yuli « FairMail

Posts Tagged ‘yuli’

Second FairMail teenager graduates from University

Wednesday, July 12th, 2017

Yuli at the moment of her graduation

11 years after FairMail started, former photographer Yuli (23, Peru) gave us the best birthday present of all by graduating from University.

An amazing achievement if you consider that as a little girl Yuli had to help her parents select stones and gravel at the quarry to help make ends meet after moving from the mountains to the big city. One generation later their daughter got a bachelor title in Languages from the highly ranked national university of Trujillo. And Yuli is not planning to stop right there.

An amazing path
Yuli entered FairMail in 2008 at the age of 15 years, after being scouted from the YMCA project that works with at risk teenagers near the Trujillo land-fill. Back then she was a very shy girl but it was already clear that she wanted to achieve more in life.

She reached her goal of passing the entrance exam for the National University on her second try in 2013, the same year she travelled to Europe for FairMail’s promotional tour. She soon got the hang of travelling, going to the United States for the past 2 winters to practice her English while working in resort hotels.

Read more about Yuli’s path on her personal profile page or in this video:

Next steps
Yuli wants to keep on studying to get a MSc. degree in Education. “I am checking to see if I can do my master degree in another country through a scholarship or something like that. I always believed that investing in education is the best step towards success” she says. No doubt that the income she keeps earning from the sale of her FairMail cards, on top of the 8.744 euro she already earned, will come in handy for that.

Yuli next to her very proud mother

Shining example
Yuli’s success is not only benefitting herself. She has also become a shining example for her surroundings. 2 of her brothers and sisters are now also in university. And during her 2 years as co-manager of FairMail Peru she inspired many of the current FairMail teenagers to believe in their own dreams. “I always told everyone that you have to do what you really like if you want to pick the fruits of your efforts.” Yuli says.

Wise lessons from Yuli
Yuli has more lessons for all of us: “I also believe that is very important to never disappoint the people that believe in you, that support you and that love you. It doesn’t matter what your goal in life is, what really matters is how much effort, dedication and affection you put into achieving it.”

This way she shows great respect to her parents who greatly sacrificed themselves so their children could have a better future. And also making the best possible use of the assistance FairMail gives to underprivileged teenagers.

Tags: education, impact, results, social impact, teenagers, yuli
Posted in FairMail, Peru | No Comments »

Former FairMail teenager joins daily management in Peru

Wednesday, April 27th, 2016

Betty during the weekly “social circle” meeting

The experiment we started over 2 years ago, to employ former FairMail teenagers as co-managers in Peru, is working well. So well that we decided to contract Betty (22) as new co-manager in Peru as of the first of April 2016.

This way assuring that FairMail Peru is run not only for but also by deprived teenagers.

“I am happy to work with the teenage photographers now as I was once one of them” says Betty. “Besides sharing the nice times with them, I will also get a lot of valuable work experience out of it, benefiting my personal future as I now have a lot more responsibility.”

Betty in action as teenage photographer

A shining example

The experiment has shown that making former teenagers in charge is very motivational for the current teenagers as they are shining examples of what one can achieve by making good use of the opportunities that FairMail provides. What also helps is that our new managers understand best the situations and hardships the FairMail teenagers have to deal with to get ahead in life. That makes FairMail’s guidance more relevant and legit.

As Betty says, “As former photographer I hope to be able to support and motivate the current teenagers, and help them with my advice. As just like me they come from parts of Trujillo with a low quality of life.”

Betty as a teenager with one of her cards in front of her house

Personal development for at-risk youth

Of course it requires a lot of training of our young and inexperienced managers to get them ready to carry the responsibilities their new jobs entail.

“My biggest challenges I am facing now is to win the trust of the new teenagers, their parents and the local NGO’s FairMail cooperates with.” according to Betty. “I also have to learn to manage my time better as I am getting more responsibilities in my work, which without doubt will be beneficial for me in other future jobs.”

But this training is something we enjoy doing and see as a natural extension of FairMail’s mission to provide personal development opportunities to at-risk youth. The most capable and responsibly ones are now getting the opportunity to obtain quality work experience which they can combine with their advanced education. Seeing them grow professionally only gives us more satisfaction!

You can read more about FairMail’s experience with employing former teenagers as local managers here.

