Peruvian Hats Are Really Cool at Brunswick School By Bonni Brodnick Clay Blackiston and Tucker Daugherty, Brunswick School rising seniors and Greenwich residents, spent a month in Cuzco, Peru, last summer working on several community service projects, such as helping with construction by moving bricks and shifting dirt at a local school during the day, and working with children at Orphanage of Juan Pablo Segundo in the afternoons and evenings.
Times of Brunswick
The orphanage is organized so that the children, ages 6weeks to 18 years, are placed in homes within a complex. Each home has eight to ten orphans with a woman who acts as the mother, and another helper who is referred to as “aunt.” The system allows for family-oriented care for the children. “Clay and I did all sorts of activities at the orphanage, including helping children with homework, playing soccer, and just talking with them,” said Tucker. “In history classes at Brunswick, we’ve learned about the role of the worker in society, cottage industries, and the economics of development. I didn’t fully understand many of the concepts until Clay and I visited a small, rural village a few hours outside
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m Clay Blackiston and Tucker Daugherty selling multicolored Peruvian pull-over wool hats which became the hottest trend on campus and raised funds for an orphanage in Peru.
of Cuzco and saw for ourselves how hard the people work, yet still remain impoverished. “A group of workers had formed a cooperative to sell their goods, along with incredibly colorful Peruvian pullover wool hats,” he continued. “When we got home, the gifts we gave friends and family were a huge success. Clay and I decided to try to import the hats as a way to earn money for the orphanage, as well as provide income for the cooperative. A local man, Julio Lopez, helped us coordinate getting 500 hats from the co-op in Cuzco to Brunswick. We set up a table in the Upper School lobby and sold out in three days.” “There was an immediate hat trend on campus!” Clay added. “We raised about $6,000, of which 100% has been sent to the Orphanage of Juan Pablo Segundo. Wearing the Peruvian hats was a great way to stay warm and make an impact on those in need.” “We’re glad we could make this small contribution,” Tucker said. “However, in the end it’s clear that we received much more than we gave. I realize that we are all so lucky to live in a place like Greenwich and attend a school like Brunswick. It was the small things we observed in Cuzco that gave us this new appreciation and perspective.” j