We helped Ana making boxes in this gratitude workshop with the girls
On Monday we visited the orphanage Peruvian Hearts wishes to make a model for others in Peru – el Hogar. Ana, her mom Judi, and brother/organization director Danny arrived with an activity for the girls – making “compliment boxes.” This was Ana’s idea to teach the girls the importance of gratitude and random acts of kindness for others. The girls decorated the boxes with their names and cut-outs of hearts, flowers, and stars, and the nuns who watch over them will make sure they make a weekly habit of writing kind words to each other.
Group shot with the girls of el Hogar, an orphange Peruvian Hearts completely transformed, enabling these girls to dream big
We delivered the donated vitamins from our NYC Tweetup and the Spanish children’s books donated by Kim Greene, who works at Scholastic in NYC. They were received with deep gratitude appreciation! After we took a group jumping picture (which we’ll print and send them to hang on their bulletin board), the girls sang us a song to express their national pride, thanks, and desire that we do not forget them. Many asked for our email addresses—they have a computer lab!—so we hope to stay in touch and send them photos and notes of encouragement.
I interviewed one little girl who told me her dream was to be a policewoman! An unexpected career choice, but she wants to protect her community, and even if she changes her mind, she understands one thing: education is the key to realizing any career dream.
We continued our expedition to a town called Urubamba, where we’re staying at the Eco Hotel owned by another longtime Peruvan Hearts supporter, Edwin. We met Ana, Danny & Co. for dinner again to ask them more questions about their programs for girls, now that we’ve seen the girls’ bright smiles, eager minds, and clean quarters for ourselves. Captured great video interviews that will show you the rewards and challenges of running non-profits abroad.
After flying into Cusco, an hour plane ride south of the capital Lima, we found a hostel (quese llama Mama Cuzco—the owner calls herself Mama Cuzco and presents herself as a madre to the backpackers who pass through Cuzco), we explored the city a bit ourselves, and then we unexpectedly ran into the director of Peruvian Hearts, Danny Dodson, while shopping at the market! We were scheduled to meet his team later that night at a special Peruvian dinner prepared by Rosa, a family friend who lives atop a hill in Cuzco with her husband Daniel. Rosa is a vital part of Peruvian Hearts’ operations here on the ground, and Daniel would turn out to be a very trusted guide and friend to us in the days to come.
Google research for organizations supporting girls in Peruled us to Peruvian Hearts from our homebase in NJ/NYC earlier this summer. After Cynthia and Tammy had some very long email exchanges with Danny and a Skype call with him, Ana, and our travel buddies Liz and Manny, we synced our trips to Cuzco so we could see Peruvian Hearts’ work with girls firsthand.
At our dinner, we met Giovanna (center), the first girl to graduate from the Hogar. She is the shining star of Ana (left of Cynthia) and Peruvian Hearts!
But before following Peruvian Hearts to the site of one of their major projects, in a province called Anta on Monday, we joined founder Ana, director Danny, their mother Judi, and their friends/Board Members from Colorado at this dinner, a very special start to our week in Cuzco. Our dining room overlooked the entire, lit-up city of Cuzco, a place the Incas treasured and designed to honor their gods.
The most honorable part of the evening was meeting a girl who is “the first” for Peruvian Hearts – Giovanna. Giovanna, 19, is the first graduate of el Hogar, the home for orphaned girls that Peruvian Hearts renovated and works with to provide a healthy lunch program, build a library of books, provide tutoring, among other basic needs. Here is a photo we took after dinner with Giovanna – in her pink jacket that all girls at el Hogar wear – and Ana. Estamos muy orgullosas de estas chicas! Stay tuned for more interview footage about the success stories and challenges of girls in Peru.
We chose to begin #STF360 in Cuzco, Peru, because that’s where Ana Dodson and her team from Peruvian Hearts will be working the first week of August. Their motto: “Changing the world, one heart at a time.”
We are so humbled and thankful to have the Peruvian Hearts team greet us at the airport and welcome us to their home in Cuzco. That night, the Dodsen family invited us to a special dinner, to meet their friends and native residents who have been part of Peruvian Hearts since its founding in 2003. Danny, the executive director and Ana’s brother, also introduced us to Edwin, who owns LaQuinta Eco Hotel, a 100% organic place for us to sleep (and they have wireless Internet, which means we can blog and tweet freely!).
Ana, with one of her girls
We couldn’t dream of a warmer welcome to Peru, and we’re overjoyed to unlock our mission there: supporting girls’ education, alongside Ana. Now, will you join us in giving Ana a warm She’s the First welcome? Here’s a little bit more about her!
