Kids
Underprivaledge, working kids from the region Cusco
The kids who participate in the workshops at Pasa la Voz are between the ages 12 and 18 years old. They come from various local projects in Cusco, who take in and nurture kids from the lowest social classes. All these kids live in problematic social situations and are often neglected. Many of them live on the street due to circumstances at home; one or both parents may be deceased or they experience drug and alcohol abuse or domestic violence. These kids work daily hours on end on the street under severe circumstances, just to survive.
Before these kids participated in the Pasa la Voz workshops, they took part in courses related to occupational skills organized by the organizations in which they stayed. The skills they were taught were always traditional Peruvian and conservative professions, like shoe polishing, handcrafts, wood sculpting, ceramics and sewing. The objection to these professions are that they are gender affirmative, little innovative and under-appreciative of the intellectual capacities of the kids. Also, these skills do not enhance future prospects on the labor market, since the majority of them are already working in these trades. Therefore, Pasa la Voz aims to teach these kids modern, innovative and alternative knowledge and techniques, with which they can enhance their living conditions and increase future chances on the labor market.
Pasa la Voz feels that kids are intellectually much more capable than their surroundings often think and to which they are educated. Therefore it is of utmost importance that kids become aware of their own capacities and dare to formulate their opinions and ideas. To increase this awareness the educational methodologies of the workshops are aimed at developing self-confidence, creativity, assertiveness, and stimulating active participation by the kids themselves.
Pasa la Voz offers kids a safe environment where they come twice a week to perform forming and educational activities and where they can manufacture products. These products are sold in the Pasa la Voz kids museum , where it will bring in more than sold on the streets.
