A Look Inside Manos Unidas Peru

Peruvian Artist Exhibit/Fundraiser NYC

May 17, 2012, What an exquisite night! Gorgeous artwork by a variety of Peruvian Artists, delicious gourmet bites, pisco sours and a mix of a beautiful crowd. More than 150 people talked, laughed, met, shared and toasted the work of Manos Unidas, the first private school for special education in Cusco, Peru.

MU Co-founder and director, Celeste Marion, was present at the event to greet and meet people, most for the first time. The Peruvian Consulate, film producers, special ed teachers and therapists, friends and supporters all united on this special evening as the delicate sounds of Yuri Juarez and his Latin jazz trio played in the background. We were all left with our mouths wide open when Cynthia Paniagua sensually moved across the stage, dancing to typical afro-peruvian rhythms.

Thank you to the MU Board of directors and Patricia Engelhard who made this event possible as well as friends and volunteers. Your time and dedication was invaluable to the success of the evening!

It was my pleasure to be there, I feel inspired by the presence of so many people, new supporters who will continue to help us grow and touch the lives of many more kids and families in Cusco.

First Autism Awareness Walk in Cusco

 Inspired by the Global Autism Project and World Autism Awareness Day (April 2), Manos Unidas organized the first Autism Awareness Walk in Cusco, Peru on April 14, 2012. We contacted several other institutions that work directly with children with Autism or other intellectual disabilities and inspired the first collaborative awareness walk. More than 100 parents, kids and friends alike joined together for the 45 minute walk from the Plaza de Armas to the Plaza de Tupacamaru, handing out the official WAAD fold out printed in Spanish about world autism statistics and our fliers for direct services. There were drums, dancing, acrobatics, face painting, laughter and fun as we made our first impression on Cusco. Congrats everybody!

Press Articles

Manos Unidas in the press:

Scarsdale Residents Raise Money for Special Education in Peru

A small group of Scarsdale residents raised money for the first private school for special education in Cusco, Peru.
Source: http://scarsdale.patch.com/articles/scarsdale-residents-raise-money-for-special-education-in-peru

Bothell High grad hosting fund-raiser for Peruvian special-needs school she founded

Celeste Marion, who graduated from Bothell High in 1998 and the University of Washington in 2003, founded Peru's first special-education school in 2009 and will soon be holding a fund-raiser to benefit the future of the institution and her nonprofit, Manos Unidas, which benefits the education of special-needs students in Peru.
Source: http://www.bothell-reporter.com/news/136269288.html?mobile=true

Manos Unidas – The Camino Nuevo School of Cusco

Our friend Celeste Marion, a Seattle, Washington native, and Mercedes Delgado Chavez, from Cusco, decided in 2004 to tackle a seemingly insurmountable problem: the cultural stigma in Peru against children with disabilities.
Source: http://www.fertur-travel.com/blog/communities-caring/manos-unidas-the-camino-nuevo-school-of-cusco/

Peruvian Art & Cocktail Party May 17 in NYC - Event to Support Manos Unidas Special Ed School in Cusco, Peru

Versión en Español aqui

  Manos Unidas Peru

The first school for special education in Cusco, Peru

www.manosunidasperu.net

For immediate release
   
Contacts (for interviews, photos, event invites and more)
       
Celeste Marion                                   Mitchell Teplitsky
Founder/Director, Manos Unidos          PR & Board member, Manos Unidos
celeste.thelady@gmail.com                MTeplitsky@gmail.com
+51 98-445-5888 (Cusco, Peru)            (1) 917-267-2445 (New York, NY)

---

Peruvian Art & Cocktail Party May 17 in NYC
Event  to Support Manos Unidas Special Ed School in Cusco, Peru

(April 2, 2012, New York, NY)  The public is invited to attend an after-work Peruvian art/cocktail party on Thursday, May 17 in Manhattan to raise funds for Manos Unidas Peru, which built the first private school for special education in Cusco, Peru, and celebrate Peru's new partnership with the New York-based Global Autism Project, benefiting students with autism at Manos Unidas.

The event, featuring exhibits  by acclaimed Peruvian artists, pisco sour cocktails and delectable Peruvian appetizers, is being sponsored by the Consulate of Peru in New York, the Children of Peru Foundation, Escarole Peruvian catering, Tutuma Social Club and MU board members Andrew and Lorraine Kransdorf.

Manos Unidas executive director Celeste Marion will be flying in from Cusco to meet guests and talk about Manos Unidas, which she co-founded in 2007 with educator Mercedes Delgado in a living room with two students who were rejected by regular public schools. Today, their school serves nearly 100 students, regardless of ability to pay. Manos Unidas subsidizes their education through scholarships supported by individual private donors.