Ana’s Stats
She’s 18
She was born in Cuzco, Peru and adopted by the Dodsens, who live in Colorado, when she was a baby. (Fun fact: The offices of Peruvian Hearts and AfricAid, our Tanzanian beneficiary for the GIRLS WHO ROCK NY concert, are located down the street from one another!)
In the summer of 2003, at age 11, Ana visited the orphanages in Peru near where she was born. She brought toys and books for them. When she was leaving, an orphan named Gloria said to her, “Ana, I know you will not forget about us and that you will help us in the future.” That’s what inspired Ana to start Peruvian Hearts.
Ana was honored as a CNN Hero and a former DoSomething Award finalist. Colin Powell also gave her the Prudential Spirit of Community Award in 2005. She was named one of the top 10 youth volunteers in the United States.
This video is a wonderfully inspirational 3-minute introduction:
Ana’s Goals
Improve the quality of life for children in Peru who are living in orphanages or in extreme poverty
Inspire youth in America to reach out and help others less fortunate than themselves
Ana’s Projects
Providing daily lunches and vitamins is a huge initiative of Peruvian Hearts
Maria’s Gift Scholarship Fund: Ana created this scholarship in the memory of her birth mother, who never learned to read or write. It supports secondary school education for girls in need.
Orphanage Renovation: Peruvian Hearts works with the Hogar Mercedes de Jesus Molina, helping to make it a model orphanage by improving the schooling, sanitation, and structure. 20 girls live here, in the hills just outside of Cusco. They’ve also brought clean/hot water to the Hogar.
Feeding and Vitamins: Peruvian Hearts supports two children’s lunch programs that serve about 400 children daily, who walk miles to get to school. They also provide a multivitamin daily (which is why we collected some at the recent #CelebrateSTF tweetup in NYC!)
Medical and Health Care: Peruvian Hearts provides the children medical and dental exams, as well as emotional support through a visiting psychologist when needed.
The Library Project: Peruvian Hearts sends children’s books in Spanish down to Peru.
Tutoring Project: Ana and her volunteers provide extra homework help.
We aim to add Peruvian Heart’s sponsorship initiatives to our She’s the First directory upon our return to the States! What questions do you have for Ana about Peruvian Hearts? Leave them in the comments and we’ll ask!
Children fed through 18-year-old Ana Dodson's Peruvian Hearts program
Here’s a tentative plan of where Cynthia Hellen, Tammy Tibbetts, Lizbeth Aguilar, and Manny Rodriguez will be each day on their two-week voluntourism trip to Peru, supporting children and exploring girls’ education. We’re piloting the She’s the First travel series, known on twitter as #STF360! The purpose: to tell girls’ stories and show what their local communities are doing to support their education, and where they need our help. We’ll be volunteering with nonprofits–Peruvian Hearts, La Sagrada Familia (where ALEGRIAworks), Rebano de Jesus, Asociación Civil Pro NiñoIntimo– while filming interviews and photographing the surroundings. Learn more about how you can get involved in #STF360 through this post.
Friday, July 30 — Depart NYC! From LGA airport to Florida (btw, it’s home to the next GIRLS WHO ROCK concert, so follow @girlswhorockmia!), where we have a 3.5 hour layover before take-off to Lima, Peru.
Saturday, July 31 — Fly from Lima to Cuzco, an hour-and-20-minute flight, and the Peruvian Hearts team will meet us at the airport! We’ll go to founder Ana Dodson’s house, have lunch, rest (VERY important to prevent altitude sickness!), and then join her team for dinner.
Machu Picchu, often referred to as "The Lost City of the Incas"
Sunday, August 1st and Monday, August 2nd – Breakfast, tour, and do field work with the nonprofits.
Tuesday, August 3rd — Inca Trail Hike to Macchu Picchu
Wednesday, August 4th — Depart Cuzco and fly back to Lima. Tour and do field work with a nonprofit.
Thursday, August 5th and Friday, August 6th – Field work with nonprofits in Lima.
Saturday, August 7th – Tentatively planning to depart Lima and fly to Trujillo.
Sunday, August 8th-Wednesday, August 11th – Field work in Trujillo, and back to Lima on Wednesday.
Thursday, August 12th and Friday, August 13th – More field work and excursions in Lima. We’ll also be visiting two schools in Lima, an elementary and a high school, entering the classroom and speaking to professors and the directors of the school.
The purpose of the series: Voluntourism meets digital storytelling. Visit the partners in the She’s the First directory and capture the stories of their girls and community in video and photography.
The assignment:Ask questions and listen to the answers. Have girls tell us their own stories of struggles and triumphs with education. Show what the local community is doing to support them and where they need help. How can we help girls break barriers together?
Why do we call this 360?As much as we focus on creative grassroots fundraising here in the US, we want to take the advocacy of girls’ education worldwide full circle. We want to travel to the places we’re helping and open a dialogue that brings both sides together — introduce the global fundraisers to the local community leaders, by leveraging social media.
