Life Resource Center
A life resource center is central to the work in each community. In Manchay, Peru, a home base
facility has been established, which serves as the Life Resource Center. The goal is to help a community become sustainable by equipping the locals to maintain and manage this center. Over the past many years, much work has been done to equip and resource a sustainable community. In each situation, the goal is to equip locals to become successful and independent.
Our Story
Communities for Life designed plans, a concept video, and funded part of the construction costs for the Life Resource Center. However, due to title difficulties, an agreement was made, where Communities for Life decided not to take ownership of the facility. Alternatively, an arrangement was made with locals to be self-sustainable and to have dual use of the facility, making it the home base for Communities for Life until a second center could be built at another location.
Once the building became functional, Communities for Life encouraged the local team to start a school for children. The school is now well established in this facility is self-sustainable. Communities for Life facilitated the use of donated Jesus film equipment and partnered with a local team from the Church to reach out into various parts of Manchay. The efforts planted at least one small church and started a soccer program.
At its onset, Communities for Life sponsored a partnership with a ministry from South Carolina and funded a Leadership Program for local pastors for one year in the Life Center. The program became self-sustainable and continued with about 12 pastors. We work with multiple organizations to expand the reach and impact of both youth and church planting.
In 2022, we added a third-floor to the Life Resource Center to offer additional classrooms for middle school students. Additionally, third-floor classrooms are used for evening courses offering basic trades training.
The Life Resource Center Today
A community hub where individuals are trained and empowered towards developing a sustainable community in these areas:
• Vocational training
• Micro-lending, job creation, and industry development
• Resourcing entrepreneurship opportunities
• Training of families and individuals
• A cornerstone of the community
• Provide training programs
• Educational programs
• Youth and seniors activities
• Dance, sports, and cultural development programs
• Spiritual development
Current Life Resource Training Programs
Each course includes mandatory weekly values and ethics training.
Gardening Training Center
A six-month course teaching participants about seeding, nurturing, and harvesting up to 23 vegetable crops in the arid and challenging conditions in Manchay. The garden center includes 40 drip-irrigated garden plots and a sheltered classroom where students learn from a professional horticulturist. The students harvest up to four rounds of crops during their training.
The Home Garden
The Home Garden Refreshing Initiative is run by Eduardo, a local engineer, and three part-time people. Gardening graduates receive seeds, tools, compost, and irrigation pipes to start their own home garden to provide food for their families and produce an income.
Baking Program
The baking course is taught by a professional chef and runs twice per year. The class can hold up to eight students at a time. Several baking graduates have recently gone on to build their own baking businesses.
Construction and Trades Programs
We offer four trade training courses needed to construct a basic, low-cost home. The four courses include (1) electrical, (2) drywall and steel framing, (3) melamine and carpentry, and (4) plumbing. We hired a professional trainer for each trade. Students graduate with a trade certificate.
ESL Program
A two-year 4-level MESL program has been launched with 12 participants in partnership with SCcyber ELearning Institute in Calgary, AB. The online program is taught several times a week online by a qualified and experienced instructor and is facilitated by C4L in the Life Resource Center.
Youth Leadership Development Program
This program is a first step and a direct response to the Pachacamac governor’s challenge to do something for the 50,000 youth living in Manchay who don’t have an education or employment. Developing a self-sustainable strategy designed to transform the community youth is in progress. Dr. Ernie and Marilyn Klassen, on behalf of C4L, are designing and launching the program in collaboration with the Manchay Alliance Church.
The initial strategy is to invite disoriented community youth to join an established functional youth leadership group and participate in a series of meaningful, thought-provoking meetings focusing on life purposes in discussion groups. The program provides vocational assessment opportunities, guidance counseling, and trauma support.
Self-Sustainable Programs
The following programs, started by Communities for Life, have matured and become self-sustainable in Manchay. Sustainability fulfills our mission of providing programs and training to individuals in the region, with the goal for locals to eventually run the programs without our assistance.
Sports Program
This program builds into the lives of the thousands of young people in Manchay who lack education and jobs. The program focuses on the leadership development of youth to help them develop life skills with foundational core values. Currently, we have three soccer coaches and a maxed-out capacity of 110 young people. These young people train three times per week on rented soccer fields. We are considering various options for expanding this program.
Classrooms
During the day, the Life Resource Center building is used by 17 teachers to educate 180 students in the first through sixth grades. Many children are from parents who graduated from the C4L Gardening Program.
