Project Launch:

In the From Trash to Treasure project, World Connect’s Kids to Kids Program supported a network of 19 environmentally minded schools in a rural district of Northern Peru with a goal to improve environmental and waste management practices and the quality of education for kids. Each school led year long environmental and conservation activities that culminated in a Recycled Art and Environmental Fair, attended by more than 500 people from throughout the district. Kids presented their work throughout the fair, selling items such as clothing made from recycled materials, artwork, jewelry, carved coconut heads, among many other things. At night, there was a fashion show with the winning, most creative outfits winning recycling bins for their school, improving their ability to effectively separate and sell their recycling. By implementing recycling and reusing items originally destined for the trash, the kids were able to improve the environmental consciousness of their communities. They are now positioned as the leaders and are experts at articulating the need for better environmental practices and new innovative ways to reduce and reuse trash.