Where:              Hayden 5 Loft

22 West 27th St., New York City

When:             Thursday, May 17, 6:00-8:00 pm

Donation:         $25 per person in advance,  $35 at door

                       Includes pisco sour cocktail and gourmet Peruvian appetizers

                       Proceeds will go towards scholarships for students with autism

Reserve:           www.manosunidasperu.net

Exhibits:           Paintings by Estrella Dannon, Fernando Pomalaza and Carlos Tunananna

Photographs by Vanessa Cuneo

Artwork will be available for sale to benefit Manos Unidas

Music:              Yuri Juarez Jazz Trio

Pisco and Catering by EsCarole Catering, specializing in Gourmet Peruvian cuisine

   

About Manos Unidas

Manos Unidas Peru (MU), a Peruvian non-profit organization, founded the first and only private school for special education in Cusco, Peru in 2008 serving children with Autism and related disorders. MU has been breaking barriers in Cusco with their inclusive education program, vocational training, and advocacy with the Ministry of Education for the inclusion of children with disabilities into regular education schools.
http://www.manosunidasperu.net/

Global Autism Project
The Global Autism Project is a 501(c) 3 nonprofit organization based in New York, NY dedicated to bridging the global gap in the resources and understanding of autism through partnerships with autism centers established by local individuals around the world.
http://www.globalautismproject.org

School Inclusion Workshop with Students

This year Manos Unidas has 4 students included within the same 2nd grade classroom and provides a full time teacher to work within that regular education classroom. The state school, "Andres Alavrino Caceres" has received MU with open arms, an exception to the norm here in Cusco. Of course we have encountered bumps along the way but have succeeded in including more students.

Part of our school inclusion program is to do workshops with all regular school staff, classroom parents and of course, the most important players - the school students.

MU academic coordinator, Rufminia Rojas and MU Co-Founder, Celeste Marion, recently carried out a great workshop with the school students creating role play situations that reinforce social morals appropriate for the treatment of MU students. Without pointing fingers at the kids with disabilities in the classroom, we created general situations where the children had to think about how they would respond and reinforce these attitudes.

It was such a great workshop and our 4 students had the privelage of participating like any other student as well as pass out treats at the end of the class!

Teacher Training Week at Camino Nuevo

We began 2012 with a strong foot forward: a brand new location, new member of the leadership team and 9 new staff members!

A new addition to the 2012 school year that started March 3 was a 40 hour training week led by the Manos Unidas leadership team and accredited by the Peruvian Ministry of Education for in-service training. This 40 hour week was accompanied by the FIRST CAMINO NUEVO TEACHER TRAINING MANUAL compiled by MU´s Co-Founder, Celeste Marion.

Over the last few years we have acquired a numerous amount of professional material from volunteers, university professors and members of the MU board of advisors. This year we decided to combine as many resources as possible to create our first teacher training manual.

The 187 pg manual includes information such as profiles of students we serve (Down syndrome, Autism and many more), successful tecniques for classroom management, alternative communication, behavior modification, how to write an IEP and smart goals, sexual abuse prevention, facilitating relationships with parents and many more topics!

The last friday of every month is dedicated to study group where we will focus more directly on specific topics and strategies for teaching and providing quality education within the field of special education.

A New Year!

A New Year with lots of new beginning! A new BUILDING for the school, 9 new STAFF MEMBERS and welcoming our new academic coordinator, Rufimina! We also hope to have lots of new KIDS this year! Yeah 2012 . . . .

Global Autism Project

MU is excited to announce that PERU as been accepted as the newest partner of the Global Autism Project based in New York city, U.S. GAPs mission is to build local capacity to provide services to individuals with autism in under-served communities Worldwide. They currently support projects in Ghana, Kenya, India . . . . and now Peru!

The Global Autism Project will be working directly with "Alcanzando" run by Ph.D. and BCBA Mapy Chavez, while channeling resources, training and consulting to Manos Unidas in Cusco. Our goal is to unite with other partner organizations here in Cusco to heighten awareness, provide quality education and support families of children with autism throughout the region.

April 2, 2012 is World Autism Awareness Day. Our goal this year is to impact the city of Cusco with events and activities inviting ALL organizations that have a hand in educating, treating or providing legal rights for people with autism in this community. As the Coordinator fo the METRIDIS (Disability Organizations group), my mission is to unite local hospitals, NGOs, public and private schools, governmental institutions, etc.) to participate in these activities.

Cusco WILL hear our voice as we blaze new trails for children with autism and their families!
-Celeste Marion
Co-founder/Coordinator
Manos Unidas Peru

METRIDIS CUSCO

I am proud to announce that I have been elected the new Coordinator of the METRIDIS OF CUSCO. What does that mean? Let me tell you!

The METRIDIS is the "Mesa de trabajo for disability" like the DPO (Disabled Persons Organization ) representation for Cusco. All orgs/programs public and private that have ANY service to people with disabilities meets once a month to organize events, activities, conferences, campaigns in the areas of: Health, Education, Empowerment, Employment and Social Inclusion.

This was our first meeting of the year and as most of you know, I often have something to say about, well, most everything. I like being a part of this group because I dont feel like Manos Unidas is alone in its iniciatives for Inclusive Development. Yes, we reign on the education sector but we are so involved in so many levels.

Sometimes the mentality is like. . . . "well, we have tried and it didnt work" . .. my mentality is "try again, maybe something different!" As the youngest person in the group, the most vocal and passionate about the change we can make, I felt like I inspired some of these old men (as you can see in the photos) :) hence, being nominated as the coordinator of the group. The director of the group is Clorinda Pozo, president of As. Arawiwa that works with children and adults with disabilities in outlying regions of Cusco. We work very well together and I think its funny that the men elected us women to be the leaders and directors! yeah!

This is an amazing opportunity for Manos Unidas to share our work, inspire new thought, collaborate and participate with all sectors working towards equal rights and equal opportunity for people with disabilities in Cusco.

I will keep you updated on our progress!