March 2006 Trip a Success

Dear Friends of the Becky Fund,

Please excuse my delay in getting the 2006 trip report out to you. I was hopingthat the 3 college students, who we were fortunate enough to have accompany us this year, would be able to participate in the writing, but their busy schedules haven't allowed that to happen.

Our trip started out on a sad note as my friend Toby, from Spokane, learned her mother had terminal cancer the day her tickets arrived, so she was unable to go. Two weeks before the trip my brother-in-law, Ross, from New Zealand fell off his roof and injured both ankles and legs. However, I did have incredible participants in Ann Smith, her daughter Marie, and two college friends of Marie, Matt and Dan, all from Boston.

This was our third trip and the people were waiting for us! Everyday we had teachers or parents coming to find us, on the street, at the hotel, etc. It still amazes, and humbles me that they so value the supplies that we provide. We also get such wonderful and loving support from the whole Wilson family and the many friends of Becky and Mendel. Without them it would be impossible to do this work.

Every morning we load up the van with the boxes of teacher's materials, supplies for the kids, and head to the oven to buy fresh bread (500 pieces). Next we head out and I have no idea where we are going. They tell me which schools we are going to visit that day, some as far as three hours up the mountain. Miraculously we find the schools and they seem to know we are coming. I still don't know how it all happens. In several schools the parents had gathered to thank us for our gifts. The children sing or dance, and the parents and teachers serve a soft drink, some potatoes, or crackers. Sometimes they present us with homemade presents. These people who have so little share what they have with such dignity and pride it makes my heart ache.

This year we gave a box of supplies to each teacher, instead of one to each school. We were hoping that this would eliminate any competition. Also, we recognize that they each desperately need these things, as they often have to buy supplies out of their own meager salaries. We include such items as scissors, glue, rulers, masking tape, 3 kinds of paper, magic markers, colored pencils, pens, story books, puzzles, clay, soap, towel, etc. Of course, the most popular items with the children are still the volley and soccer balls. It still is the only thing they have to play with. Each child receives a plastic bag with notebooks, pencils, erasers and sharpeners.

I still can't believe how excited they are to receive these simple things. This trip we gave to 3,250 children and gave supplies to teachers in 78 different places . In addition, we were able to buy cooking pots and plastic cups for several schools so the teachers and parents can cook something for the children with the few commodities the government provides. Often the families send a few potatoes or yucca to augment what they prepare. One of the preschools had been given a fairly nice building, but there wasn't a thing in it. We contracted with a local carpenter to build desks and chairs, painted in bright colors. We were also able to assist a nun who makes a noon meal for about 120 kids, without any government or agency support, by buying some large quantities of food.

In one remote village the teacher is working to keep the young people participating in their cultural traditions by having the girls knit and the boys play the traditional musical instruments. We were able to assist in this effort by purchasing enough yarn and instruments for the school year.

As always there were some very touching things that happened. One that moved me deeply was when a man approached me and told me that his son had chosen Becky for his godmother. They had waited for my arrival to ask if I would consent to be the godmother in her place. The young boy came to meet me, and I guess I passed as we are scheduled for the big celebration next year. A woman who we buy many supplies from in the market, and who has been very supportive of our work, also asked if I would be the godmother to her only son. When I consented, she also asked if my sister would sponsor her at church so she and the boy's father could get married. We are going to be part of in some meaningful celebrations next year!

We are happy to announce that we have been granted tax-free status, thanks to the hard work of Angela Larson. Michael Prichard is the President of our Board, Alex the Vice-President, Jessica Cannon the Secretary, and I am the Treasurer, but Frank does all the work of keeping us fiscally compliant. The real force behind this project is all of you who make it happen with your incredible generosity!!!!

There are thousands of desperately poor children and parents who thank you with humble gratitude.

