This post was last updated on 8oct23.
Hello and thank you for reading this post! I’m Ana, originally from Peru, though I’ve been living in London for the past 10 years. Even though the UK is now my home, I still care greatly about my natal country and its people, specially those living in extreme poverty and with limited growth opportunities.
I think access to education is key for people’s development, which can in turn lead to better job prospects and an improved quality of life. This is why I have started a collection of young-adult’s & children’s books in the UK, which I aim to send to Peru to help improve the English and reading comprehension skills of many Peruvians.
The books will be received by the Peruvian NGO Crea+ – they already work with several state-run schools in deprived areas, and know the schools’ systems and needs. They will be the ones in charge of selecting the schools that will get the donations, and will also distribute the books to them.
How is the Book Collection Progressing?
The book collection is going really well! I’ve built the below interactive Tableau dashboard to track the collection’s progress and to give visibility to all donors about the books and funds that have been collected so far.
I will aim to update this dashboard once a week to show the latest book and fund figures.
End of the updates.
Note: the information below is slightly out of date. I will update it as soon as I get a chance.
How will I make this happen?
I’m still thinking about how best to implement this idea, and I would certainly appreciate any feedback on the topic. I’ve listed all the notes and research I’ve made so far, to tackle specific questions around the implementation of this idea (note these are only my notes, they don’t represent any formal or legal advice on the topic). I’ll keep updating this post with more information as soon as I have it.
How to transport the books from UK to Peru?
This is something I’m still studying. Any suggestions or tips are welcome. 🙂
- The Peruvian Consulate in London pointed me at a form that can be filled for sending donations to Peru.
- I’ve only been able to find the form in the Peruvian Consulate in Seville (Spain), and this option still needs a bit more research.
- The Peruvian Agency for International Cooperation has more information on the subject. Again this still needs more research from my side.
How to distribute the books once they reach Peru?
- Peruvian NGOs could point us to specific schools that would make the most of these donations.
- For example, the Peruvian NGO Creamas already works with several state run schools and has provided donations to them in the past. They could help us route the books to specific schools that have a clear demand for them.
