From Early Years, our students support many causes through collections, donations, and other activities. Markham College encourages students throughout their school career to participate in service activities, to help them become aware of  their community and environment by supporting local and international causes.

Each classroom of our youngest students, in Early Years, adopts a charity which they support throughout the year. These organisations include library projects in rural schools, children at risk, animal rescues, etc.

Student-led classes for school workers

In 2017, we piloted an initiative in which students could teach English to school workers as part of their CAS. The result was a win-win situation for all those involved, making it an on-going project. Students and workers, both critical members of the Markham community, work together, further developing a sense of community within the school.

Teachers supervise the activity, offering suggestions on topics to cover, but it is the students' responsibility to develop the content they wish to teach each week. Students expand their own skills during the process of teaching and planning. They learn to empathise with people who may find things difficult to learn, which offers a good insight as learners themselves. They learn teamwork as they plan and deliver classes with other students, encouraging people to learn and making the experience enjoyable for all those involved. Teaching also helps them feel more comfortable when speaking in public.

Currently, about 15 workers have benefitted from these weekly lessons, all of whom have made a great deal of progress in their English. This experience has also helped the workers feel more  comfortable and welcome as part of the school community. As they regularly interact with English speaking teachers, it has helped them to communicate better with them.

“It’s an incredible experience and I would recommend it to everyone” - Josefina Wu, student

Donations for school workers

Every year, the school prefects reach out to the whole school community for donations to gift the school workers during the holidays. This is a student-led activity that invites every year group to participate, benefitting the workers and recognising their contribution to school life during the year.

Donations for Sonene

Sonene is located in the province of Madre de Dios (approximately 6 hours away in boat from Puerto Maldonado, within the Bahuaja national park). It is a remote community, very isolated -  they speak the language of 'Ese Eja', though they are also fluent in Spanish.

In 2017 students helped build a dining room for the community. In 2018  they built classrooms for the children. Supporting the Sonene community is an amazing opportunity to not only build accommodations for the community, but also to build bonds with the local people.

The Service Council organised a Christmas gift campaign for the children of the Sonene community. In 2017 students received a list of 65 children and their goal was to give a gift to each one of them, their ages varying from 3 months to 13 years of age.

After running a donations campaign, all of the children received a Christmas gift. One of the teachers, was able to deliver the Christmas gifts to the community who were incredibly excited and thankful.

- By the Service Council

Supporting education

Students in Lower School work in groups to create a new commercial product. They design, produce and sell these products (such as fidget spinners, toys for pets, bracelets, stress balls and plant pots) in order to fundraise for Amantaní, an organisation that helps provide support and greater access to education for children in the Cusco area.

A group of Markham student volunteers work with Kantaya Perú to help children in Ventanilla develop their skills and talents. Students are responsible for organising a range of activities and games at Markham for the children of Kantaya. Lower School students hold a bake sale to fundraise for Kantaya Peru.

Book donations

During Book week, all three sections of the school collect new or gently used Spanish books suitable for 6-12 year-olds. All of the donations go to Vía Libro, a non-profit organisation specialised in encouraging a pleasure for reading and improving the reading comprehension of young people of scarce resources in Peru while facilitating their access to quality books.

Over 770 books were collected in 2018, helping to stock the libraries of two communal centers from El Agustino and two state schools from Barranco.

- By the Service Council

Fight against cancer

Students support Casa Magia, an organisation that pays for the medical expenses of children’s cancer treatment as well as housing expenses for hosting their families, who come from all parts of Peru.

In 2018 the Lower School students did a sponsored jog and raised S/ 25,530 for this organisation. In addition, the school also collects gently used uniforms to donate to Casa Magia. The students’ families help sew the foundation’s logo onto the donated uniforms. Students also design, draw and colour pieces of quilts which are sewn into bedspreads for the children’s beds in Casa Magia.

Upper School students further support the Casa Magia organisation with ongoing collections throughout the school.

In 2018, the prefects organised a Lower School collection of World Cup football stickers. These stickers were donated to the INEN for a special World Cup celebration of children in the ward.

Campaña Friaje

The Upper School collects collects money, blankets, winter clothes and accessories for an NGO called Juguete Pendiente, an organisation that helps manage social projects for less fortunate communities. The campaign provides people in Puno, Arequipa, Cusco, Trujillo and Tacna with clothes during the winter.

- By the Service Council

Chincha certificates

Since 2007, the school actively supports the Chincha community by building houses for the local people affected by the disasters of the 2007 earthquake. For 2018’s Father’s day, the Service Council created the Chincha certificates. Instead of spending money on a gift, people were asked to donate the money in exchange for a certificate of appreciation. The donation was used towards funding the costs of building these houses.