Love, Dinny

PS: I want to include a few comments I received from Matt and Dan:

"The teachers we met were some of the most dedicated I have ever known"

"In nearly every political conversation I heard it was mentioned that the Quechuas were being manipulated by politicians. Promises would be made for better living conditions and more prosperity, vague assurances that are rarely followed through on. Education gains a whole new level of importance within this context"

"The gratitude of the children surprised me at each school. At one school there was no teacher, because she had a meeting. Still, the children waited for us most of the day, and when we arrived they sang for us, and a couple of them gave speeches on the school's behalf. These were words of appreciation from children who couldn't have been more that 12 years old"

"I saw poverty in these villages, but I did not see much despair"

"Dan remarked that through this experience he felt like he had gotten to know Becky, and I (Matt) felt the same way. Neither of us had known her, but after spending as little time as two weeks with people who had, I did start to get a sense of what kind of person she was. Her family and her friends had taken a tragic event and built something positive out of it. For her death to inspire others in that way gave me an impression of who she was"

The Becky Fund in LoreMagazine.com

The Becky Fund was recently the feature article in Loremagazine.com, a magazine for residential real estate associates, and brokers.

Upcoming Trip

The next trip to Peru is scheduled for April 11-25, 2008. To volunteer or donate contact us.

Our Mission

The Becky Fund was established with a vision of aiding the children of Peru, who continue to be the most vulnerable victims of the crippling poverty of the region.

Since its beginning in 2003, the fund has provided thousands of children in rural areas
of Peru with individual school supplies and almost 100 schools with teacher materials. In schools where the few items available are usually purchased by the teacher with his or her own money, these supplies can make the difference between a child having only a rudimentary understanding of the language and being truly literate, opening up options for that child’s ability to make a contribution to his or her community in the future.

Throughout the region, children exhibit the signs of suffering from poor nutrition. These signs include delayed mental and physical development, and lower resistance to infection. In response to this need, a nutrition component, called “the guinea pig project”, was initiated in 2005. Focusing on a traditional source of protein in Peru, a plan was presented to the schools to provide the young animals. In the participating schools, the parents and teachers have made a commitment to build a habitat for the animals and to prepare meals for the children at the school.

The work of the Becky Fund is possible through the generosity of hundreds of donors. Over 95% of what is donated is spent in direct aid to the children of Peru. Volunteers to the program pay their own expenses. The activities afforded by the Becky Fund have affected thousands of lives, those of the children, their parents and the teachers. Through the education and energy of their
children, the Peruvian people see hope for lifting themselves out of poverty.

April 2005 Trip

May 2005

Dear Friends of the Becky Fund,

I have just returned from Peru and wanted to update you on what was accomplished on this second trip. I was fortunate to be accompanied by Amy Mahowald, my stepdaughter from St. Paul, Christina and Ross, my sister and her husband from New Zealand, and an old friend from many Habitat for Humanity builds, Ann, and her daughter, Marie from Boston. We were an energetic and efficient team!

This year we provided individual school supplies to over 3000 children and teacher materials to almost 60 schools. Our format is for each child to get a plastic bag and then go through our “assembly line”. They receive notebooks, pencils, eraser, sharpener, ruler, colored pencils and bread. From the looks on their faces you would think we were giving a trip to Disneyland. They are incredulous that they have something of their very own. The school receives a box of materials, including several kinds of paper, masking tape, glue, scissors, markers, pens dictionary, story books, puzzles, tempera paint, etc. These basic items are all the schools have to work with, and usually the teachers must purchase them from their meager salaries of a few hundred dollars a month. The big hit though is the volley and soccer balls that we give to each school; it is the only thing that they have to play with.

This year we were able to get to some schools that are very remote (sometimes by pushing the van through mud holes, clearing rocks, etc.). Several of these are located where there are no roads. The children, teachers and some of the parents would walk several hours to meet us at the end of the road. It was such a moving sight to see a village coming down out of the mountains, often with a horse to carry the things back. That is certainly indicative of how much they value the help that we bring them. One village that came down became separated and we had to wait for them all to arrive. We had some balloons so we started playing with the children. They were reluctant at first to join in, or maybe they didn’t know what we were doing, but they soon got into it with great glee. I heard real belly laughs for the first time from these children. The look on the mothers’ faces as they watched their children laugh and play was worth the whole trip.

