Thank you, Gracias, or in Quechua–Añay

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.

Madeleine Fortmann of Oldenburg Alpacas and Patrick Budde of Westfalen Alpacas are passionate alpaca breeders in Germany.

Madeleine and Patrick’s love for alpacas initially connected them to Quechua Benefit, and they joined the 2018 Quechua Benefit Peru Tour to attend the 2018 International Alpaca Fiesta and see some of Peru’s best alpaca farms. 

Attending the Vicuña Chaccu in Picotani was a high point of the 2018 tour. No European had ever sheared a vicuña at Picotani, and no one there knew Madeleine shears thousands of alpacas a year. They handed her the shearing machine, and she began her expert work on the vicuña. As she finished, loud clapping and laughter broke out. Madeleine was proclaimed the “fastest gringa ever” to shear a vicuña! 

The children of Casa Chapi captivated Patrick and Madeleine’s hearts, and they enjoyed playing “futball” and getting to know each other. Madeleine and Patrick are committed to Quechua Benefit’s mission to break the cycle of poverty, and they have shared that mission with their friends.

This year, Patrick and Madeleine organized a fundraiser for Quechua Benefit together with the German alpaca breeders Gisbert and Marion Henning of Simagi Alpacas, Patrick Zetzmann of Dreamworld Alpacas and Wolfgang and Babett Eckardt of Miriquidi Alpacas. They raised $9024 for Quechua Benefit.  Thank you, Madeleine and Patrick, for your generosity! 

Quechua Benefit invites you to organize a fundraiser for Quechua Benefit among your friends, too. Contact Mike at 503-703-6020 for more information.

Soledad and Karina and their family in Yanque are happy to receive one month’s supply of rice, beans, and canned goods! The pandemic has hit Peru hard, particularly in the highland communities where your generosity is delivered.

All schools in Peru are closed, so Casa Chapi’s 150 students are quarantined in their homes. Each of our kids lives in a large family with at least 4 or 5 siblings and their parents. Thank you for giving to all our Casa Chapi families who are in need because of the coronavirus quarantine.

The people your donations lift up are always the least among us, and today, with parents unable to work, simply feeding everyone is next to impossible. Alejandro visited several villages where our Casa Chapi families live: Yanque, Chivay, Coporaque, Caylloma and Ichupampa. He delivered encouragement, books for the kids, and needed supplies.

Click here to see more photos of our food distribution to Casa Chapi families.

First grader Anderson and his grandparents in Coporaque are grateful for your love and support during this challenging time.

Thanks to you, Quechua Benefit has made it our immediate mission to deliver 30 days’ worth of food every 30 days to each of your Casa Chapi families.

The cost per family per month is $100 or $15,000 per month for the foreseeable future. Thank you for your generosity.

When we asked for your help to provide rice, beans, and canned goods for our Casa Chapi families during the Covid-19 crisis, YOU GAVE!

Thanks to you, our Peru staff purchased food staples and stored them at the Quechua Benefit office until Alejandro, our Peru Country Director, could secure permission to travel. Last week, he was granted permission to begin deliveries.

On May 30, Alejandro loaded the van and began delivering the food boxes to the 20 Casa Chapi families near Arequipa. They happily received a month’s supply of rice, beans, and canned goods because of you!

While Peru’s quarantine is in place until June 30, some of the tight restrictions have been loosened. Many people are still unable to work, so this gift of necessary food means a great deal to people who have suffered the loss of their jobs during the pandemic.

In addition to delivering food, Alejandro has been able to connect with the Casa Chapi students to deliver school books and return completed assignments. Our kids are continuing to learn at home.

Alejandro delivers food and school work to Edith, Michell, and Washington near Arequipa.

Alejandro is continuing his travels to the remote areas of the Colca Valley to deliver supplies to more families. Thank you for providing encouragement and hope to our Casa Chapi families through your gifts!

Richard & Jane Miller, Teresa & Fred Dalsager, Aaron Marcellino and Andrew Curtis

Richard helped distribute emergency supplies in Ichupampa after the August 2016 earthquake.

Richard (“Don Ricardo”) and Jane Miller have been advocates, volunteers and donors to Quechua Benefit since 2008, when fate intervened and they won two alpacas donated by Mike Safley as a raffle prize at a local garden show.

They were soon talking about Richard’s years volunteering in Guatemala, and Mike asked if he still spoke Spanish. The answer was yes, and within a few short months, Richard joined Quechua Benefit as a translator on a medical mission in the Peruvian highlands.

Richard has returned with us every year since (sometimes more than once) to share his translation skills, engaging stories on long bus rides, and loving heart to all he encounters.

Richard and Aaron at Quechua Benefit’s 2017 fundraiser in Portland, Oregon.

Richard and Jane have sponsored the school house and a cottage at Casa Chapi, as well as the Ichupampa kitchen.

One of Richard’s greatest contributions has been connecting us with his daughter, Teresa Dalsager, her husband Fred, and his grandson, Aaron Marcellino.

Teresa helps us enormously on our fundraising events in Portland. Aaron and his longtime friend Andrew Curtis make up the incredible team at Hitchhiker Pictures, the production company behind Quechua Benefit’s videos.

 

Videos are among our most valuable fundraising tools

Aaron and Andrew (or as we call them, the “Butter Boys”) have volunteered their time filming in Peru on four occasions. Thanks to their hard work, A Chance to Be a Child won the Walt Ratterman Humanitarian Award at the 2016 Columbia Gorge International Film Festival.

We credit the Hitchhiker Pictures videos for helping Quechua Benefit to expand our support base and double our fundraising over the last three years.

We cannot express our gratitude enough for these generous, talented, and dedicated friends of Quechua Benefit.