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

(UK) Visiting Volunteer Supporters: Guillermo Rossi & Melanie Dulfer Hyams of Cinema

Social Club, Mark Mustacich & B.C. Moto Team Ayni Volunteer Leader: Ines Sandoval

2012 Volunteers…Thank You!

Canadian B.C. Group of 5 “Moto” Around Peru We decided on the "race" across Peru because it offered us many things …. Adven-

ture, Camaraderie, New Delicacies, the Road Less Travelled (in our case The Road Never

Travelled) & a chance to help out. We as a group are Lucky! We live in an incredible place

called Big White Ski Resort & have many generous friends who encourage us to do these

amazing journeys. When we told them that we'd be "racing" Mototaxis (aka The Worst

Vehicle ever invented) across 7 summits of 13,000+ feet for Charity, everyone jumped at

the chance to support us. It was an incredible opportunity to see an unbelievable Country

AND do some good...where do we sign up! (LR… Mark Heatherington, Dr. Dave Eldershaw,

Mark Mustacich, Al Reid, Blake Crocker.) THANK YOU for your very generous donation to

Ayni and for finding us on the road almost no one ever travels!! Muchisimas Gracias

Check it out: www.chbcnews.ca/video/hairraising+fundraiser/video.html?

v=2301385775

Ayni’s Ongoing Wishlist...

Make A Difference… How to Donate... Gracias!

$100 will fund a family

with a Micro-credit

Sponsorship, helping

them earn more in-

come for necessities.

Option #1: Direct Deposit or Transfer

Account Name: Ayni Account #: (0211)5206268 Address: 3 Wooten Way N. Markham, Ontario, Canada L3P 2Y2 Branch: 19972 Swift Code: tdomcatttor Institution #: 004

Option #2: Send a Cheque Payable to Ayni

C/O Margie Orsi 24 Spring Meadow Ave. Markham,

Ontario, Canada L6B 1B5

Option #4: TAX RECEIPT

For a tax receipt (for donations over $100), please make cheques

payable to Rights Action, an umbrella Human Rights NGO that sup-

ports Ayni’s work. Please remember to write on the cheque it is for

Ayni-Peru so that funds can be directed to Ayni. Please send to

above address so that Ayni can forward it to Rights Action.

Option #3: PAYPAL

Please go to Ayni’s Website, http://ayni.footboot.net/ Click Donate & follow Paypal instructions.

AYNI IS UNLIKE OTHER ORGANIZATIONS… YOUR DONATION GOES A LONG WAY IN THIS COMMUNITY, because NO ONE GETS PAID!!

On average Ayni raises about $10,000 a year to run ALL of our programs, We make EVERY PENNY COUNT…

THANK YOU TO EVERYONE who continually donates on behalf of Marriages, Births, Birth-days, Christmas Gifts, or just because you believe in what we do!

Happy Holidays to Everyone, May you be blessed for your Generosity, All the best in 2013!

Pamela’s mother died the day we

arrived, leaving her with her 87

year old grandmother, who have

to fend for themselves. They

urgently need assistance!

Gift Giving that Makes a REAL Difference

Donate on behalf of a friend or family member this Holiday Season..Ayni will send them a Card with Feedback.

Funds are always needed for:

Funds to meet the growing de-

mands of our post secondary

scholarships

Emergency Medical Funds are des-

perately needed for ongoing health

needs including operations, medi-

cine, doctor’s visits, x-rays, blood

work, etc.

Funds to support more families

with Micro-Credit Sponsorships

Constructing More Mud Brick

Stoves, Planting trees, Library Sup-

port, & Extra-Curriculars...

We are continuously planting 100’s of

Medicinal Trees in Alto’s desert landscape

each year, while supporting Mothers

through the local women’s tree planting

projects.

Remember Liseth? Her, along

with many of the kids that you

have supported since elemen-

tary school, are now studying to

become professionals!

Congrats to Jill Hellman & Mark Regouby on their recent marriage! Thank you for donating in honour of your Marriage!

Congrats to former volunteers Dave Bates & Donna

Ngo, on the new addition to their family, Tiana.

Thank you for donating in honour of the birth of

your baby girl!