Another day we traveled 3 hours to a town up the mountain. Along the way the driver of our van would honk his horn and kids would come running up the mountain from their homes. He would tell them in Quechuan, the indigenous language, that we would be back in a couple of hours and they should get the village together to meet us. When we arrived at our first rendezvous the village was there to meet us, all dressed in their indigenous clothing. The president of the parents association opened his cloth pack he carried on his back.his wife had sent lunch, Guinea pigs and potatoes. When we got back to the town we met a teacher who apologized that her school had not been able to walk down, as the 5 hour trip was too much for her 3-5 year olds. She told us that the walk up is 7 hours, (after the three hour bus ride) which she does with her 1-year-old child on her back. We were happy to leave the materials with her, which the parents would take back on horseback. Amy and I were so moved by this woman’s dedication that we both gave her our shoes. On the return trip they were waiting for us along the way, pouring up, or down, the mountainside. We stopped and gave out school materials, clothes and bread. It was amazing.

At one of the schools the mothers wanted to cook a meal for us in appreciation for our help. We came back the next day after our work for the party. They were cooking in a kitchen with a dirt floor over an open fire. We were seated in the tiny nursery school size chairs and served a beautiful meal of stuffed peppers, potatoes, rice beet salad, and the dreaded Inca Cola. They had a local musician playing the Andean harp, his brother sang, and later we all danced in the dark because they have no electricity. Again, it is so humbling to have people who have so little share the best of what they have.

Maybe the most exciting accomplishment this year was the establishment of the “guinea pig project”. I had been very concerned about the lack of good nutrition for the children, which contributes to their delayed mental and physical development. I had thought that having the schools raise chickens would be a good solution to this problem. After a long discussion with many teachers and other local people it was decided that that idea was a bad one. But, what did make sense was to do the same thing with guinea pigs. They are considered a delicacy, food is plentiful and free, the people know how to raise them, and they are extremely high in protein. A plan was presented to the schools that if the parents and teachers would construct the habitat we would provide the animals. We took precautions to ensure that this would belong to the children and the schools, the mothers or the teachers would commit to make a meal for the children, and this would be an on-going resource. When we left there were 6 schools that were ready to go, and money was left for other schools that wished to participate. It is likely that several other nursery schools will join the project, which is particularly beneficial if better nutrition can be provided at a younger age.

Of course, all the schools want to know when we are coming back! The only thing I am able to tell them is that if we have money we will return. All the things we did this year, and there are many I haven’t mentioned, was done with only $7000. So, the future is up to you all, and your continued generosity. We are all plotting and scheming to figure out other ways to make money, such as adventure travel groups to the area that would include a donation to the Becky Fund, and building a school, etc. as part of the trip. If you have ideas, please pass them on. A big, huge thank-you to all of your for your love and support that made all this happen and brought some big smiles to some very poor children!!!

Dinny

About Becky

The Becky Fund was established in 2003 in memory of Becky Prichard.

The following story by Trudi Hahn, was printed in the Minneapolis Star Tribune on June 22, 2003.

Elizabeth (Becky) Prichard, who found her place in the world because political turmoil briefly trapped her mother in Bolivia, was interred June 15 in Calca, Peru. The St. Paul native, who had been running a restaurant in Pisac, Peru, drowned June 9 after a car accident near Calca, where she lived. She was 30.

Friends and family members who gather Saturday in St. Paul will recall an adventurous woman who was delighted by the bright rhythms of Latin American culture.

Prichard graduated from St. Paul's Central High School in an accelerated college-class program. She and her mother then traveled around Latin America for four months.

