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In April 2001
our founder arrived in Trujillo, Peru to put into practice certain
theories he had been working on designed to solve the growing problem
of school age children not receiving education. Throughout Latin
America between a fifth and a quarter of all children are not in
school.- most but not all of them are qualified Street Children.
He did not come unprepared. His first project for at risk children
was in 1960, and he started his first NGO in 1976.
In Trujillo he went right to work proving and disproving one theorem
after another. Sponsor 15 mothers clubs if every mother agreed to
let him get their children into school. Open a chain of free soup
kitchens for children who agreed to let him put them into school.
Use theatre, music and dance to captivate street children and register
them into school. Funding came from his own means and those of his
family.
Soon he was joined by others - teachers, social workers, psychologists,
service personnel and lots of university students; some were paid
staff, most were volunteers.
For three years he and his team struggled against ignorance, poverty,
indifference, corruption, mediocre results and what seemed to be
a conspiracy to cover up the true number of children being denied
their right to an education: (the Government said 96% of children
in Peru attend school, UNICEF quoted this figure) - but we produced
evidence showing that only 76% of the nations children were actually
in school. Since the magnitude of the problem is thus concealed,
no otherinstitution or ngo is dedicated to helping these children..
During this period lots of extremely poor children did get fed,
clothed, medicated and educated; by us: but never enough fast enough
to be considered "The Solution" ..
Then in early 2004 we began to implement what later developed into
our current, effective solution to locating, recruiting and educating
street children. Since then we have implemented this solution throughout
Peru, and since 2006 have been introducing it into other Latin American
countries.
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Here are a few
of the Projects undertaken by
Bruce Organisation
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In Peru (& all Latin America),
for the many school age children not attending, we have developed
a very successful means of educating them up to the standard
of children their age who are in school. We prepare them to
pass the entrance for the grades they belong in. We help pay
their registration fees, uniforms, class materials. Then we
support them
in school for two years: until they are well launched on their
way education.
[The
challenge: 26% of Peru´s & 20+% of all LA, the poorest,
remain uneducated]
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Education have invited
us to install our informal schools for at-risk children,
which the Ministry of Education has until now been unable
to reach, within sellected primary and secondary schools.
We agreed to operate a pilot for two years, and thereafter
have worked: in several public and private schools in
Peru.. |
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| The venue was the July 2008 WHO nursing conference held in Israel and attended
by health care officials from 33 countries.. Nancy and
her husband, Tom Palmer, MD, have conducted annual clinics
for our children and parents beginning in 2005.
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Street
Kids 2010 - Time to
re-exmine our approach to helping street children and the families
they come from..
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News - The Ministry of Education, Peru, has announced that
each child being taught in one of Bruce Organisation´s informal
schools, who has successfully completed one year as a Bruce Org student,
will be awarded the same certificate as all students in the Peruvian
Education System: for having completed one year of school. [For now
this applies only to the Department of La Libertad]. Of course we
are absolutely delighted, grateful for the recognition and thrilled
for the children. When this privilege is extended to all Provences,
and the Government adopts our programme as its own solution for out-of-school
children: then we can all become friends |
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Dilema
Faces Latin American Schools,
Out-of-school
kids and challenges to any who help. |
 GARBAGE
PATCH KIDS |
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Regional
dump - where .hundreds of children and mums live
on roting garbage, breathing toxic fumes. |
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LINkS
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THE
RIGHT TO EDUCATION
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We
have been getting enough street kids into school via our carefully
worked out method that by early 2006 we started petitioning
the Govt. to incorporate this into their methodology.. |
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Our
raison d'ętre is to get street children educated,
& to
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eradicate poverty in urban slums. |
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Peru, for example, many school age children are not in school. We
have developed a way to recruit these children, educate them to make
up for all the years they have missed. Prepare them to pass the entrance
examinations for the grades they belong in. We help pay their registration
fees, uniforms, class materials. Then we support them in school for
two years: until they are well launched as young people becoming educated.
It works... [+
mums earn financial indepencence] |
Govt. Convention Recognises Bruce Organisation Success
ibid/ recognising Bruce
Peru´s, success at informal education, the Peruvian Government
have agreed to pay selected teachers. |
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Volunteer
Bruce Organisation -
Where you get to write your volunteer job
description
- (So
long as you volunteer job helps educate street children
or eradicate poverty - within our proven systems
& programmes.) |
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Below
are NGOs, Charities and projects directed by Bruce Org
volunteers (A few are now independent).
Note: Most were conceived, started
& funded by Bruce, inaugurated by professionals,
then turned over to volunteers to run. [Very
few abused this opportunity]
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For
years
Bruce Organisation in Peru helped and were helped by
good friends
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More
Bruce Starts
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The
founder.of
Volunteer Bruce Org served as Director or advisor to
several
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David
and Vickie, founders Hogar De Esperanza, orphanage and
El Rancho, refuge for street children on drugs. |
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Cesar
and Marleni (founders of Emaus Trujillo)
at Bruce Peru in 2001; the continuation of a 30 year union
between Bruce and Emmaus |
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Blanca
at Bruce Peru, she replaced Andres, who started Mundo
de Niños in Trujillo the same month as Bruce Peru.
