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| 4/29/2009 11:52:00 AM | Email this article • Print this article
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Contributed photo
Responsible for the care of a young sibling after school, a young girl (above) packs the little one on her back to a Peruvian telecenter where she can increase her education.
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| Eagle photo by Angel CarpenterAda Hoffman of Canyon City founded the nonprofit Callpas, building telecenters, or learning libraries, in remote areas of Peru where she grew up. She sells baby alpaca accessories to raise money for a cause that brings her a lot of joy. |
| | Slideshow | Scroll down to see slideshow.
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Empowering the children (slideshow)
Ada Hoffman’s heart grows along with nonprofit’s needs in remote Challhuahuacha
By Angel Carpenter
Blue Mountain Eagle
CANYON CITY - In her native Peru, Ada Hoffman of Canyon City is empowering children with the gift of education and knowledge. The program she started there has already begun the work, but now - amid global economic change - help is needed to ensure its continuation.
Sitting 12,000 feet high in the Andes mountains are villages in the Challhuahuacha (Chal-wha-wha-cho) district, a remote and isolated area where Hoffman grew up.
She knows the plight of the local people who work the land, raising sheep and cattle and live a simple life without electricity, running water or transportation; They wear traditional Incan clothing, for the most part, and speak Quechua an ancient Incan language.
While children in this area do attend school, their resources are limited; they have few books, no computers and teachers who are not well prepared, she said.
Hoffman, whose mother taught in the area when a school system started there many years ago, is seeking to fill the education gap in that area until the Peruvian government can improve those rural schools.
She's fulfilling this dream though Callpas (Cal-pas), meaning "Power," a nonprofit organization which was formed in 2004 with help from the Kiwanis club in John Day; the Kiwanis organization is dedicated to helping children of the world.
Through Callpas, eight telecenters - or learning libraries - have been built, with each serving 20-200 children.
Before the telecenters were available "students used to go to the school for two to three years and drop out," Hoffman said. Now she says the parents are recognizing the value of education and the opportunities their children are afforded with the centers.
"They walk miles to touch a computer," Hoffman said of the students.
Some children have walked as far as 20 miles to reach the telecenters, modern buildings with many books to read, computers with internet access and a educational software program in their Quechua language. They complete their homework and bilingual teachers instruct them in Spanish and they sing together and have lessons in citizenship.
One young child Hoffman saw at a telecenter came in packing their young sibling on their back, wrapped in a blanket.
They now have a car to transport students, making their journey safer.
Seeing their eagerness to learn and their self-esteem and knowledge increase drives Hoffman to do more.
"I don't care what I have to do to keep this project running," she said.
She writes grants and holds fund-raisers to collect money to pay the director and the teachers and build more telecenters. A bigger project is under way to construct a centrally located building to train teachers and serve up to 600 students.
John Day resident Nancy Nickel helped Hoffman get the project off the ground.
She's the vice president of Callpas and has traveled to Peru with Hoffman to oversee the endeavor.
"I felt humbled by the excitement and delight that the children show over a pencil or a book, let alone a computer," Nickel said.
"I have a personal belief that our organization shares," she continued, "that every child on this planet has an absolute right to a decent education, and that includes information technology skills."
While the group seeks to give the children computer skills, they also strive give a culturally relevant education with programs developed by professionals who are familiar with the language and culture.
They are sensitive to adapting the modern technologies "in ways that provide them more economic stability and at the same time preserve their world view," Nickel added.
A large Swiss mining company used to support the efforts of Callpas, however, because of the economic downturn their contract with the nonprofit ended March 31.
Now that their major source of funding has dried up, Hoffman is in high gear looking at ways to raise the money needed.
Many have seen her table at the Christmas bazaars in John Day where she sells scarves, hats and gloves made of alpaca wool. She is still selling these items, including a new line made of baby alpaca wool with an even softer texture.
She has plans in the works to sell traditional Peruvian food at community events.
She believes locals will be impressed with the food, which she says is flavorful and natural with the flavor coming from the Peruvian chiles. She added that it won't be too spicy.
"All the world is very excited about trying Peruvian food," she said. "It's become popular in the last three years through all the world in gourmet cooking."
Hoffman married her husband, Norm Hoffman, in Lima, Peru. Later, when they moved their family to the U.S. and she became a U.S. citizen in 1992, she was amazed to see the wealth of educational opportunities in her new country.
Their four daughters learned English quickly with the help of books, computer and TV.
They are following their mother's love of learning: their oldest, Ada, is a speech therapist in Lincoln City, Maria graduated from Oregon Health Sciences University, Sabrina attends Concordia University and has qualified for a national track tournament, and Karina is a junior at Grant Union High School and also participates in track.
She looked back on how hard it was for her, being a Quechua-speaking child learning Spanish at age 9, and then striving to master the English language as an adult.
"I learned how hard it was to study another language," she said. "That growed in my heart to help them (the children of Challhuahuacha) because education is the only tool to have better quality in your life."
Slideshow
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