Report from Peru: What Wayland's Loose Change Accomplished

"We would like the town to know how their money was used and what impact it has had, so I attach here an article which I hope you will run in the Patch," Anotina Hieronymus wrote with her submission.

The following is her submitted report:

In March of this year, our town came together to collect “Loose Change,” our spare coins, and raised $11,000 for education in Peru. The money was sent to the remote northeastern town of Leymebamba and used to buy hundreds of books, paper, pencils, glue and other school supplies.

A team from Wayland, headed by Wayland Middle School teacher Daniel Fernandez-Davila and comprised of eight Wayland students and four adults, headed there in July to distribute these supplies in three remote villages: Atuen, Chuquibamba and Cochabamba.

After stopping in two villages, on the 10th day of the trip after some hard hiking, we puffed our way up some steep mountains  to altitudes of 14,000 feet to Cochabamba, a tiny town cradled in a high valley and surrounded by the majestic  Andes. On reaching the summit we found that the entire village was awaiting our arrival. Upon seeing us, the schoolchildren burst into songs and dances in order to welcome us, and hailed us through the town to the school.

This school was a dilapidated old building in a severe state of disrepair and had scarcely any books and no paper or other supplies. Our donation was heralded with great joy both by the children and their parents alike, since they receive no support from any government or other agency. These books greatly enhance the education available in these remote, forgotten communities.

All those pennies that Wayland residents found in their pockets, under car seats and dropped into corners have together amounted to a significant contribution which made a huge impact on the educational opportunities in villages far away from here, and this is the result of everyone collaborating together with small coins.

The students who went there this year were ambassadors representing our whole town. The organizers of the “Loose Change” campaign would like to extend a wholehearted thank you to everybody for making this possible. 

The needs in this region are monumental and witnessing the transformation that books and school supplies make reinforces our commitment to continue working for the education of these people.