Andean Travel Web Second-hand Clothing, Toy and School Equipment Appeal 2003

With your help we want to collect as many clothes, toys, school books and equipment to distribute to some of the most needy communities in the mountains of Southern Peru. When you come to Peru just bring a few extra items that you no longer need to our office and we'll distribute them, it's as simply as that. If you haven't any room in your bags then we can help you purchase some second-hand clothes and equipment whilst you are here in Peru. With the help of a local tour operator we'll also be offering day trips to visit some of these communities which will help pay towards the cost of distribution.

About our second-hand clothing appeal.

Our clothing and equipment appeal is very simple scheme for all visitors to participate in.  Before you come to Peru just have a look around your house to find any clothes that you no longer need and bring them with you when you come to Peru and drop them off in our office in Cusco. Of course we don't expect you'll have much room in your suitcase so just one or two items is fine. If you leave the items at our office in Cusco we'll guarantee to find a person who will really appreciate your gifts. By working with a local tour operator we will also be offering day trips to visit some of the communities and schools to help pay towards the costs of distribution. During the trips we may even have time for a picnic or a game of football against the local kids (dependent on acclimatization to the altitude!) 

What type of items do we need to bring? (a) Clothes: Babies and children's clothes of all types, Adults clothes (mainly warm sweaters, jackets and waterproof clothing). Exclusions: please no underwear, socks etc. All clothing must be washed and clean prior to donation.  (b) Toys: All types but not battery operated.  (c) Picture books (all languages) and children's books in Spanish.  (d) Other items: Sleeping bags, backpacks, walking boots.

Who is going to benefit from the Andean Travel Web Appeal? (a) Children and Adults from the smaller communities in the mountains of Southern Peru. These communities include villages in the Sacred Valley which often see many tourists but do not benefit financially from them. We also want to help some of the communities in the valleys north of Ollantaytambo which supply many of the porters for the Inca Trail as well as communities in the Lares Valley. As the appeal gains in popularity we hope to extend the region covered by the distribution to some communities around the Ausangate mountain and also between Cusco and Lake Titicaca. (b) Children staying in several orphanages in Cusco and the Sacred Valley. (c) Porters on the Inca trail. We hope to help with waterproof jackets and possibly warm sleeping bags.

Why shouldn't I just give the presents directly to the children?

If you are coming to Peru and staying with a local family (such as on some of the islands of Lake Titicaca) then it is a good idea to bring a few items from home to give directly to the families as presents. Even small gifts such as postcards of your hometown will be greatly appreciated. If, however, you are walking around in one of the cities or visiting a local village market it is not a good idea to hand out presents in the street. Not only does this encourage children to beg but it also highlights the wide gap in wealth between tourists and locals. Giving a warm sweater to a child may make that child very happy (and keep him warm) but you will quickly find a line of children following you around with their hands outstretched asking for their gifts. For every child that you make happy in this way you are sure to make 7 or 8 very unhappy and possibly resentful towards tourists. In popular tourist locations children can be very persistent and they have often learnt to tell a long sad story to gain the sympathies of  visitors. If you reward these children with clothes, shoes and money then their parents may sell the presents and send the children back on the streets again to bring back more gifts. With the average adult wage at about US$3 per day, many of these children can earn more than their fathers. This just encourages more parents to stop sending their children to school and to send them out begging in the streets.

How does Andean Travel Web distribute the clothes and equipment?

Distribution of the items is an important part of the project. Driving to a village and handing out items to everyone that we meet would cause chaos and wouldn't ensure that the items are distributed fairly. Instead we decide upon a village to distribute the items and make a visit a few weeks in advance. We talk to the head of the village community and find out how many people are in that community and issue clothing (or gift) vouchers for each person in that community. The head of the village will be asked to distribute the vouchers amongst his community.  We then arrange a date and a time that we will return to distribute the clothes. When we return to the village each person with a voucher can exchange the voucher for an item of clothing, hopefully of the type and size that they prefer. If we are distributing to a community of 500 persons we will take a selection of about 800 clothes to ensure that everyone receive a suitable gift. 

If I can't bring anything with me from home, can I still help with the appeal once I am in Cusco?

If you would like to help our appeal but can't find any suitable items to bring from home or haven't got the spare space to bring them then you can still help us once you arrive in Cusco.  You can help us in several ways. There are many second hand clothing shops in the markets of Cusco where you could buy suitable clothing at very cheap prices. For US$20 you could buy a bag full of suitable items. However these shops are not located in particularly safe areas of Cusco so if you come to our office in Cusco we can arrange for someone to go with you to these shops to help get the best bargains. Of course you may want to buy school books or pens, pencils etc for a local school so we can help you with that as well. 

If I leave things at your office in Cusco, how do I know you'll distribute them fairly?

When you leave items at our office in Cusco we'll ask you to register your items in our project log book. We'll ask for you name, email address and a brief description of the items you are donating. We'll keep a file of our distributions including details of the items distributed, the date and village, as well as a photographic journal of each distribution. All will be available for inspection in our office. We will also transfer this information onto our web site which will be updated on a quarterly basis with news of the appeal's progress. Companies can also make donations either in equipment or financially.

Clothing Distributions carried out to date:

Lares Valley (approx cost US$900): On 22 March 2003 Andean Travel Web made our first clothing distribution in the Valley of Lares. With the support of several tour operators (Adventure Life, Enigma, Peru Treks & Adventure, Tropical Nature Travel & Tucan) and many kind individuals we provided plenty of warm clothes, cake and hot chocolate to over 250 children and adults from the Andean communities of Cucani and Quisuarani. >> Photo Journal

Lamay, Sacred Valley "Casa de Milagros" Orphanage (approx cost US$180): 18 Children. Distribution date 27 March 2003. Approximate 100 items of clothing donated (approx value US$100) for 18 children from the orphanage Casa de Milagros in Lamay, Sacred Valley. With the support of several tour operators (Adventure Life, Enigma, Peru Treks & Adventure, Tropical Nature Travel & Tucan). US$60 worth of school equipment including paper, crayons, colored pencils, paints, brushes, and pencils were also donated. >> Photo Journal

Lares Valley (approx cost US$415): On 24 May 2003 Andean Travel Web returned to the Valley of Lares to make a clothing distribution to the community of Cancha Cancha which missed out on out previous distribution in March. With the support of the tour operators GAP (Canada) and Peru Treks & Adventure (Peru) and many individuals we provided warm clothes, cake and hot chocolate to about 170 children. >> Photo Journal

Ccorao Scool (between Cusco and Pisac); 10 December 2003, Distribution of warm clothes and Christmas presents >> Photos

Lares Valley, community of Cucani (approx cost US$400) 02 May 2004, Warm clothing for about 150 children and adults. Sponsored by Peru Treks & Adventure >> Photos

Checaspampa near Tinqui, Ausangate (approx cost US$450). 17 May 2004, Warm clothing to about 100 children and 15 adults in a remote mountain community. Sponsored by Peru Treks & Adventure >> Photos

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Office Address: Calle Garcilaso 265, interior patio 2nd floor, Cusco, Peru (just 2 minutes walk from the main Plaza de Armas). If you are coming to Cusco please bring a couple of second hand clothes, toys, school equipment and drop them off in our office. We will help distribute the items to people who really need them in small village schools and communities in the Andes. For more details visit our web page www.andeantravelweb.com/peru/projects  A map of our office can be found by clicking here.

Copyright Andean Travel Web 2000-2004. All material used within this web site is original work and is subject to international copyright law. Unauthorized reproduction is strictly prohibited without prior permission from the editor. This web page was last updated in June 2004.