2020: A Year in Review

Thank you for your generosity to Quechua Benefit. 2020 has been the most challenging year on record for most of us, but you have created many bright spots along the way for people we serve in Peru.

In December of 2019, Isaac became our first Casa Chapi student to graduate from high school. Mike first met him as a small, shy 6thgrader, but now he is a confident young man who has been accepted to attend SENATI Technical Institute. Isaac, his brother Christian and twin sisters Lizbeth and Judith all have a bright future because of Casa Chapi. 

In March, Ichupampa’s Sister Antonia’s Kitchen celebrated its third anniversary. After an earthquake destroyed the original kitchen in August of 2016, you generously donated to rebuild it. Since March of 2017, loving hands have served many thousands of hot meals to needy residents.

“I am very old, but I am the happiest person about the kitchen. I don’t have to eat alone, and I can see my friends.” –A resident of Ichupampa

COVID-19 hit Peru hard in just after a new school year began in March. Our Casa Chapi kids returned to their homes. In-home quarantines and curfews continued for months. Your generous donations supplied cellphones to all the children, and Casa Chapi’s teachers were trained to provide virtual learning so your kids will keep learning.

Families were struggling to provide necessities. So, in June you provided monthly food boxes, schoolbooks, anemia treatment, and cellphones for Casa Chapi families. When Alejandro, our Peru Country Director, received permission to travel, he made deliveries and reported, “I saw our kids after two and a half months. Those days were very emotional for the kids and me. They miss Casa Chapi and their teachers.”

Since September, you have helped us reach more than 16,000 people in nine remote villages with masks, soap and educational brochures to fight the spread of COVID. They are grateful that you love them and have not forgotten them. 

We could not have done it without you! We’re looking forward to doing more in 2021 to help the Quechua people in the highlands of Peru not only survive but also to thrive.

Join our Online Christmas Auction now! Bid on great gifts or choose from a selection of “Buy It Now” items. Hurry before the deals are gone! Auction closes Saturday, December 19 at 7:00 pm PST.

Click here to register in our online now and find unique gifts to give while you support women and children in Peru.

THANK YOU for your gifts on #GivingTuesday! Your generosity helped us reach our goal to provide supplies to fight the spread of COVID-19 in the highlands of Peru!

A special thanks to our Give Lively donation page sponsors who spread the word of our need to their friends:

St. Paul’s Church in Westminster, MD, Dale Cantwell, Chuck Gulotta, Chad Colton, Jan Clingman, Lynn Edens, and Julie Roy.

We also want to thank the people who raised money for our campaign on Facebook: Jane Miller, Chris Gray, Snowmass Alpacas, and Chuck Gulotta.

In Phase 1 of the mask project we delivered 7000 masks to 9 towns,  (Yanque, Coporache, Ichupampa, Tuti, Sabayo, Callalli, Picotani, Toma & Cambria). This phase was completed a month ago. This week we are finishing Phase 2, delivering 10,000 masks to 14 towns.  

Residents of Ichupampa lined up to receive washable masks, soap, and brochures to help them fight the spread of COVID in their community.

The masks, soap, and brochures the people are receiving bring the physical support they need to stay healthy. Just as important is the love these people feel coming from you. They are grateful that someone has remembered them and cares for them.

Our mission is not complete! Please consider making a year-end gift to make Phase 3 of our COVID Mask Campaign a reality and to provide food boxes for our Casa Chapi Families.

Picotani lies on the rooftop of the world at 14,700 feet elevation. It is the home of the largest population of Vicuña in the world ranging over contiguous geography. The people shepherd alpacas and help protect the Vicuña, the once nearly extinct Camelid that produces the finest natural fiber in the world.

Thanks to you, Quechua Benefit has been visiting Picotani and its sister towns of Toma and Cambria for more than 20 years, delivering dental, medical, and anemia campaigns.

On November 12, the Quechua Benefit Peru Staff delivered 1500 masks, soap, and educational information to the residents of Picotani. People eagerly accepted your gifts to them and are grateful that someone cares about them and is helping them fight the spread of COVID.

You can donate now to reach more villages in the highlands of Peru.

Because of your generous gifts, the people of Picotani have received the supplies they need to fight COVID.

Thousands more Quechua people in remote villages need your help to fight COVID-19. You can help save a life today.

For every $4 you give, a Quechua child, woman, or man will receive a mask, soap, and the education they need to fight the spread of COVID-19.

Click here to donate today and help save a life tomorrow.

“Peru is facing the worst of both worlds. In addition to the world’s highest death rate, its lockdown also caused the world’s deepest economic contraction in the second quarter.” (per Bloomberg)

The government has stressed the importance of masks, hand washing and social distancing to reduce the spread of COVID. Unfortunately, high-quality washable masks aren’t available in Quechua communities.

In September, Quechua Benefit’s pilot program in Yanque distributed masks, soap and COVID educational material to EVERY ONE of the 1,300 residents in the small town.

The results were exactly what we had hoped: an increase in mask wearing, deep appreciation that someone cares about them, and widespread interest from other mayors in the area.

With your support, we are expanding this program to more towns throughout the Colca Valley, supplying masks soap and educational material.

Every $4 provides a mask, soap, and instructions to fight COVID.

 

In October, Peru Country Director Alejandro Tejeda and our Peru staff visited Callalli, Tuti, Ichupampa, and Sibayo. Hundreds of residents of all ages lined up to receive washable masks, soap, and educational information to fight the spread of COVID in their communities.

Alejandro said, “They are very grateful because only QUECHUA BENEFIT is supporting them with masks for all the people.”

Our goal is to reach all 17 villages and more than 23,000 people in the Colca Valley.

We need your help.  

Click the button to donate today.

Every $4 you donate provides a Quechua woman, child, or man with a reusable cloth mask, soap, and educational information to fight the spread of COVID-19.

The Arequipa region of Peru has among the highest COVID-19 death rates per capita in the world. With your help, Quechua Benefit is fighting the spread of the virus by distributing masks, soap and educational information for unreached villages. All for just $4 per person.

This project also supplies badly needed jobs for the indigenous Quechua women who are sewing the masks.

Quechua Benefit’s pilot Mask Campaign to the town of Yanque on September 25, 2020, delivered masks, soap, and educational information to 1,300 people. See more photos in our Yanque COVID-19 Campaign Gallery.

Yanque’s Mask Campaign was successful!

More than 23,000 people in 17 villages, many of them elderly, still need your help. Will you send them life-saving masks, soap and education?

Click here to see our COVID Mask Production Photo Gallery.

Your donation can help save the lives of children, women and men in need. Each of them will receive:

  • A washable cloth mask
  • Hand soap
  • Educational poster or brochure

Click here to donate now.