Aloha to all, It has been a while since we have touched base with our supporters. Hope your Spring is moving along well and that your summer is lining up nicely. We have been a little quiet lately – I am in my finals and mom has a long-term teaching gig. Needless to say, we are both a bit wiped out these days. But that is not not say that we have been completely dormant. Our website was last updated mid-April featuring our new logo, an updated mission statement and a link to a “jewelry store” for fund raising, and photos from the March 30 show (more to follow and video montage to be produced this summer). Please check out our website: www.perudonations.org and take a gander at the fine emerald, opal, sapphire and ruby items that have been donated to us as fund raising items. These pieces are real, new and at amazing prices. Silent auction format (with super low reserve values). There has been great interest in some of the pieces, so don’t delay! You might lose out on a great deal – some as low as $25!
We also have some things in the works. We have been officially named as a partner with the Andean Outreach Program, based in Oakland, CA. Please visit their website: www.andeanoutreach.org, to learn of their exciting projects. They have already issued a grant to a volunteer/traveler (Karen) in Peru to do some restoration and conversion work to a bathroom at a school for the blind in Huancayo, Peru. The project was finished in record time using a local contractor and the results are impressive. Now the wheelchair-bound students will be more independent with their bathroom use and will greatly improve their confidence as they learn more skills. AOP has also approved a loan through our mutual colleague, Russell Jenkins, to a local man to initiate mass-production of assistive canes for the blind in the city. These canes will not only provide a nice line of income for Adel, but it will bring relief to the blind citizens of the area and their families and caregivers. See the AOP website for photos. AOP has recently received a large donation earmarked for the school at Chupaca, Peru, run by our friends and affiliates Ely and Nilton. Their volunteer program, Peru Luz de Esperanza, will be hosting their first foreign volunteers this summer. They are beside themselves with joy and are madly preparing to welcome these Westerners into their home/homebase for a mutually enlightening experience! The donation received by AOP will be sent to PLE when it reaches the $800 goal mark – it is short of that by just a small amount. Please consider contributing even just $15 or $20 to help build it up so it can be sent off right away. Use the link on their website to make your donation.
Peru Luz de Esperanza (PLE) has really a lot of irons in the fire. Besides renting a small space for their school for working children, they have a small number of local volunteers who are lending a hand. They have also been working several times a week with our second beneficiary, Merardo. Ely continues to tutor him while also caring for his blisters and other health needs. I have INSTRUCTED her to quit doing the wound care. She has been showing his parents and Merardo himself how to properly drain and care for his all-over body blisters that are caused by his EB (epidermolysis bullosa). I told her that she can relinquish the care of his wounds to his family now that it is more under control and return to her main focus of providing him with academic tutoring. This will not only relieve her of the burden, but it will prepare Merardo and his family to continue his care if she is for whatever reason unable to continue. It will also be a way for them to take a partnership stance in controlling this previously uncontrollable disease.
Additionally, Ely is looking into initiating the legal paperwork needed to authorize Preli’s medical visitation in August, as well as beginning the process of obtaining the more long-term consents that will be needed if Presli will require surgeries outside of Peru and transportation to such place. Time is of the essence now that the Rotaplast team will be there in three months. She is making inquiries with the social worker at the orphanage as well as attempting to make contact with Presli’s father. Perhaps his father will be able to assign a temporary yet long-term limited power of attorney to Ely or to some other private party so that Preli’s treatments can proceed without red-tape issues.
Both Presli and Merardo will be seeing the Rotaplast team in August in La Oroya, Peru. A dermatologist at Rotaplast is currently reviewing Merardo’s case to see what could be done for him. It is our hope that at the minimum they will be able to surgically separate his webbed fingers so that full use of his hands will be restored. This will greatly improve his quality of life, his educational success and his nutrition. His father will accompany him on the trip, so the legal speedbumbs we may face in Presli’s case are not an issue with Merardo.
We are hoping to send vitamins, nutritional supports and medical supplies to Merardo via the volunteers who are going to PLE next month and July. If anyone has a contact with a hospital or medical company who disposes of expired gauze, Kerlix, nitrile gloves (not latex), Desitin, antibacterial creams/gels/soaps, ice/heat packs, etc. (in other words, non-invasive wound care supplies), please send have them contact us. I know that some of those things don’t technically “expire”, but through rotation of stock they may have surplus that they may be able to contribute.
AOP is planning to have a fund raising event this summer in the Bay Area for our Project Presli funds. If you are in the area, or have friends there, please go to the AOP website and register for their newsletter. We are also playing with the idea of having another benefit concert for Presli mid-August – right about at the time he will be seen by the Rotaplast team. Any bands, musicians, promoters, sponsors, photographers, videographers and graphic artists out there, please contact me at lisa@perudonations.org to volunteer your services or time or make suggestions for the show. The last concert was a nice beginning and quite a learning experience. I am hoping now that people are aware of our cause and there is more time to prepare (I did the last one is six weeks, which was clearly not enough time) that we will have a bigger turn out, better raffle prizes and perhaps a more accessible venue. We will have the services of Andrew (TRX TV) to create a television spot on his cable music channel, maybe have more newspaper coverage, and earlier posting of fliers in more places sooner all over the island. We will also have more time to approach potential sponsors and prize donors to sweeten the pot for our attendees. Suggestions?
Lastly, we are making inquiries about importing genuine .950 silver jewelry (and some gold) from Huancayo. This city has some of the highest quality, locally mined silver items, handmade by local artisans (or at least produced in Peru). We are hoping to purchase a quantity of this beautiful jewelry and sell it on our website as a fund raiser. Some of this stuff is truly spectacular, adorned with semi-precious stones and unique gemstones, as well as everyday designs that are suitable for every age, gender and occasion. Besides raising money for our own projects, this will help local artisans and mom & pop business in Huancayo by bringing American dollars into the city without the burden of tourism. Our friends Ely and Russell (now a married man, felicidades) will be researching the shipping issues and we will go from there.
Lastly, and perhaps most exciting, I was approached by a member of Pimpbot and LoveChile, drummer Eric Lagrimas, about a very exciting idea – his day job is in the music biz and he had the following suggestion – create a compilation CD with music from bands her represents and sell it for our charity! Not only would it be professionally produced at a low cost, but we could sell this CD through traditional sources, like music stores and our website, but perhaps we could also sell it online through our friend Francie at her BurnLounge website (please take a look at her music store by visiting: www.burnlounge.com/FrancieLuana). This online store is unlike the others, such as P2P and iTunes, etc., in that the artists have contracted with the website and they actually get paid for every download. In this way, any profits from the sale of our benefit CD can be directly designated to us by Francie and we can skip the middleman.
So, that’s what we have up our sleeves for the next few months. To recap:
updated website
AOP projects
PLE volunteer program
Merardo’s health improvements
Presli’s legal situation
gearing up for the Rotaplast visit
medical supply donations needed
Project Presli fund raiser in the Bay Area
Concert #2?
Possible silver jewelry fund raisers
compilation CD
PHEW! No wonder I have not had time to write!
Lisa and Sherrill Sturm
One life at a time