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Hm.Lila,
Director of one of several ´Fe y Alegria´schools
where our little childrens educatiopnal centres function
wherever they can fit us in. |
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Micro
Enterprizes: Fish Farm
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Manos
de Pas is a movable shelter for battered women and their
children, Bruce Peru has sponsored moves & Manos,
protected our moms and kids.. |
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Circlo
Solidario provides Bruce Peru with the use of one of its
sturdy buildings whenever we enter one of their barrios.. |
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Santo
Tomaso has provided good teachers and practitioners to
our schools, and Bruce Peru has helped sponsor a small
part of their work. |
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Rotary
Club has sponsored some projects and not a few children
of Bruce Peru. |
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Red Cross of Trujilolo
are partnering with Bruce Org to bring permanent t community
health to the barrios. |
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Lions
Clubs have been associated with Bruce Org since our arrival,
here we are with the founder of Lions Clubs Trujillo. |
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Most
of Bruce Org´s early staff and volunteers came from
UPAO, as did two Administrators of Bruce Peru. |
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Peru´s Volunteer
Fire Departments - maybe the best National charity. Bruce
Org gives LAN, they save our kids.. |
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UCV propvides
most of the interns in Bruce Org´s poverty eradication
projects, and all of our Psychologists. |
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New Hope International
is doing good work in Trujillo, some projects in colaboration
with Bruce Organisation. |
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The police of Peru participate
with Bruce Organisation involving at-risk teens. Their
band plays at our anniversary. |
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The Nastional University
of Peru, Trujillo have provided all our social workers
and many treachers. Hosted our Economic & Nutrition
Forums. |
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Bruce Org and San Lucas
have partnered in Alta Trujillo over several years. They
are among our best friends in this work. |
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CampoSol
and Bruce Org collaborated to provide more than 10 tonnes
of nutritious food to our children and mothers. |
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KinderZon, the Dutch charity
have been wonderful partners with Bruce Organisation in
our projects for street children in Lima, Quito and Panama
City. |
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We
salute our Volunteers who keep returning
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(While
many others still work with us in their home countries)
When we started our volunteer program we didn't
dream so many kind talented people would take up
the challenge of aiding 's poorest children as their
own personal project. Thank you all. |
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Quiet Irishman
sponsors and names a school after his Alma
Mater back home.
Gavin Molloy,
with help from some generous friends has
patroned "Scoil losa"school
in the barrio La Esperansa
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So far 24 children are attending. |
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 Volunteer
Life at Bruce - Photos of volunteers who
have served or are serving at the various centres of Bruce.
Also photos of some of our children in class, & at
play. |
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It takes 2 Years !.
When we find a child, convince the mother to let us
get him or her educated, take them into our little school,
give them their first lessons; finally get them up to
the level of education for their age, and matriculate
them into a state school (paying for uniforms and all
expenses): our work for that child is only just begun
(2 years)
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Above are club meetings 7
June 2006We continue to work with each child, and
will do so for the next two years. Visiting every month
for a "Club Meeting" , at which we monitor their
progress, give prizes, work with their techers, our Social
Workers see how things are going at school, at home: and
we pay for wehatever their parents cannon or will not.
We do this for two years. |
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HIV / AIDS pandemic thrives
in Latin America
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Sherrill
Musty, the publisher of the book "WHAT'S A
VIRUS ANYWAY |
The UN has declared
that the number infected with HIV/AIDS in Latin
America is greater than that of Europe and the USA
combined. If you live in one of these countries
you would not know this - it is not reported in
the media, talked about in the chambers of Government.
They are in denial. But we know it is there, children
and families in the communities we help are suffering:
and there is little help available. |
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 For
over three decades Latin America has endured the unenviable
distinction of having more street children per capita than
any place on earth. What is less known is that for every child
who sleeps in the street there are 300 more in practically
the same condition who live on the street by day but at night
sleep under a plastic sheet or in a woven read or adobe hovel
with their siblings. Both are classed as "Street Children",
the distinction being 'IN' the street, as opposed to 'ON'
the street [those 'IN' are more likely to be addicted to drugs].
When we first arrived in Peru we worked with both types of
Street Children, but for the past three years we have concentrated
our efforts and resources in helping the much larger but less
known population of Street Children who live On the street;
those abandoned in their own homes. During this time we have
managed to open hub centres in 8 cities, with 24 satellite
children's centres located in the poorest barrios: where we
educate, feed, medicate and care for them Won't
you join us!. |
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The
Ministry of Education have
invited us to install our little schools for very
poor children within sellected primary and secondary
schools. We have agreed to operate a pilot in one
school, and if the relationship works: will consider
others. |
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| Street kids,
..........They come
to us
..........as they are;
we make of
them
..........what they let us |
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