Yuli during her time as FairMail co-manager

Thank you Yuli!

Betty’s new job means we are saying good bye to Yuli after she had worked for us for 2 years. During that time she performed a great job for FairMail. But after coming back from a 3 month working stay in the USA (during which Betty replaced her) Yuli decided she could no longer combine her job for FairMail with all her other activities. She is studying to become a language teacher, working as an assistant teenager and also studying English and French!. We will all miss Yuli’s inspiring and cheerful presence, but have no doubt she will come by to visit us regularly.

Tags: betty, Peru, teenagers, yuli
Posted in FairMail, Peru | No Comments »

FairMail’s new challenge

Monday, February 3rd, 2014

4 new FairMail co-managers

Besides being a social enterprise where teenagers earn money while learning, we have decided to expand the scope of our social impact to some of the retired ex-photographers, who leave the company at the age of 19. As of January 2014, both in Peru and India, FairMail’s daily management is in the hands of ex-photographers who have shown the desire and ability to grow professionally. A huge step for them to accept this new challenge and responsibility. And a huge challenge for us to decide to invest in training new managers internally instead of recruiting externally as FairMail did so far.

FairMail’s new policy to recruit new managers amongst the ex-teenagers has four big advantages:

Firstly it will help the selected ex-teenagers to grow professionally. For example in Peru the new managers are studying human resource management and to become a teacher. For both fields they will be able to practice part-time in FairMail what they learn at university in the meantime.

Secondly the new managers will be inspiring examples for the current teenagers of what you can achieve in life by working hard and being creative and responsible, even if you come from a difficult background.

Thirdly by working only with ex-teenagers we are sure to have managers on board who fully understand the essence of FairMail’s philosophy and who are happy to be able to give back to the organisation that helped them improve their lives.

Last but not least the money paid in wages by FairMail now ends up in the pockets of ex-teenagers who still really need the money. This way they are able to contribute directly to their family income or invest even more in their own education.

Apart from these four advantages our new policy also has risks. We have chosen to work with staff that has hardly any management experience. Running a business is a totally new experience for them which means a lot of time and effort has to be put in training them on the job. FairMail founders Peter and Janneke will be spending more of their time in Peru and India this year to give that training and guidance.

Read more about our new Peruvian managers Mariaflor Alvarado Reyes (22) and Yuli Silva Acuna (19) here.

And more about our new Indian managers Dhiraj Kannaujia (21) and Anil Rao (17) here.

Tags: anil rao, Dhiraj, India, maria_flor, Peru, teenagers, yuli
Posted in FairMail, India, Peru | No Comments »

New FairMail documentary: From Dump to Diploma

Sunday, September 15th, 2013

Next week FairMail will be on Dutch National Television in the new “Groundbreaker” television series. This week we can offer you the new “From Dump to Diploma” video which came out 3 weeks ago.

This new 8 minute documentary tells the story of FairMail Peru photographers Yuli and Yomira. How they had to work at a young age recycling garbage to supplement their families small income before they started taking pictures for FairMail. The new documentary gives insight into their daily activities for FairMail and how it has impacted their lives. Not only through the earnings from the sale of their cards to invest in their own education. But also in their personal development and the mindset needed to really achieve their goals.

A unique and inspirational documentary of hope and determination! Check it out below.

Tags: education, garbage dump, impact, Peru, photography classes, results, social impact, video, yomira, yuli
Posted in FairMail, Peru | No Comments »

Results of FairMail’s European promotion tour

Sunday, September 15th, 2013

On the 11th of September, after travelling through Europe with two of FairMail Peru’s teenage photographers for three weeks, FairMail’s fourth European promotion tour ended.

After flying to the Netherlands for the first time in their lives Yuli and Yomira drove more than 3.000 kilometers through Belgium, France and Germany.

On their way they:

>> Presented FairMail on the main stage of a B2B fair trade fair in Dortmund.

>> Met with 6 corporate customers who buy their pictures in France, Germany, Belgium and the Netherlands

>> Gave 7 interviews to different newspapers and magazines (view here).

>> Saw their cards selling in 4 shops.

>> Learned what cards do and don’t sell well from 2 of their sales representatives.

>> Visited 1 music festival to sell their cards directly to the end consumer.

>> Took 2.400 pictures of Europe to show their family back home.

