In a powerful display of community collaboration, students from the Universidad Privada del Norte (UPN) took the lead in organizing a beach cleaning event yesterday to address the increasing presence of plastic waste along the northern Peruvian coastline, and FairMail was proud to stand alongside them in this impactful initiative.
What We Found
The FairMail photographers and the UPN students, combed through the sandy stretches, armed with gloves and bags, collecting an alarming amount of plastic waste. The litter included single-use plastics, discarded bottles, and remnants of packaging that, if left unchecked, could have found their way into the delicate marine ecosystem.
Peru’s Pacific coast faces a growing threat from ocean plastic pollution. The alarming statistics reveal the urgency of collective action: the ICUN (International Union for Conservation of Nature) estimates that approximately 14 million tons of plastic enter the world’s oceans each year, adversely affecting marine life, ecosystems, and human health. What’s wrost is that this number is expected to triple by 2040.
The Pacific coast of Peru, with its rich marine biodiversity, is particularly vulnerable to this crisis. The plastic waste found on our beaches is just a fraction of what lurks beneath the surface, posing severe threats to the marine life that calls these waters home.
FairMail’s Commitment to Sustainable Practices
At FairMail, we believe in the power of collective action to drive positive change. Joining forces with the UNP students in this beach cleaning event aligns with our commitment to environmental responsibility and community engagement. The simple act of cleaning the beach serves as a poignant reminder of our shared responsibility to protect and preserve our natural resources.
Stay tuned for more updates on our environmental initiatives and community engagement efforts. Let’s keep our beaches clean and our oceans thriving!
as is around the corner and this year we decided to give a little twist to our Amigo Secreto (Secret Santa) gift-exchange tradition. Although in FairMail we have always tried to avoid the trap of consumerism, we realize that excessive consumption has a momentous impact on our planet, and to put it simply, we don’t like that. Way too often we end up spending money to buy things that we don’t need just because at Christmas you are kind of supposed to. For these and many other reasons, we decided to further simplify our Christmas by inspiring the teenagers with the ethical hierarchy of gift exchange. 
Gifts can surely come in many forms, including the non-physical. Giving your time, sharing your skills, creating memories bring more value to both the giver and the receiver. By shifting the focus from material gifts to shared experiences we hope to see the teenagers bond and have a more meaningful Christmas.
Wie jedes Jahr, haben die Jugendlichen auch dieses Jahr die Bekanntgabe des Fotografen des Jahres mit Spannung erwartet. Diese Auszeichnung wird von allen Fotografen angestrebt, aber was genau bedeutet es als Fotograf des Jahres ausgewählt zu werden und wie läuft die Wahl ab? Und noch viel wichtiger: Wer ist der Fotograf des Jahres 2017? Dieser Abschnitt erklärt alle Schritte zu dieser wichtigen Anerkennung und nennt den diesjährigen Gewinner!
Der Tag begann mit einem sehr interessanten Workshop zum Feedback unseres Freiwilligen Jet. Die Jugendlichen lernten, Feedback auf eine reife, konstruktive Weise abzugeben und zu erhalten, was sich sicherlich besonders bei Fotosessions als nützlich erweisen wird. Die Jugendlichen sind sich nun der Wichtigkeit des Zuhörens und der Formulierung des Feedbacks bewusst, die in einer Weise erfolgen sollten, welche von dem Gegenüber nicht als beleidigend empfunden wird.
Nach der Verteilung der Karten war die Party in vollem Gange! Trotz der heißen Temperaturen des peruanischen Sommers, genossen wir eine köstliche heiße Schokolade, einen leckeren Panetton von Mundo Pan (einer lokalen Bäckerei, betrieben von Mundo de Niños, dem Boys-Home in dem ein Teil unserer Jugendlichen wohnt) und Hühnchen-Sandwiches, die von unseren lokalen Managern Anidela und Angeles gemacht wurden.
