Lima, Peru  |  Saturday, May 18, 2013 04:28 am  |  |  | 


« back to home
Make Livinginperu.com your Homepage




Beyond Volunteering
Book hotels in Lima, Peru

Features / Archive

January 4, 2011 16:13:51 | in Expat Life

A Peru expat recommends: Five charities to support

peru
DB Peru is an NGO that works to improve health conditions in the Peruvian Amazon. (Photo courtesy DB Peru)


By Marie Meyer

Charity begins at home, and since Peru is now my home, I have begun to look into ways my family and I can be of service to our new neighbors. I’ve begun to sneak the shoe-shine boy a hefty tip for a job exceedingly well done, and my New Year’s resolution will be to see if I can get the odd taxi driver to be more courteous around the city by offering to pay a little more. (Will it work? Who knows, but wish me luck!) I’ve not seen much outright begging along the streets close to my house so far, mostly it’s been at least an attempt to get something for something, often enlivening our lives and that of the neighborhood in the process.

1. Swiss-German love in Lima 

The pros and cons of charitable giving can be an interesting discussion, but one that’s a little moot once you’ve looked into the little faces of the children living at El Refugio (The Refuge) at Domingo Ponte 1116, Magdalena del Mar, Lima. Here Doris Storz, her staff and volunteers take care of 11 children ranging from 3 to 10 years old in a rambling house where Swiss-German and Spanish is spoken, punctuated by many happy shrieks.

The home is organized around Doris as a substitute mother, and with a family structure of 12, meaning there can never be more than 12 children in the home. Some babies are given for adoption by the relevant Peruvian authority, but many children may stay until they turn 18, or until they are able to support themselves. See their website for donation details and make a point to visit their shop at the home for many beautiful handicrafts and baked goods, including delicious homemade panettone. Not to mention the Swiss chocolate! This home is but one of the four projects of this Peruvian-Swiss nonprofit, started in 2000, that offers a home to babies and children who are neglected or at risk, and that offers care to children and elderly adults living in extreme poverty.

2. Evangelical focus 

The American Canadian Association of Peru (ACAP) supported the Casa Hogar Nuevo Amanecer at Carlos with Christmas gifts to the children this year. This charity, founded in 1990, now provides food and shelter for 40 children, 25 girls and 15 boys, in two separate houses and has a strong evangelical influence. See Casa Hogar’s website, or contact Sister Kelly at mastey2@hotmail.com. They are located at Gutierrez 470, Urbanización Santo Domingo, La Victoria, Lima.

3. An orphanage in Cañete 

From Feb. 1-14, four members of the Rotary Club of Goderich, Canada will visit San Vicente de Cañete to spend a grant of more than $24,000 from Rotary International to furnish six houses of the Nuestro Pequeños Hermanos orphanage. Goderich Rotary Member Andy Ross reports that the 70 children in rented accommodations at Lunahuana might move onto their new digs as early as March 2011, although they still need help with finishing some projects. Please see the NPH Peru website for more details, or contact Alfredo Hernandez, the project manager in Cañete.

4. Help Them Hope 

John Whelan recently founded Help Them Hope on the belief that sustained health and education can be a path out of poverty for people with debilitating medical conditions. They hope to help children by supporting their education and giving them the tools to progress even amongst lots of challenges, such as poverty and lack of family support. John previously did a lot of work with the children in El Hogar San Fransisco De Asis in Chaclacayo (where opportunities to volunteer still exist), but hope to soon raise enough money to open a Hope house for children with disabilities. Please see helpthemhope.org or contact john@helpthemhope.org for more information.

5. Health in the Amazon 

I’ve mentioned DB Peru before, a 501c3 charity in USA and an ONG (NGO) in Peru, operating in its 9th year of bringing better access to healthcare to the people of the Amazon jungle of Peru. They organize two-day educational seminars for the promotores (lay health workers) and midwives, taught by the staff in the surrounding clinics of Mazan and Orellana. Medicines and medical supplies are delivered every three months to each village, diminishing their need to leave the village for simple care. There are currently 25 villages supported by DB Peru, more than 5,000 people directly. When available, both foreign and Peruvian doctors and nurses accompany the staff of DB Peru to provide evaluation and treatments to those people needing care. Follow-up is done for villagers needing advanced care or for those who have chronic conditions. Radios, antennas and solar panels have been installed in many villages to improve communication when there are emergencies.

Although humanitarian aid is not the primary mission, DB Peru will bring items requested by the people, like clothing. Sewing supplies and fabric are frequently taken to the women, to make clothes for their families and to sell. With a grant from another charity and other donations, they bought 20 Singer sewing machines and six specialty machines for the government program in Orellana. The professor has 20 women in the three-year sewing program and had no machines on which to learn. The mayor of the Amazonas district built a facility to house the machines and school program.

All work is done by volunteers, and anyone wishing to obtain information about volunteering, please contact Diana Bowie, President, at dbperuong@aol.com or call (01) 447-4792 or 99912-3845 in Peru. See their website; DB Peru will be pleased to accept your (US tax deductible) donations, and first aid or medical supplies are particularly welcome.

Marie Meyer

It took almost 15 years, but I recently made it back to Peru. And this time not only as a tourist, but with a husband and kids in tow, and here to stay for years. I am looking forward to learning the art of living in Peru, and sharing what I learn every week. 

Please email me at peru4000@gmail.com with your ideas and suggestions, and viva (en) peru!

Add to del.icio.us | digg it! |

Add Comment

Full Name

E-mail

Notify me via e-mail of new comments to this entry.


Code :


Comments

  • Comments are the property of their respective authors, and LivinginPeru.com is not responsible for the content of these comments
  • Only comments in English will be published
  • Por ahora solo se permiten comentarios en ingles.
  • Any offensive, injurious, profane or disrespectful comments will not be published
  • You must include a real email address (this WILL be verified) for your comments to be published
  • Repeat comments, or comments of a similar nature written by the same person will not be published
  • All comments are sent to a moderator before publication
  • Referring to the topic indicated in the article will increase your chances of publication
  • Repeat offenses of the above guidelines will result in the removal of your ability to comment

Categories

  1. art, culture, lifestyle (391)
  2. cuisine (43)
  3. entertainment (65)
  4. environment (37)
  5. Expat Life (120)
  6. General (187)
  7. health, medicine (32)
  8. history (14)
  9. photography (5)
  10. politics (69)
  11. society (82)
  12. sports (32)

Last 5 posts

Last comments

See all comments

Features web syndication [RSS]
what is "web syndication" ?