Student Humanitarian Project
The Student Humanitarian Program
The Student Humanitarian Program was started in 1996 by Denise Kinch and her children Kristina, Dan and Lizzie to help introduce our young people not only to the culture of the indigenous Peruvian people but to experience the poverty and environmental challenges facing the people as well. Denise’s vision was to give the US students an opportunity to contribute their time and effort to make a difference in the lives of these poor people. She also wanted the US students to return to the schools to share their experiences in order to build a network of help for these Peruvian villages.
This program provides a high quality, responsible, hands-on education about the issues surrounding the indigenous people of Peru and their environment. The students who participate in this program will begin the process of learning about and accepting responsibility for preserving an ancient culture. To preserve these traditions, they will be empowered to take on crucial roles as advocates, teachers and ambassadors. This education and experience teaches our young people to be responsible, caring adults sensitive to the environment as well as to the vanishing cultures of the world.
The future of the world’s indigenous people and their culture, traditions and environment depend on our young people to carry on our work. Our goals can only be reached through an educational awakening. This is an enormous opportunity for our young people to be a part of a process that makes a difference in our world. They learn to work with others in many different roles while learning about the preservation and conservation of a beautiful ancient culture and land.
In 2008, as part of the SHP Program, we shared a wonderful and extremely productive experience with the Canadian Flaman Foundation team where adults as well as students participated in helping with the maintenance of the school in Pacca by replacing windows, building shelves for storage, fixing playground equipment, installing gutters and painting. Because of the tremendous productivity as well as wonderful experience of the group, we have decided to change our SHP program policy. We enjoyed the teamwork of a more diverse group so much that we have decided to extend this type of experience to our SHP students and their parents, their families and to any other adult or group of adults who are interested in learning about Peruvian lifestyles and making a difference in our world. So, any student who now wishes to participate in our program will be required to share the adventure with a parent or other adult. As an adult, this is a priceless way of being a positive role model to our US students and sharing in the excitement of making a difference. As a student, this is a priceless education and bonding experience that no classroom could offer.
Project Goals
To help our youth develop an international understanding and appreciation for the indigenous, vanishing cultures of Peru, South America and to increase their sensitivity to the environment in Peru as well as develop a better understanding of the environments of the world.