"She never wanted to be tied down to doing anything normally," said her mother, Diana Bomberg of Las Cruces, N.M.

Prichard lived for a time with an aunt in New Zealand, where she became certified as a teacher of English as a second language.

Fluent in Spanish, she worked in Minnesota for a while as an advocate for migrant farm workers, said her brother, Michael Prichard of Birmingham, Ala.

In her mid-20s, she stayed with a cousin in Albuquerque, N.M., where she attended college, studying Hispanic culture.

School associates wanted her to get a graduate degree, "but that wasn't Becky," her mother said. She would rather be off doing something new.

"Every time she traveled, she'd miss her plane, lose her ticket, be late -- that was the source of a lot of her adventures," Michael Prichard said.

About three years ago, Becky Prichard was living in Miami when her mother took a volunteer vacation to help build a house in Bolivia through Global Village Work Camps, an international branch of Habitat for Humanity.

Bomberg suggested that they meet when the work was done so they could travel to the ruins of Machu Picchu. A rendezvous was arranged for Cuzco, Peru.

Prichard got to Cuzco, but political turmoil in Bolivia prevented her mother from traveling for almost a week. By the time Bomberg got to Cuzco, Prichard had a host of friends and planned to move there.

She agreed to work as a bilingual staffer in an adventure-travel company's office if they would train her to be a whitewater rafting guide, her mother said.

"She wasn't afraid of anything," her brother said. "She would go trekking [alone] in the Andes for three, four days with her dog and a backpack."

The whitewater work proved to be too adventurous even for Prichard, one of the first women to be a whitewater guide in Peru, her mother said. After about a year, she switched to assisting on trail trips.

Tired of city life in Cuzco, she soon agreed to run a restaurant in Pisac. That situation didn't work out, but she liked the small market town, which was a jump-off point for touring Incan ruins, including Machu Picchu. Its children were so poor that their toys were pop-bottle caps.

In May 2002 she embarked on remodeling an old building for a second-floor restaurant.

"She'd say, 'Put a window there,' and somebody would take a sledgehammer and go bam!" said her mother, who was visiting at the time.

From the chaos emerged an airy, open space where diners could observe the bustling market and gaze at misty mountainside ruins while choosing from Prichard's health-conscious menu items, which included fresh trout, alpaca meat and quinoa soup.

She became engaged this spring to longtime boyfriend Mendel Wilson Muñiz, a Peruvian whitewater guide. She was treasurer at his daughter's Catholic elementary school, helping to raise funds for basic supplies such as aspirin and bandage strips -- or paying for them herself. The children had to buy their own supply kit of notebooks and pencils. If they were too poor to do so, they weren't allowed to attend classes.

She tried to help a group of children who had been organized as a dance class that didn't work out, inviting them to sing in the restaurants on Saturdays for tips and food.

On June 9, she was driving back to Calca from Cuzco after picking up Wilson when their car blew a tire and slid into an eddy of the Urubamba River. Wilson got out, but Prichard drowned because her seat belt got wrapped around her foot.

Her mother, brother and other family members arrived June 11. A two-day wake ensued while Wilson's sister worked through a forest of paperwork and fees to get permission to send the body to the crematorium in Lima. The family took the casket to the airport on June 13, but the body never was put on a plane. In Peru, any traffic accident is considered a criminal investigation, Bomberg said. Authorities wouldn't release the body for cremation while the investigation continued, which might take a year.

The only option was to leave Becky Prichard's remains in Peru. She was interred June 15 in the bright orange section of Calca's outdoor mausoleum, next to the purple section.

In addition to her fiancé, her brother Michael and her mother, survivors include her father, Michael Prichard of St. Paul; another brother, Alexander of Fairbanks, Alaska; her grandmother, Jane Rogstad Hawkins of Scottsdale, Ariz., and five stepbrothers and stepsisters.

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Becky's fund has 501(c)(3) status and donations are tax deductible.

