’s Executive Director, connected me with long time Quechua Benefit supporters Robert Els, Maria Belen Juares Del Carpio, Kathe Torres and Abel Santander. They were a huge help to me while conducting interviews in Arequipa, Canon del Colca, Cusco and The Sacred Valley.
The warm and welcoming people of Quechua origin gave me insight into their way of looking at the world, which left me humbled, and inspired. I believe the world would likely be a better place if their worldview was shared with more people.