OZ
DANIELA
A DAY OF TRUE HAPPINESS
Investigation:
I went to Remar, an NGO that brings relief to people in extreme poverty. More specifically, I went to the children’s home in Chorrillos, where 27 girls who’ve been through either family violence or in neglect situations, are hosted.
In 10th grade for my IA project, I also helped this same casa hogar in chorrillos and built a small hair salon for them for the day, with the help of the same company, Kera Cosmetica. I decided to come back for my CAS project this year, since first off, besides having formed a bond with them already, the experience last time was so satisfactory and eye opening— seeing their smiles and their excitement while faced with so many problems. But what really made me want to return was watching the emotional strength these girls had.
There was a particular girl who left me marked, Mikaela. Her eyes were filled with such sadness, she didn’t speak at the beginning, kept to herself. My purpose being to give all of the girls a day of happiness, I made it my goal to make her laugh with me. At the end of the visit she kept on hugging me and asked me to come back. So I did. I came back with Kera Cosmetica, my dad’s company, as the girls requested, we built a small hair salon for the day again.
This project fits under the service strand of CAS.
Learning outcomes pursued:
Initiative/ planning: I was the one who planned the entire visit, got the toldo set up, contacted the hair stylists, drivers and bought all necessary materials.
Collaboration: I worked with a considerably big group of people: Stylists from Le Lis Salon, stylists from Kera Cosmetica, workers from Kera Cosmetica and the people in charge of the casa hogar in Chorrillos.
Awareness of global issues: I needed to mindful of what all of the girls in the casa hogar had been through. They all came from either family violence or neglect situations and from extreme poverty. By trying to understand what they’d been through, I came up with my goal for this project: To bring a smile to each of their faces, of every single girl in the house. They deserved a moment of happiness.
I had to contact Kera Cosmetica first in order to propose a second visit. Once they agreed, I made a list of everything they took last time, sent it to them, since they donated the products, bought the extra materials we needed. I went to rent a toldo for the visit myself and then to the store to buy food and prizes for the girls, since I planned to include a runway challenge at the end. I needed to consult on all the costs with Kera Cosmetica’s general manager, since they decided to fund the visit themselves.
Plan + Design:
Project Objective: Giving the 27 girls in the casa hogar of Remar in Chorrillos a day of happiness; making sure to bring a smile to the face of each and everyone of them.
Date of the visit: August 12, 2017
Schedule:
Thing I’ll need for the visit:
(List is in Spanish since I had to send it to a Spanish speaker):
- clips, ganchos, ligas, vinchas
- Esmaltes
- Peines
- Conseguir estilistas, llamar a Tati, Magaly?
- Toldo
- Sillones
- Alfombra
- Uniforme negro para estilistas
- Música, parlantes
- Bocaditos, gaseosas, torta
- Platos, fuentes, vasos descartables, cucharitas, servilletas
- Avisar a Mendo y Alex
- Etiquetas para nombres de niñas
- Posters
- Gigantografía
- Productos con su exposición
- Scotch o algo para colgar todo
- Muebles o repisas
- Sillas
- Lava cabezas
Create:
Pictures of visit:
Evaluate:
I believe the visit couldn’t have gone better., it was even better than last time. The girls had more trust in us, since the already knew us, so they opened up and talked more, laughed more. Mikaela was also there and she was probably one of the most excited ones, even though she was still shy in her excitement— she kept by my side the entire visit.
We finished the day with a small party some of us set up while the girls were outside in the hair salon we built them. I can honestly say I wouldn’t change anything, besides taking a better speaker, since the music didn’t sound very good.
I’d always heard that helping others is what truly makes one happy. Even though I believed it was true, I’d never felt such happiness from making someone else’s day, not even last visit. I can one hundred percent say I will keep on going every year, maybe twice, with Kera Cosmetica, to give the girls and myself a day of true happiness.