Recently I was honoured to write a guest post about the Peruvian-Japanese over at loneleeplanet. During my time living in Peru I have always been curious about the large number of Peruvians of Japanese descent (including former president Alberto Fujimori, born in Peru of Japanese parents), not to mention the strong influence of Japanese cuisine in the national diet.
I soon discovered that Peru has a long history of Japanese immigration. On April 3, 1899, some nine years before emigration to Brazil began (Brazil has the highest population of Japanese outside of Japan with 1.5 million), a group of 790 Japanese became the first to emigrate to Peru. Today they constitute around 0.3% of Peru’s population (estimated at nearly 90,000 in 2008) which is the second largest population of people with Japanese ancestry in Latin America after Brazil.
Read more of this fascinating piece of history in my article at Nikkeijin – The Japanese Peruvians.
Check out the amazing pics in the embedded video below.
Education is the easiest way for people to break out of the cycle of poverty. As well as supplying food and clothing to those in poverty, Sonrisasenperu.org aims to give those living in poverty the skills to have better opportunities in life. We have been sponsoring various classes for the children of Westfalia orphanage for over 3 years now. Situated in the dusty, dry hills 1 1/2 hours out of Lima, the orphanage is very remote and there are no shops, cinemas, parks or other such activities the children can get involved in.
We are currently organizing English classes, swimming classes and dance workshops (fusing different styles such as hip hop, salsa and traditional Peruvian dance). If you would like to help these projects, or any of the other projects we manage, you can help by clicking the donate button.
Colegio La Libertad recently had their school Christmas party. In association with the Cieneguilla Lions Club, Sonrisasenperu.org contributed funds which provided the children of remote La Libertad with presents including the same shoes we organised for Huerta Village, as well as books, toys and clothes. This money also provided for two nurses who conducted health checks on all the elderly of this small town.
It was a fun day for the children of this poor town to end their school year. There was singing, traditional Peruvian dancing and traditional Peruvian food and drinks. Thank you from the La Libertad town to all those who sent donations.
The Huerta Shoe Drive was a great success. We were able to purchase a pair of shoes for every child in Huerta Village as well as clothes and toys. It was an amazing day and the children were very happy. This village is extremely poor and I wish you could have seen the kids’ faces as they opened their presents to see their new shoes. They were looking at them like they were $300 designer shoes!
Thank you so much to those that donated or even spread the word amongst your friends. You really did make a difference in these childrens’ lives and you should feel proud! The shoes drive was such a success I was able to contribute funds to the Christmas party for La Libertad school (outside of Lima). The children received presents including the same shoes I purchased for Huerta Village as well as toys and/or clothes. Your funds also contributed toward the provision of two nurses for medical checks on the elderly of the village.
Sonrisas en Peru also donated some of the funds to Aldea Yanapay school in Cusco which was the first school I volunteered at in 2007. These funds will go toward two new social projects early next year including the building of a local orphanage!
Again, thank you for your contributions. Merry Christmas from the children of Huerta Village, La Libertad school and Aldea Yanapay school!
Think you need to be rich to help out a poor child in South America?
$5 will buy a child a pair of shoes for Christmas.
Christmas isn’t always a special time for all the children in the world. But we can make it a little brighter for those so in need. We wish to purchase a pair of shoes for every child in Huerta Village, Peru for their Christmas party on 22nd December. At a cost of only $5 the shoes are durable and good quality, and much needed by the kids. But we need your help.
So make a difference in the life of one child for only $5 by clicking the donate button.
UPDATE: The Huerta Village Christmas Shoe Drive was a major success. Check it out here.