Huge thanks to ACER for letting Emprende Manchay (Peru) share its JustGiving page.
I have been working in Manchay for 18 months, gradually building up relationships of trust with local organisations. The poverty is extreme for about half the population. Over the last 15 years the Parish of the Holy Spirit has been gradually improving education, health and nutrition facilitities for ALL members of the population regardless of religion, meaning that for its poverty level its young people have a higher educational and skill level than normal. It is seriously impressive work.
There is now huge potential to make a measurable difference to lives, with specific, timely input. The foundations are strong: good education across 15 years; access to technical training at higher level; the recent arrival of water and electricity has left a palpable buzz of excitement; several Parish-owned facilities are of high quality and could be developed into social enterprises. I am so excited about it I have stopped all paid work and am focusing all my time on growing this area of work.
The work is called Emprende Manchay - which translates as Manchay Gets Entrepreneurial! There are three main areas of focus, building out from the strong trust between the Parish and the community at all levels. The first area is to set up a Job Centre to link locally and with larger companies in neighbouring areas to get people into formal work opportunities (such jobs normally are not available to poorer neighbourhoods); the second is to work with individuals and micro-enterprises to improve their planning, access to training and organising skills so that they can avail of opportunities of employment and business strengthening; the third area is the development of at least one social enterprise. There is a fully developed project outline and budget - if you would like to see the details then email Bernie at Bernie.Ward@gmail.com . The aim is that by the end of year 3 the social enterprise and Job Centre will be self-financing and we will be able to finance the training activities outlined in the project proposal.
The Parish of the Holy Spirit raises a lot of its funds through a huge annual Bazaar in the centre of Manchay; as well as donations from entities of the Catholic Church and private donors in Spain. The Parish is covering all the overhead and equipment costs of this programme and the management input as well as part of the existing Psychologist-Trainers salary. This comes to about 30% of the programmes costs!
The Emprende Manchay project needs to appoint one new post - an Assistant to the Job Centre - to expand the Psychologist-Trainers post to a full-time post (currently it is 2-day) adn preferably to appoint a part-time Trainer as well. The budget also includes phone, transport and printing costs for courses, as well as seed-corn investment for the social enterprises we want to set up.
The budget is £29,437 of which £8,761 would be met through the Parish's own commitments to covering all its own overhead and managements costs. In this case the annual amount we would be seeking to raise to be able to deliver the full programme, including full training and social enterprise initial stages would be £20,676 for each of 2010 and 2011.
However, recognising that our fundraising goal may prove to be unachievable there is a lower level target that would allow the Job Centre Assistant to be appointed and the Psychologist-Trainer to move up to a full time post. This would mean that the Job Centre work would be developed as planned, and the majority of the training programme would be implemented, however the social enterprise and some of the training work would be put on hold. For this, £13,859 is needed.
The great thing with the JustGiving website is that they can claim back the Gift Aid funds if you are a UK tax payer - meaning that for every £10 donated they can claim back £2.50 and the government adds an additional 3% until 2011. They do then charge a 5% fee for their service and card fees need to be paid - but this does still mean that for every £10 you donate, Emprende Manchay would receive £11.82.
Since the Parish covers all office space, equipment, management fees and overhead costs it means that the money you give makes the work happen. It is also utterly non-paternalistic - it is about breaking down barriers that stop people getting real jobs and availing of opportunities; it in no way props people up or creates an unsustainable system - we aim for the work to be self-financing within 3 years. Plus when you come to visit us in Peru you can pop in and see all the work you have supported!
If you find the idea really appeals to you and your social conscious was just itching for a way to have a direct impact somewhere then do call me on our skype phone address BernieyJay or else email me at Bernie.Ward@gmail.com - I have lots more photos and stories and also a way that larger donations can completely avoid even paying the 5% to JustGiving!
Donating through JustGiving is simple, fast and totally secure. Your details will not be passed on and you wont receive unwanted emails. Any donations you make will be sent on via ACER and then directly to Emprende Manchay and Just Giving will make sure Gift Aid is reclaimed on every eligible donation by a UK taxpayer. So it’s the most efficient way to donate - Emprende Manchay receives more funds, and you save time.
Jay and I are donating 35 hours a week of my time, plus our petrol and phone costs and USD300 per month. It feels for us like a real chance to make a direct impact and tangible contribution. Hope you would like to join in this enterprise with us. THANK YOU!
