This article is from page 45 of the 2008-11-18 edition of The Clare People. OCR mistakes are to be expected so download the original SWF or the rendered page 45 JPG
I CAME to Hauycan in 1997 and since then I have been greatly en- riched by it’s warmth, hospitality and the variety of it’s cultures. Lo- cated at the foothills of the Andes, on the outskirts of Lima, Huaycan is a rocky and sandy area which has only been inhabited since 1984 – when people fled political violence NOLO MXo1RO (ore DONEC oer D Ror.
I gradually came to know these
people and their reality. Many of them had suffered and continue to suffer from great poverty, social exclusion and violence – especially against women.
As I made friends with the local children, I began to invite them to workshops in subjects such as draw- ing, dancing and even setting up a Christmas crib. I got to know more and more families and invited the lo- cal women to Tai Chi classes.
Eventually different classes emerged and women began to travel from outside of the area to attend. In 2000 the time seemed right to set up a women’s centre.
We rented a room called Warmi Wasi or The Woman’s House and be- gan training in self esteem and the prevention and treatment of violence against women. With the help of a psychologist and three local women, a Human Development Programme began to emerge.
By the end 2002 we were renting a
bigger centre and a number of new programmes had been established. In 2004, a programme was started in a local secondary school geared to- wards the prevention of gender vio- lence, which set the foundations for a more complete programme in other secondary schools.
Over the years a number of people have learned to read and write while other have successfully learn to make bags, jewelry or candles for sale.
The training of women leaders is now needed and we hope to integrate this into our project in the coming years.
To have our own centre, and not have to rent, has been a huge dream for all of us. September 26 of this year was a great day for all of us as our new centre was blessed and in- augurated.
There was great rejoicing and ex- pressions of gratitude towards for the great efforts made by the many friends in Inagh, Corofin and all over
Clare. All of our efforts over here are made possible by your help back in Ireland.
A special thanks also to Cllr Flan Garvey, who helped raise more than €10,000 for the project through his mayoral ball.