Loose Change by Kathleen Barrow

Every year, Wayland Middle School
social studies teacher Daniel Fernandez-Davila takes a group of students to his
native country of Peru. There, these students go on an expedition with him into
the remote Andes villages in the Chachapoyas region to deliver much needed
school supplies.

Three summers ago, I was lucky
enough to be a part of one of these expeditions. The experience was one of the
greatest in my life, and I am planning to travel again with Mr. Fernandez this
summer, along with eleven other students and four adults from Wayland.

 I am most excited to see the change that the
Loose Change Campaign has affected since the last time I was there. When I
arrived in the village of Atuen in July of 2010, the old school building was
being torn down and the newer building was still only sparsely equipped.

Since that time, this school and
nine others in the region have been built and equipped through the success of
Loose Change and the generosity and participation of the Wayland community. The
organization has grown its ambitions, and this year we hope to equip five more
schools.

Our impact in this region is
immeasurable-- these villagers are mostly subsistence farmers with no
electricity or running water. Their remote location severely limits the amount
of outside help they receive from the Peruvian government, and we are the only
humanitarian group that ventures this far beyond the landmark town of
Leymebamba.

When you participate in this year’s
Loose Change Campaign, you are giving these children a chance for a better
education by giving them the resources they need to succeed. So we ask everyone
to look for forgotten coins under the back seat of the car or between couch
cushions. Please bring in your “loose change” so that it may enact real change
in the lives of Peruvian children in Atuen and the surrounding villages. One
hundred percent of these donations go towards supplying these schools and
libraries, and every penny counts!

Thank you again
for your continued generosity in support of the Loose Change Campaign. We hope
that our success will match that of years past, and continue to improve the
educational opportunity in Chachapoyas.