>> Met up with nearly 40 ex-volunteers of photography trip travelers who visited Peru in the past.

>> Ended up with interesting 2 powerpoint presentation to present the results of their marketing studies to their colleagues in Peru and India.

Check out more pictures of the tour on FairMail’s Facebook page.

Tags: France, Germany, Netherlands, promotion, yomira, yuli
Posted in FairMail, France, Germany | No Comments »

Program “Back to School” European tour with Peruvian teenagers announced

Tuesday, June 25th, 2013

FairMail Peru photographer Yomira

After announcing the European visit of two Peruvian teenagers two months ago we are now happy to announce their travel schedule. During these programmed activities you can personally meet Yuli and Yomira between the 21^st of August and the 10^th of September 2013.

The two FairMail Peru photographers will visit The Netherlands, Belgium, France and Germany. We will start the tour and give a huge welcome to Yuli and Yomira during a special kick-off event in Utrecht, The Netherlands on Saturday the 24^th of August 2013. Please click here if you would like to receive an invitation to come to this event with free FairMail/Ben & Jerry’s ice cream!

Dhiraj explaining German television the unique story behind his cards

The goal of their visit is to investigate their greeting card market and promote the unique story behind the FairMail cards. We have set up the program to fulfill these goals. During the three weeks they will visit representatives of the fair trade community, product developers designing products with their pictures, publishers printing their cards and shops selling them. They have also been selected to present FairMail and their personal story at the central stage of the FAIR! B2B trade fair during two days in Dortmund, Germany. Also they will be meeting FairMail’s stock photography and “printing on demand” partners like Hollandse Hoogte and Greetz. On the 31^st of august they will be meeting FairMail’s end customers while selling FairMail cards to the visitors of the free Westerpop music festival in Delft, The Netherlands. Click here to download the complete schedule.

FairMail stand at Mundial music festival in 2012

This year the theme of the European promotional tour will be “Back to School”. In august most European children go back to school, with the media often reporting about school related novelties. This year we hope to interest them for the novelty that in Peru, India and Morocco teenagers are also going back to school. But not after a pleasant holiday like most kids in Europe, but in their case after a youth working as child laborers. Thanks to their hard work and the sale of their fair trade pictures they have been able to change their destiny. And now two of them are here in Europe, available for interviews. We are still looking for more media contacts willing to interview Yomira and Yuli. Please let us know if you have any contacts. You can download the press release here.

FairMail Peru photographer Yuli

Click here to contact us if you would like to meet Yuli and Yomira or join us on the tour for a day or so.

Tags: France, Germany, promotion, yomira, yuli
Posted in FairMail, France, Germany, Peru | No Comments »

Two Peruvian teenagers visit Europe for promotional tour

Monday, March 18th, 2013

FairMail India teenager Dhiraj during 2012 Promotional tour

For the fourth time FairMail is organizing a European promotional tour with the assistance of two of our teenage photographers. The goals are to spread the unique story behind FairMail’s greeting cards and to take valuable knowledge about the European card market back to the other photographers in Peru and India so they can adapt their product even better to the wishes of their customers. Who could do this better than the teenagers themselves?

That is why after a difficult selection procedure two Peruvian teenagers were selected to make the trip of their life to 5 European countries in August and September of 2013. Yuli and Yomira where selected on the basis of their English skills, their motivation and their ability to communicate the story behind their cards.

Yomira showing her FairMail Cards

The tour will start on the 23rd of August in Amsterdam and end on the 12^th of September in Amsterdam again. We are still working on the definitive program, but the idea is to promote their cards and visit their customers in the Netherlands, Belgium, France, Switzerland and Germany. Stay tuned to our Facebook and this blog for the latest details about the program.

Yuli showing her FairMail Cards

To make the trip a success we are still looking for people who can help us with:

– PR and Marketing advise. We could use the help of a professional PR agency to help us make the tour more effective. We are investing a lot of money in getting the teenagers over here, but how do we make it a good investment?

– Television and media contacts. We are looking for journalists and other media contacts in Germany, France, Belgium, The Netherlands and Switzerland to give them the opportunity to interview the teenagers.