Ana Dodson (center, in pink) is the founder of Peruvian Hearts, who we'll be following in Cuzco!
How can I be a part of She’s the First 360? You can start by following our blog posts and tweets, leaving comments, and sending thoughts and feedback. Use hash tag #STF360 on Twitter. Then, next time you want to take an international trip with some volunteer work mixed in, consider visiting one of the She’s the First partners in our directory.
Why Peru?We discovered an outstanding organization called Peruvian Hearts, founded by 18-year-old Ana Dodson, that we wanted to add to the She’s the First network. Ana, who was adopted from Peru, and her brother, Peruvian Hearts director Danny Dodson, invited us to shadow their work with girls in Cuzco, Peru. Cynthia, a native Peruvian herself, then found other nonprofits in the capital city of Lima for us meet.
How often will we hear from you?Almost every day! Tammy will be blogging and Tweeting every time we have Internet access. Expect as many photos and videos as Internet speeds will allow us to post!
Tell us a little more about the travel team!
Manny and Lizbeth at GIRLS WHO ROCK, the She's the First benefit concert in New York City on June 10
Lizbeth Aguilar, @lizbeth_lorena, born in Trujillo, Peru with Spaniard ancestry, is a Latina businesswoman, medical student, and photographer. She holds a BS from Fairleigh Dickinson in Biology, Chemistry, Advertising, and is pursuing a Medical Degree for Surgery in New York City. At 21, she assumed role as VP of Marketing at A Professional Group, her family’s conglomerate business. Before that, she worked in the medical field and customer service for five years. This past summer, she joined forces with her oldest sister Cynthia Hellen as Volunteer Coordinator for GIRLS WHO ROCK. Lizbeth is passionate in photography, youth development, education, animal rights, health care, and human rights. In addition to English, Lizbeth is fluent in Spanish and ASL (she is proficient in Portuguese and is determined to learn French).
Cynthia Hellen, @cynthiahellen, is a business leader, social innovator, entrepreneur, and scholar based in New York City and New Jersey. She is Vice President of Development for the AP Group, a family-owned conglomerate of real estate development, beauty/cosmetic salon, restaurant and consulting companies. At age 15, she opened her own Latin restaurant with her younger sister, doing everything from filing permits, creating the menu, and serving, all while attending high school. When she was 18, she sold the business for a real estate property and attended Kean University for a Bachelor’s in Visual Arts, Communication, and Performance Arts. After college, Cynthia interned with CW11, then ventured into new media and became a writer/producer at T7Live, a website of news, fashion, music, and technology, most notably co-producing coverage of President Obama’s election night and Fashion Week. By the age of 25, she decided to use her experience to give back and create sustainable, socially conscious entities. She co-founded GIRLS WHO ROCK, a benefit concert for She’s the First, for which she serves on the Board of Directors. Cynthia also volunteers with charity : water and Project Sunshine. She produced our entire trip itinerary and built the relationships with the nonprofits we will meet!
Manny Rodriguez, @mannyarod, was born in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic. Manny’s early schooling took place in San Jose De Las Matas, Santiago. At the age of nine, he arrived to Elizabeth, NJ with his younger brother, Osvaldo. He attended Union High School where he excelled at Science and History while working at his parents Spanish Restaurant in Newark, NJ at the age of 14. He studied business administration the first two years of college, while continuing his work in the restaurant business, pharmaceutical industry, and customer service part-time. At 23, he became CEO of his family’s restaurant and has been an restaurateur ever since. In addition to English, Manny is fluent in Spanish and ASL. Manny is passionate about business, youth development, energy conservation, wellness, racial equality, and sports. He resides in Union, NJ, recently volunteered and catered the GIRLS WHO ROCK benefit concert, and is interested in the non-profit sector, especially the efforts of She’s the First leaders and volunteers for girls’ education.
Cynthia Hellen and Tammy Tibbetts at last week's #CelebrateSTF tweetup at the Celebrate Cafe
Tammy Tibbetts, @tammytibbetts, is the Founder/President of She’s the First, launched Nov. 1, 2009, just before she took off on her last trip — to Monrovia, Liberia in West Africa with the MacDella Cooper Foundation. There she managed a sponsorship program that sent orphaned and abandoned children to local schools, met with the principals, evaluated report cards, and set up a lunchtime feeding program. She is a 2007 graduate of The College of New Jersey with a journalism major/Spanish minor, and her goal is to be the group’s reporter — taking lots of notes, asking lots of questions, and blogging for you at each Internet access opportunity.
Have any messages for the team? Post them in the comments. We’ll share our itinerary before we leave!
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