April, 2005

Happy Spring to all our friends in the
Northern Hemisphere! Today is news day and Q’ewar invites everyone to
read the new Menu selection “Education". There you will find news of
our newly opened Waldorf- inspired Kindergarten. Professor Lourdes
presides over a clutch of eager children!

The construction of
the new bathrooms for the Q’ewar workers has begun. There will be
separate sections for both women and their children, and men –
including needed showers.

Tina, Q’ewar’s volunteer from
Berlin, Germany, has been working at Q’ewar since the 10th of March.
She is a bright, cheerful multi-lingual young woman who helps in the
Kingergarten and the doll workshop, as well as using her unique lingual
talents in the Q’ewar Shop on the Plaza, visited by tourists from
around the world.

Maize (corn) is being harvested now, with
the coming of Autumn. Abundant vegetables have ripened and all those
who are integrated into the Project are welcome to take what they need
for their families.

Director Lucy has recently taken a
course in nutrician, given to Mayors’ Assistants in Cuzco. The village
of Andahuaylillas has one of the strongest evidences of childhood
malnutrician in a wide area around the Village. The most dramatic
evidence of this problem is the teeth of the youngest children. Given
white sugar candies, drinks, cakes, etc. at ALL hours of the day (cheap
energy food), the children’s teeth quickly decay in the absence of any
mouth hygiene. Again, it is an economic reality: A mother can pay a
dentist $1.55 (5 soles) to pull the child’s decayed tooth – rather than
pay out $7.70 (25 soles) to have the tooth repaired. One Q’ewar mother
whose 5 year old child had a mouthful of literally rotton baby teeth,
just pulled them all out herself. This caused much trauma in the child,
and her subsequent three years of growth have not been normal.

Nutrician
and dental care are just two of the many themes that the Q’ewar Project
is tackling among the women. Much educational work remains to be done,
but little by little, progress IS being made. (See last month’s
newsletter)

We hope to have new photos of the Kindergarten,
Wawa Munakuy, for you by the middle of the month, plus more news from
Professor Lourdes.

Thank you for your support of this worthy project in the highlands of Southern Peru!
Yours, from Lucy, Julio, Carmen and Lourdes

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