Our Story

At the beginning, our hotel was created to support the needs of accommodation for the volunteers and teachers that came from faraway places to help the Foundation. Now that we are operating as a fully functioning hotel, our main purpose is to offer our guests a true experience of peruvian culture and fund the Niños del Arco Iris Foundation. We are very pleased to see how much happiness we offer to our guest as they are contributing with their stay to create a better quality of life for the kids.

How it started

Helena van Engelen, better known as "Mamita Helena", founded Niños del Arco Iris Foundation in 2001 and Las Casitas del Arco Iris hotel in 2008. She had an inner call to do something to help children. After knowing about the significant needs of kids in Peru, especially in the Andes, she came and make this dream come true.

Niños del Arco Iris Foundation started as a shelter for 18 kids in vulnerable conditions in the Sacred Valley, then it transformed to a school. The purpose of the foundation is to train agents of change to be able to contribute the globalized world with values and principles for the welfare of their families, the community, the environment and their own future. For this, our pillars are quality education and health.

Education

We have a school where we attend 170 children from 3 to 13 years old in a situation of vulnerability in the Sacred Valley of Urubamba in Cusco. We have kindergarden (3, 4 and 5 years) and primary school (from 1st to 6th). The classrooms have 25 students at the most to give them the customize attention they need. Besides the basic education content, we emphasize the importance of arts, connection with nature and computer skills on their formation. Children also have english and quechua classes. In addition, a full time psychologist provide emotional support for the children and their families. We work very close to the parents as they have a fundamental role on their kids education.

Healthcare

In health, we have three initiatives:

• Nutritional plan: we measure the nutritional status of our children 3 times a year to check if they have anemia, malnutrition, obesity or if they are in normal situation. According to their diagnosis, we give a snack and lunch daily.
• Healthy families plan: it consists of visits to the homes of our students to ensure that they live in a safe and healthy environment. Counseling is given to families to provide a nutritious breakfast, to wash their mouths and hands, among other aspects.
• Medical campaigns: we carried out various free health campaigns aimed at our children, their families and the community

More information

If you want to know more about the Foundation or if you'd like to become a sponsor, please visit the following links: