Helping make a difference in Peru

Cranbury resident starts a program to fund a preparatory school in Peru.

By: Lacey Korevec
   Resident Megan Hayden, a 21-year-old sophomore at Pennsylvania State University, could use a little help from Cranbury.
   "I’ve always felt that I’ve always had enough of everything I’ve ever needed, material-wise and emotionally, from my family and I think it’s everyone’s duty to help people that don’t have as much as them," she said. "I think it’s just like a moral obligation."
   To fulfill her own obligation, Ms. Hayden, of Hardley Drive, has single-handedly started a program called Flourish Peru, which funds a preparatory school in Ventanilla, Peru, for impoverished children between the ages of 6 to 14.
   Besides giving them a basic education and what they need to eventually move on to other schools, Flourish Peru also provides meals and sanitation supplies, on top of offering educational workshops twice a month for the children’s parents. The bulk of the startup money for Flourish Peru was provided through a $2,500 grant Ms. Hayden received from Pennsylvania State University.
   The Cranbury Lions Club recently donated $300 to the program, which will go toward buying school uniforms and supplies for the students. But Ms. Hayden said small contributions from other local groups and residents could make a big difference for the children living in Ventanilla.
   She said additional donations could go toward building a well.
   "Cranbury has more than enough money to donate," she said. "If everyone donated like $20 or something, which is not that extravagant, it would be amazing if we could build a well there so they don’t have to drink this disgusting water that debris is always falling into and it’s just not clean water."
   Ms. Hayden knows the conditions of the area well. She said she’s been traveling to Peru at least twice a year since she was born to visit family and, recently, to work on Flourish Peru.
   "There’s not enough work to go around," she said of Ventanilla. "It’s very interesting to see how poverty makes you very creative. Some of the things they do is the kids will sell candy on the streets and wash cars. A lot of the children will do work to help support the family."
   The area has no running water, electricity or sewage system, she said, adding that they just recently have gotten the municipality to start picking up garbage.
   But Ms. Hayden, who is majoring in international development, said Flourish Peru can make life better there.
   "I would like to continue with the project," she said. "I have to write up a few more grants. It’s been tough going to school and taking seven classes and trying to fundraise and do all of this."
   Before starting Flourish Peru, Ms. Hayden worked as a project director for a volunteer organization called Bruce Peru, where she was able to set up four schools for impoverished children. But Ms. Hayden, the daughter of Marty and Paul Hayden of Hardley Drive in Cranbury, decided to start her own program, which she says is a little bit different than some of the other volunteer programs running there.
   "There’s a few things that I changed because I felt that nutrition was necessary in children’s lives and I thought the parents should also be educated," she said. "It doesn’t stop at the children, it should also involve the parents."
   Aside from Ms. Hayden, Flourish Peru is made up of two social workers who live in Peru and work with the families of the school children, as well as one teacher, who instructs the children and parents from her home.
   "The social workers really look after them and see how the families and the kids are doing, and make sure they’re in a safe environment," Ms. Hayden said.
   The program also provides food for some of the families living in Ventanilla, she said.
   "I like to keep on giving the families a little bit of food," she said. "And I think the great thing about giving food is that you’re not actually giving money to the families, so there’s only one way they can use it and that’s food."
   Township residents interested in donating money to Flourish Peru can contact Ms. Hayden at (609) 598-2232 or send checks written to Flourish Peru to Megan Hayden, 9 Hardley Drive, Cranbury, N.J. 08512.