Project One: The Orphanage Project
Casa Hogar Luz Alba, Arequipa, Peru
In 2007 Casa Hogar Luz Alba opened it doors, and welcomed it’s first child. Soon after they asked Traveller Not Tourist to help by sending volunteers to help with cooking cleaning and other tasks. In 2010 the orphanage needed to look for a better place for the children to call home and decided along with Traveller not Tourist that a UK registered charity was needed so that all the volunteers from the UK that had helped were able to raise money once they returned home. The children placed in the orphanage have been placed there for their own well-being and the aim is always to get them adopted into a loving family home as soon as possible (or to reunite them with their own family once the family environment has improved). Many of the children the orphanage receives are under 1 year old; some are just days old. They come from homes where they are unwanted and may have suffered abuse or neglect, often due to alcohol or drug abuse.
The orphanage aims to provide these children with a harmonious environment where they can recover from their ordeals and prepare for a better future. The children are provided with: natural and nutritious home-cooked food; carefully selected games, books and (occasionally) films; clean clothes and comfortable beds; school uniforms, books and stationery; and lots of love and cuddles.
The TNT volunteers supported the local full-time volunteers by helping with the cooking, cleaning and washing, as well as planning and running activities for the children such as arts and crafts, games and outings.
Since moving to the new house in 2017 the orphanage is run by a team of Peruvians who are all now able to live in and so no longer need the help of foreign volunteers.