Checks are preferred because 100% of donation is received,

Send checks to:

The Becky Fund
4483 Nambre Arc
Las Cruces, NM 88011

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Nuestra misión

El Becky Fund fue establecido con una visión de ayudar a los niños de Perú, quienes siguen siendo las víctimas más vulnerables de la pobreza agobiante de la región.

Desde su comienzo en 2003, el fondo ha proporcionado útiles escolares individuales a miles de niños en las zonas rurales y materiales para los maestros de casi 100 escuelas. En las escuelas donde los maestros han comprado con su propio dinero las pocas cosas disponibles, estos útiles escolares y materiales pueden hacer la diferencia entre un niño que sólo tiene un entendimiento rudimentario del idioma y un niño que es verdaderamente alfabetizado. Ser alfabetizado abre muchas oportunidades para un niño para que en el futuro pueda contribuir a su comunidad.

En toda la región, hay niños que sufren los síntomas de desnutrición. Estos síntomas incluyen desarrollo mental retrasado, desarrollo físico retrasado y resistencia baja a las infecciones. Para responder a esta necesidad, un elemento de nutrición, llamado “el Proyecto Cuy,” fue iniciado en 2005. Enfocado en una fuente tradicional de proteína en Perú, un plan se presentó a las escuelas para proporcionarles animales. En las escuelas participantes, los padres y los maestros han asumido las responsabilidades de hacer un lugar donde los animales pueden vivir y de preparar comidas para los niños en la escuela.

El trabajo del Becky Fund es posible debido a la generosidad de centenares de donantes. Más de 95% de lo que se dona se gasta en la ayuda directa de los niños de Perú. Los voluntarios del programa pagan sus propios gastos. Las actividades proporcionadas por el Becky Fund han tocado miles de vidas, las de los niños, sus padres y los maestros. Por medio de la educación y la energía de sus hijos, la gente peruana tiene la esperanza de alzarse de la pobreza.

Acerca de Becky

El Becky Fund fue establecido en 2003 en memoria de Becky Prichard.

La siguiente historia por Trudi Hahn, fue publicada en el Minneapolis Star Tribune el 22 de junio de 2003.

Elizabeth (Becky) Prichard, quien encontró su lugar en el mundo porque una confusión política atrapó brevemente a su madre en Bolivia, fue enterrada el 15 de junio en Calca, Perú. La nativa de St. Paul, Minnesota, que era gerente de un restaurante en Pisac, Perú, se ahogó el 9 de junio después de un accidente de carro cerca de Calca donde vivía. Tenía 30 años.

Amigos y parientes que se reúnen el sábado en St. Paul recordarán a una mujer aventurera a quien le encantaban los ritmos vivos de la cultura latinoamericana.

Prichard se graduó de St. Paul’s Central High School en un programa acelerado de cursos universitarios. Después, ella y su madre viajaron por América Latina por cuatro meses.

"Ella nunca quería limitarse a hacer las cosas de una manera normal," dijo su madre, Diana Bomberg de Las Cruces, Nuevo México.

Prichard vivía por un tiempo con una tía en Nueva Zelanda, donde se certificó como maestra de inglés como segundo idioma.

Dominando el español, trabajaba en Minnesota como defensora para los inmigrantes que trabajaban en las granjas, dijo su hermano, Michael Prichard de Birmingham, Alabama.

A mediados de los 20 años, se quedaba con un pariente en Albuquerque, Nuevo México, donde asistía a la universidad, estudiando la cultura hispana.

Los colegas de la universidad querían que hiciera un curso de posgrado, "pero eso no era Becky," dijo su madre. Prefería hacer algo nuevo.

"Cada vez que viajaba, perdía su avión, se le perdía el pasaje, llegaba tarde – eso era la fuente de muchas de sus aventuras," dijo Michael Prichard.

Hace alrededor de tres años, Becky Prichard vivía en Miami, Florida y su madre hizo un viaje de voluntarios para ayudar a construir una casa en Bolivia por medio de Global Village Work Camps, una rama internacional de Hábitat para la Humanidad.

