ACCURO 2024 Q1/Q2 UPDATE

It’s been another exceptionally busy period with many things to celebrate across all Accuro backed projects in Nepal, Thailand, Cambodia and of course Peru. We remain on track on all fronts, with the slight exception that we are still actively fundraising for the Girls’ Centre in Nepal, we did however receive a very generous donation from Indigo Children’s Fund so construction rolls on and the building is looking fantastic.

ECO PROJECT PERU

We have had a wonderful start to the year at our project in Peru. We completed on time and on budget, opening day was such a huge success with hundreds of people from the community attending. The project and its grounds look stunning and in full bloom.

The community is so excited and the kids love exploring all of the features. We have already taken many bookings from the fee paying schools in the region who will pay to send the students to learn at our project on school trips. This will help to financially sustain the project in the long term.

This project is literally one of kind and so important for the children not only of the Sacred Valley but the country as a whole. It’s very timely that we have opened now when Peru is beginning to witness the effects of climate change. The country's unsustainable use of water and pesticides, among other issues, is creating significant long-term problems for its people.

We hope that this new generation will learn from the mistakes of the past. Learning how to live and grow produce in a clean and organic way.

The project has a zero pesticides and zero trash policy. No item that enters the project grounds ever leaves. Everything is repurposed from banana skins to bicycles!

NUTRITION

A short video explaining our program and its progress up until this point in Nepal. We are now feeding over 3000 children a day in this new phase. The 2300 children from phase one are now being fed by the gardens that we planted in the communities and schools. By the time we finish this phase these children will also be fed nutritious meals from their own gardens and we can move our midday feeding program to the next area.

GIRLS’ EMPOWERMENT PROGRAM

Having reached over 27,000 girls across every district of Nepal, the first quarter of 2024 saw the 2nd 3 year cycle of the Girls’ Empowerment Program draw to a beautiful and rewarding close. The difference this program has made to so many girls lives has been incredible, the graduation day was very special and a real recognition of the achievements of these brave young women.

As we look forward to the next cycle commencing it's been amazing to see the girls already on the program working to welcome the next group.

The graduating girls have been doing incredible things, many have been nominated for international awards. One young lady, Sumina, is in the final four for the Asia Girl of the Year award. It's a very prestigious honor, with only one girl from each country being selected to enter. The organisation will fly her to the finals in Taiwan, covering hotels, transport, and other expenses. A pretty mind blowing experience for a girl from a tiny rural village.

There are so many beautiful stories emerging from the program. We are working on a way to make them more accessible to the Accuro team and the wider world. This will most likely be in the form of individual videos from the ground. We will keep you posted on this.

GIRLS’ SAFE HOUSE/ LEARNING CENTRE

Our large scale construction project in Nepal is really taking shape. The compounding works are taking place now and we are moving onto electrical, sanitation and flooring. The social welfare council has visited and they are very happy with the quality of the work and the nature of the programme. We still face funding challenges, but as of yet we continue to work and fund-raise at the same time

The building is already partly in use, with an office set up for the managers of the GEP. Everyone is very eager to see this project completed. It's been a long road but very very worthwhile once complete, helping tens of thousands of girls for decades to come.

The project is receiving a great deal on national attention, its a one of a kind building and program that getting a huge amount of recognition and praise on the nack of are already very popular Girls’ Empowerment Program.

INDIGO CHILDREN’S FUND PAUL SWEET NURSERY

The moving and construction of the Paul Sweet Nursery is well under way in Mae Sot. After what has been a stressful time for the kids, teachers and community due to losing the nursery land, it's lovely to see everyone chipping in and helping with the move to their new location. The kids can't wait to have their climbing frames back too! We will be open by the 1st of June.

BRAVEHEARTS SENSORY LEANING CENTRE PHNOM PENH CAMBODIA

We have been working with parents, teachers, and kids to finalise designs that will be most useful and easily accessible for these incredible children, many of whom have severe mobility issues. This building will be a safe space for the children to engage with their surroundings, learn, and play. It is crucial for the kids to have access to a facility like this.

We have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the local team and governors. The designs have been approved, and the team is in the process of sourcing and treating all locally sourced bamboo for the build from the jungle. This is a hugely beneficial, beautiful, and eco-friendly project..

The kids and community discussing designs.

PARAHITA-HTOO LEARNING CENTRE, TAK, THAILAND

At Parahita-thoo the team scoped the area looking for the right mix of clay and materials to build the earth walls (abode bricks) that were so successful at the Love Learning Centre in Mae Sot. The designs based on that success, are shown in the first three renderings below.

Unfortunately, the team have found it difficult to get the right clay. We’ve gone back to the community with a revised option which is less reliant on the adobe walls and currently looks like the last 2 renderings below. We are now working with the community to finalise this while we finish the Paul Sweet Nursery and aim to break ground in early June.

The proposed design is based on the successful construction of other schools using the same engineers and architects, employing tried and tested methods with a trusted and experienced team.

WITH MANY THANKS AS ALWAYS