- By the Service Council

ESMUP

Markham students support ESMUP (Multiple Sclerosis Peru) by assisting their support programmes which include a memory training programme that helps to minimise memory loss in daily life (which affects the quality of life of patients); as well as different occupational workshops where social integration is sought to enhance patients’ autonomy as well as the development of their other capacities and abilities.

Students work with patients to create pieces such as key rings, dream catchers, etc. which are then sold as part of the organisation’s fundraising efforts. In 2018 the students sold these pieces at the school kermesse, raising further funds for ESMUP.

On multiple sclerosis international day (30 May), students also help raise awareness about this disease within the school community. Staff also collaborated with ESMUP by donating winter clothes, yarn and money to assist over 100 children at the nursery Mi Mundo de Colores located in the coldest part of Lima, Villa María del Triunfo (also known as Ticlio Chico).

Operación Sonrisa

Markham students have created an Operación Sonrisa Club to support the organisation by raising money for cleft lip surgeries for children. In school the students organise activities and campaigns to fundraise, including 'Cantando por una sonrisa' concert (2018); "Smile Changers" (2017); and "Billetes felices" (2016). They also took their fundraising abilities to the Jockey Plaza shopping centre to carry out a two-day collection (2018).  The funds raised had a significant impact on the number of surgeries 'Operación sonrisa' has been able to grant children.

Students in the club also visit hospitals, sell items at the school shop and have weekly meetings to brainstorm how to continue to raise funds for the organisation.

- By the Service Council

Non-uniform days

The school organises a series of fundraising days where the children donate a small amount in exchange for attending school in regular clothes. Organisations benefited include:

• Operación Sonrisa
• Ponle Corazón
• Help Them Hope

Greenstock camp

Members of the Health and Environment Council attend the 3-day Greenstock camp in Pachacamac, organised by the Euro American College were they focus on sustainability.

Students participate in different activities that help them become more conscious of their environment, like cleaning beaches, painting a mural and listening to inspirational speakers.

The students work on a series of campaigns about water. They then return to the school with integral campaigns they can continue to develop to improve the school support.

This is a great opportunity to meet new people, be more conscious about the environment, participate in different fun activities and, mainly, return with an important message to care for the environment.

By the Health and Environmental Council

Reforesting Oxapampa

The Oxapampa Service Project is set in the province of Pascua. The main aim of this activity is to support the community that cares for the environment. Student volunteers, with the community's guidance and teaching, help to plant trees in order to increase reforestation.

Additionally, students help with recreational activities for the girls at the orphanage. Students play games with them, help the girls make their own creative pop-up images, hold debates and donate materials for giant puzzles.

- By the Service Council

Surf & Service
Students travel to different parts of the coast of Peru where they can help the local community whilst supporting the local ecosystem. In 2017 they went to Lobitos (near Talara) where they helped protect a typical bird species from the region by planting its main source of nutrition.

- By the Service Council

Bottle Up

Throughout the year, students collect hundreds of plastic bottles as part of a campaign that recycles these non biodegradable plastics. The main beneficiaries are Reciclando, Ayudando Abrigando and Tierra & Ser organisations.

Reciclando recycles the bottles to create blankets for the people who suffer from extremely cold temperatures during the winter.

Tierra & Ser exchange the bottle caps for wheelchairs for those who need them the most.

By the Health and Environmental Council

Ayudando Abrigando also recycles plastic bottles as blankets to be donated to communities that suffer the most during winter. Students in Lower School attend informational meetings with the foundation and then share this knowledge with their schoolmates whilst promoting recycling in school. Last year over 30kg of plastic bottles were collected, which were then recycled into blankets to help those most in need.

Paper at the school is also collected in the classrooms - it is then donated to Aldeas Infantiles SOS Perú who use it to fund food for children in need throughout the country.

By the Lower School Environmental Committee

COAR

Markham College and Markham Trust support the COAR programme in Peru through training of students and teachers throughout the country.

The support project, started in 2015, has already worked with over 120 COAR students, 31 of who were fully sponsored in their service activities by the Markham Trust.

COAR students participate in some of the school service trips including the Chincha house building project and the Surf and Service trips.

The teaching staff of COAR in Puno, Pasco, Arequipa and Cusco also benefited from training from our teachers. Two of our teachers, during their October 2017 vacation, kindly donated their personal time to visit the COAR schools of Arequipa and Cusco to follow up on the work done in Lima. In 2018 COAR teachers will also receive an IB pedagogical strategies and assessment training.

IPAE

Markham College and Markham Trust support the IPAE programme EDUCA +.  This is a network of private schools located in different districts of Lima, whose academics results, measured by the Ministry of Education, are below the public school average.  In this respect IPAE has taken the challenge to help these schools overcome these results by addressing two key aspects: management and pedagogical strategies.

Markham supports this initiative by providing pedagogical support through the delivery of specialist workshops.  In 2017 Markham staff trained approximately 70 teachers. In 2018 we aim to support over 120 teachers in three subjects: Communications, Mathematics and Science.