– Things to do for our teenagers during Promotion tour. We are looking for places to visit and people to guide us. Places that are interesting for the teenagers to see (schools, cities, landmarks), but also places where they can promote their cards (festivals, shops, fair trade towns). Do you live in Germany, France, The Netherlands, Belgium or Switzerland and would you like to help make this the teenager’s trip of a life time, then please get in contact with us!

If you have any suggestions, please get in contact with us by clicking here.

Tags: Belgium, France, Germany, promotion, yomira, yuli
Posted in FairMail, France, Germany, Peru | No Comments »

Earnings FairMail teenagers in 2012

Monday, March 18th, 2013

20.992 Euro. That is the total amount the 44 FairMail teenagers in Peru, India and Morocco earned from the sale of their picture and greetings cards in 2012 for their education, housing and medical funds. This makes the total amount earned by the teenagers since the start of FairMail in July 2006 add up to 95.779 euro.

Akaash in his old mechanics workshop

The biggest earner in India was Akaash who earned 1.667 euro in 2012 which he invested in his private tutorship (when he started FairMail he was not attending school because he could not read and write) and in his motorcycle repair shop he runs with his father. This year they decided to buy a bigger and better situated piece of land where they could expand their business and offer more services.

Elmer with his laptop and graphic design certificates

The biggest earner in Peru was Elmer who earned 1.449 euro in 2012 which he invested in preparing for and entering the private Cesar Vallejo University to study communication sciences. Despite passing all his first year courses he took the brave decision to quit after the first year and choose a more practical graphic design and photography academy to pursue his dreams.

Sandhya doing her homework at home

The Indian girl with the highest earnings in 2012 was Sandhya who earned 1.330 euro in 2012. She used this money to pay for her school necessities and private tuition. But the majority she added to her savings (no amounting up to 2.191 euro) which she will use after finishing high school hoping to prepare for and enter medical school.

Yuli in front of her university

In Peru the highest female earnings were achieved by Yuli who earned 1.203 euro in 2012. She used the money to prepare for and enter Trujillo’s national university to study languages to become a language teacher in the future. She still has 4 more years to go and will need all the sales she can get to finish her career.

Tags: Akaash, earnings, elmer, results, sandhya, yuli
Posted in FairMail, India, Morocco, Peru | No Comments »

Great academis results for teenagers in Peru

Wednesday, April 25th, 2012

FairMail Peru Elmer during his first classes

Great news about the academic results from the Peruvian FairMail teenagers: Last month FairMail Peru photographer Yuli Silva Acuna passed the very difficult entry exam for Trujillo’s national university (only 1 in 8 applicants can enter!), Maria Flor finished first of her entire Communication Sciences faculty to earn a full scholarship and Elmer started private university to fulfil his dream of becoming a famous movie director.

FairMail Peru photographer Yuli during classes at the UNT

Yuli says about her successful admission exam “Apart from photography, in the past three years, in FairMail I have learned that I can achieve everything I dream of. I only have to believe in myself and everything that I can do. I have just reached a great goal, being accepted into the language program in the University of Trujillo. I am very grateful for not only the financial help but for the constant support provided by the members of FairMail.”

Mariaflor has an even better story explaining how she found out she got in first place of her entire faculty at the Universidad Cesar Vallejo: ”FairMail means a lot in my life. Besides photography training and workshops on important issues in our life such as self-esteem, sexuality, knowing how to make decisions and more issues we work on our personal development. The other day I received great news at the university when the lady at student administration asked me if I already knew that I ended in first place of my faculty? And that I would get a full scholarship for the next semester. I froze when I heard and asked her if she was kidding me! And if she could please repeat my name from the list as I did not believe her. But yes it was true, I was in first place! Wow, my face was smiling so much and I could not believe it. I am very happy for this news because the scholarship means a big saving for me I can no spend in the improvement of my mother’s house!”

The other teenagers in Peru are also doing great. Patricia, Yomira, Betty, Jorge, Clever, Sebastian and Anidela wrote that they are very happy to be learning more English from the volunteers, working on their personal growth and photography. And of course they are working hard on achieving their dreams to become an accountant (Anidela) engineer (clever), chef (Patricia, Juan Carlos and Sebastian), study human rights (Jorge) or business administration (Betty and Yomira) in university.

Tags: education, maria_flor, results, yuli
Posted in FairMail, Peru | No Comments »

FairMail