Bomberg sugirió que se reunieran después para que pudieran conocer las ruinas de Machu Picchu. Decidieron encontrarse en Cuzco, Perú.

Prichard llegó a Cuzco, pero una confusión política impidió que su madre viajara por casi una semana. Cuando Bomberg llegó a Cuzco, Prichard ya tenía muchos amigos y planeaba mudarse ahí.

Aceptó trabajar como una trabajadora bilingüe en la oficina de una compañía de viajes aventureros si ellos la capacitaban como una guía de canotaje, dijo su madre.

"Ella no tenía miedo de nada," dijo su hermano. "Hacía senderismo [sola] en Los Andes por tres o cuatro días con su perro y una mochila."

El trabajo como guía resultó ser demasiado aventurero aun para Prichard, una de las primeras mujeres a ser una guía de canotaje en Perú, dijo su madre. Después de alrededor de un año cambió de trabajo y ayudaba con las excursiones de sendero.

Cansada de la vida ciudadana en Cuzco, aceptó dirigir un restaurante en Pisac. La cosa no salió bien, pero le gustaba el mercado al aire libre del pueblo, lo cual era una base para visitar las ruinas de los Incas, incluyendo Machu Picchu. Los niños del pueblo eran tan pobres que sus juguetes eran tapas de botellas.

En mayo de 2002, emprendió el proyecto de remodelar un edificio viejo para un restaurante de segundo piso.

"Decía, "Que pongan una ventana ahí," y alguien levantaba una almádena y BAM!" dijo su madre, que estaba de visita en ese tiempo.

Desde el caos surgió un espacio aireado y abierto donde los comensales podían observar el mercado bullicioso y mirar las ruinas en las laderas brumosas mientras escogían de los platos saludables de Prichard, entre los cuales se encontraban trucha fresca, carne de alpaca y sopa de quinua.

Esta primavera se prometieron Prichard y su novio de mucho tiempo, Mendel Wilson Muñiz, un peruano que era guía de canotaje. Ella era la tesorera en la escuela católica de la hija de su novio. Ayudaba a recaudar fondos para las necesidades básicas como aspirina y curitas o ella misma las compraba. Los niños tenían que comprar sus propios útiles escolares. Si eran demasiado pobres para hacerlo, no se permitía que asistieran a clases.

Prichard intentó ayudar a un grupo de niños que se habían organizado como una clase de baile. Los invitó a cantar en los restaurantes los sábados para ganar propinas y comida.

El 9 de junio, Prichard regresaba a Calca de Cuzco después de recoger a Wilson cuando se les explotó una llanta y el carro se resbaló en un torbellino del Río Urubamba. Wilson se escapó, pero Prichard se ahogó porque el cinturón de seguridad se le había envuelto alrededor del pie.

Su madre, hermano y otros parientes llegaron el 11 de junio. Hubo un velorio de dos días mientras la hermana de Wilson hacía un montón de papeleo y honorarios para sacar permiso para mandar el cuerpo al crematorio de Lima. La familia llevó el ataúd al aeropuerto el 13 de junio, pero nunca lo pusieron en el avión. En Perú, cualquier accidente de tráfico se considera una investigación criminal, dijo Bomberg. Las autoridades no permitirían que se incinerara el cuerpo mientras siguiera la investigación lo que se podría tardar un año.

La única opción era dejar los restos de Becky Prichard en Perú. Fue enterrada el 15 de junio en la sección anaranjada del mausoleo de Calca, al lado de la sección violeta.

Además de su novio, su hermano Michael y su madre, los sobrevivientes incluyen a su padre, Michael Prichard de St. Paul, Minnesota; otro hermano, Alexander de Fairbanks, Alaska; su abuela, Jane Rogstad Hawkins de Scottsdale, Arizona; y sus cinco hermanastros.