This wonderful story is written by Rosa, whose family have been active members of SKIP since 2007. In 2009 Rosa was one of 17 SKIP students awarded a scholarship to study in the prestigous, El Cultural, Language Institute in Trujillo. This year, she graduated from the prorgamme, completing a course that usually takes 4 years in just under two and a half. We would like to thank Rosa for taking the time to share her story with us. 

Saturday during the SKIP workshops I attend, the coordinator of the Secondary Education Programme (Flor) brought together those of us who had English scholarships and told us El Cultural was organising a contest: a "Spelling Bee".

Some days later, we were called to the academic coordinator's office. They told us we were to participate in the contest, with the intention of measuring our levels of knowledge and learning. It was wonderful! They also told us that first we would compete amongst ourselves and later the winner would compete with the students of the NGO USDA (Una Sonrisa De Amor).

And that's were it all began! I had to study for normal school, El Cultural, and now for the contest as well. I still couldn't believe it, and when I told my family they were happy too and told me that it was a great opportunity. We were called once again to see the academic coordinator to begin the competition between ourselves, all of us a bit nervous. But after several sets, I was the winner, chosen to represent Trujillo! It was a great surprise. I can't describe how I felt, it was so exciting but also a great responsibility, to represent my province. Everyone congratulated me and let me know that now I would have to compete with the winner from USDA and once again... I won! Now I would face the representative of each province.

I was excited, just like my family. The final was to be held in Lima, with all expenses paid for me and my chaperone. On the evening of Saturday 13 November 2010 I travelled with my mother, remembering the supportive words from SKIP's Economic Development Coordinator (Juanma) and Social Work Coordinator (Hilda).

On the way to Lima, I wondered what my opponents would be like and how they would treat me, but even though I was a bit nervous I knew I had to do my best, even if they were ahead of me in their academic cycle.

I spent the 14th in a house in Chorrillos, met my opponenents and realised we were on equal standing. We took photos and had a good time together, looking at the beach and enjoying the fast food of KFC. Later we were taken to Kennedy Park to take a tour of the city in the Mirabus: the Plaza de Armas (main square of Lima), San Martín Square, Congress, the parks "de la Reserva" and "de la Exposición", the National Library, the "Desamparados" Train Station and finally, the catacombs. It was exciting discovering all these places!

We returned to the house and found the US ambassador and his staff waiting for us. They told us we would spend the night in their homes. It was exciting seeing their houses but also just meeing such important people, although they were very humble despite everything they had. Together with another student, who was from Piura, I got settled in. We assumed that we would simply rest for the big day, the final of the contest, but the Ambassador's wife wanted us to see a bit more of Lima. We went to LarcoMar, a large mall that was beautiful, with lots of people and a very special view, spectacular to wander around in. Finally we ate at Bembos, took photos and came home.

The big day arrived, 15 November. We had breakfast and dressed in formal clothes, appropriate to the day. The eldest daughter gave me a present and together with the Ambassador's wife they wished us luck.

We arrived at the Embassy of the United States of America in Peru, where security guards inspected us before letting us in. We greeted the staff and jury and took our seats. I was excited and a little nervous! The contest began and I saw my mother in front of me, happy and proud. Time passed and there was still no winner, despite the fact that the words were given to us at random (320 words) and that we had to both spell out the word and pronounce it properly. We were three left when we started with words that were not in our material in order to find a winner. I got third place in the twelfth round after a tough competition.

The embassy staff congratulated us, took photos and gave us medals and diplomas, among other presents.The jury told me they thought I would win, but that I did well anyway. I'll never forget this great experience.

Every Monday morning, a group of teenagers meet at the SKIP office before their morning classes to take part in photography lessons, ran by Aina the SKIP art teacher. The classes have been put together based on a basic curriculum, covering the usual topics of shadow and light, framing, and balance. The class is shown examples of different kinds of photography and then encouraged to engage in discussions about the images. Local flair has been added, with many of the example photographs coming from local Peruvian photographers, such as Carlos “Chino” Dominguez, Alicia Vega, and Jano Cortijo. Studying these influences helps put the lessons in context for the students, and lets them see something from their own country.

Photographs taken by the class will be used for the annual SKIP calendar, which is sold as a fundraiser. The SKIP volunteers donate their personal cameras for the project and the teens are taken out into the community to take photos of their everyday surroundings. They are encouraged to “think outside of the box”, with trips to places such as the local cemeteries lending itself to this. The class will soon be going on a trip to Huanchaco beach resort. Aina has been more than impressed with the teenager’s photographic attempts so far. “They surprised me because I thought their first attempts were very good. They try to find different things and different concepts of beauty. And they can easily adopt the different artistic styles,” said Aina. She goes on to explain that photography opens up new options for seeing the world and different ways of thinking.

I was fortunate enough to accompany the photography class on a day trip to a local modern art museum, showcasing the art of local artist Gerardo Chavez. I supervised the girls for the day, and was surprised at their creativity and enthusiasm. Once they had exhausted the photo opportunities the museum had to offer, the girls were quick to turn to each other for self-portraits. “They were quite shy to do a self-portrait at first, but now they’re quite open to posing for the cameras,” Megan the teaching assistant pointed out. This was more than apparent as the girls pouted away and draped themselves over any available statue and tree… like the future models of Peru!!

The photography project has been running for two years now, and will undoubtedly continue to run in the coming years, judging by its success and the commitment from the teenagers and volunteers involved.

Click here to watch an interview with the SKIP Director Liz Wilson, filmed yesterday on Canal 31 of Trujillo Television. Liz talks about SKIP's work in Peru and gives a general introduction to the programme. There is also an opportunity to see a few of the products that the SKIP mums are making.