Construction work at the SKIP office : “La famosa Techada”

Thanks to a donation received in the last year from Wilbor Oliveros Cerna, the director of a large Peruvian construction company, we have been able to start work on a project to extend the SKIP premises. Three new classrooms made of bricks have already been erected, and with the promise of further support from Wilbor and his associates, we will be able to build another three classrooms over the next year, gradually phasing out the old wooden structures. In accordance with tradition, Wilbor has been named “Padrino” (Godfather) of the SKIP new building, and the ex Mayor of Florencia de Mora, Idelson Terrones, who kindly purchased material for windows and doors, has been named Padrino of the roof.

Construction work started at the end of February, in the heat of late summer, and has progressed at an admirable pace, without the aid of any modern machinery.

Children and parents involved in the SKIP programme lent a hand by keeping watch over the building site in the evenings.

In keeping with Peruvian custom, on Friday 14th of March when the roof was just finished, a ‘Techada’ (or ‘roof-party’) was held to celebrate the occasion. As the final layers of cement dried in the sun, workers, sponsors and SKIP volunteers gathered to share a few beers and eat a special dish of Cabrito. This dish, consisting of lamb, yuca, rice and beans, was prepared by Doña Vicky and a group of mothers from the programme and the neighbourhood.

In the time honoured fashion, flowers and a bottle of champagne were hung from the roof. SKIP director Bee and Mayor Idelson added the final ceremonial touch to proceedings by breaking the bottle for good luck.

We anticipate the three new classrooms will be ready for action by the end of May. They will be used for teaching,workshops and activities and will enable SKIP to provide a safe and comfortable place of learning for many more children from Porvenir. As a temporary measure, the existing wooden structures will be moved on top of the new building, giving us a total of seven functioning classrooms for the time being.