This last year was an exciting year for Ayni! I had the opportunity to join forces with my school board, YCDSB (York Catholic District School Board), and take a group of 20 students & 7 teachers to work in solidarity with Alto de Los Mores . It was the greatest teaching experience of my life! I couldn’t have offered a more authentic life shaping learning experience to my students. After two weeks of working closely with the kids and families in Al- tos, they returned transformed. My students experienced something so intimate, so real, so worthwhile, that they didn’t want to leave, and when they did, they left their hearts behind and cried their eyes out! Most students were prepared to be “culture shocked” upon arrival to Altos, but the real shock came after they arrived home, having to re-enter our society with the new insights gained. Students returned with a much higher degree of appreciation for what they have, a higher sensitivity towards those who don’t have, a deeper awareness of global inequities, a determination to make use of their talents to continue to make a difference, a great respect for the strength of those that are marginalized, and an unbreakable love for the children that they spent their days with. They truly had a special and challenging experience at such an impressionable age, which they will never forget and which will forever shape who they are. As a teacher, it was incredibly rewarding. And talk about my “worlds colliding,” here I was in Altos, with the students I teach in Canada, now meeting the students that I teach in Peru, with my husband who I met in Peru, with the children that we had together, with my Canadian co-teachers meeting my co-teachers from Peru, with my VP meeting the Principal in Altos….. and every- one was seeing for the first time, firsthand, the difference that our schools St. Brother Andre & Father Michael McGivney have made because of their 12 years of support! It was thrilling, but my head was spinning!! And this year we are doing it again! I will be heading to Peru to work in Altos with a new group of 20 students and teachers this coming spring. So stay tuned... AYNI Newsletter 2012 SEASONS GREETINGS “World’s Colliding” …. A Message from Ayni’s Founder—Margie Orsi http:\\ayni.footboot.net\ Celebrating Ayni’s 12th Anniversary this Spring!!
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This last year was an exciting year for Ayni! I had the opportunity to join forces with my school board, YCDSB (York Catholic District School Board), and take a group of 20 students & 7 teachers to work in solidarity with Alto de Los Mores . It was the greatest teaching experience of my life! I couldn’t have offered a more authentic life shaping learning experience to my students. After two weeks of working closely with the kids and families in Al-tos, they returned transformed. My students experienced something so intimate, so real, so worthwhile, that they didn’t want to leave, and when they did, they left their hearts behind and cried their eyes out!
Most students were prepared to be “culture shocked” upon arrival to Altos, but the real shock came after they arrived home, having to re-enter our society with the new insights gained. Students returned with a much higher degree of appreciation for what they have, a higher sensitivity towards those who don’t have, a deeper awareness of global inequities, a determination to make use of their talents to continue to make a difference, a great respect for the strength of those that are marginalized, and an unbreakable love for the children that they spent their days with. They truly had a special and challenging experience at such an impressionable age, which they will never forget and which will forever shape who they are. As a teacher, it was incredibly rewarding.
And talk about my “worlds colliding,” here I was in Altos, with the students I teach in Canada, now meeting the students that I teach in Peru, with my husband who I met in Peru, with the children that we had together, with my Canadian co-teachers meeting my co-teachers from Peru, with my VP meeting the Principal in Altos….. and every-one was seeing for the first time, firsthand, the difference that our schools St. Brother Andre & Father Michael McGivney have made because of their 12 years of support! It was thrilling, but my head was spinning!! And this year we are doing it again! I will be heading to Peru to work in Altos with a new group of 20 students and teachers this coming spring. So stay tuned...
AYNI Newsletter 2012
SEASONS GREETINGS
“World’s Colliding” …. A Message from Ayni’s Founder—Margie Orsi
http:\\ayni.footboot.net\
Celebrating Ayni’s 12th Anniversary this Spring!!
Special Thanks to ALL of our 2012 Donators:
St. Brother Andre CHS
Fr. Michael McGivney
CHS
Bombardier Family
Szczygielski Family
Marg & David Lingard
Janine Hellmann & Mark
& Regouby & Personal
Philanthropy
Mark Mustacich & B.C.
Moto Team
Jay Hayashi & Kim Ste-
vens
Dave Bates & Donna
Ngo
St. Michaels School &
Courtney Fitzaptrick
St. Elizabeth CHS
Menzies & McGarry
Family
Col & Anita Signorino
Catherine Fullerton
Daria Stadnik
Debra Isaacs Lawrence
Mr. Blando’s Class
Nicole Capogna & Olivia
kavanagh
Adore-Lino Family
MacDonald High School &
Heather MacDonald
Zoretic Family
Samantha Torres & Co-workers
Eileen Jung, Maggie Fojas
Ammar Akhtar
Special Extra Thanks to
our Partners:
P A G E 2
AYNI & YCDSB STUDENTS
I look back on my time spent in
the village of Alto’s and think
about what the lives of so many
of the children I spent my time
with have been like since my
departure. Mine certainly has not
been the same. There isn't a day
that goes by that these children
go unforgotten. I constantly find
myself fishing for opportunities
to talk about them. I only hope
that one day I’ll be able to return
to see how successful they’ve
become. These children are
truly an inspiration to me, de-
spite their real economic hard-
ships they seem to be the happi-
est kids on earth.
A Y N I N E W S L E T T E R 2 0 1 2 S E A S O N S G R E E T I N G S
A Students Perspective By Aaliyah Hoo
Their happiness certainly filled
my heart, and I am grateful to
have been part of something so
meaningful.
Supporting Education... from Elementary to High School to Post-Secondary P A G E 3
From Ayni’s community library, to our annual school supply distribution, to our high school & post-secondary scholarships, to our
extra-curricular programs, to our educational workshops and volunteer teaching, futures seem brighter than ever in Altos. Thank
you to ALL of our donators who have collectively made this happen!
Come to Ayni any day of the week & you’ll find groups of children hanging off the arms of our volunteers. Whether its skipping, playing soccer, paint-
ing, teaching ESL, running the library, throwing parties, taking kids on field trips, building mud brick stoves, planting trees, meeting with families, or
buying pigs, our volunteers work their butts off and they do it all for free! It’s all worth it though, because the smiles they get in return are priceless!!
Ayni 2012 Volunteers: Phillip Anderson (UK) & Jon Brackett (UK), Bailee Choi (U.S),
Jenny Pestel (U.S.), Returning Volunteers: Barbara Paraskevakos (Canada), Peter Wood