DAVE RONN’S PERSONAL DONATIONS INSPIRE HIM TO DO EVEN MORE: SEEK WIDER DONATIONS FOR PERUVIANS HIT HARD BY PANDEMIC
Hi Everyone,
Ayllu in Quechua means community. You see it on brick walls along the pista and it’s what VISIONS Peru calls their Circle group meetings. I thought of Ayllu when I spoke to Neyda, my friend and head cook for the VISIONS program over the last 11 years.
I wanted to connect with her personally to see how she was doing, and learn how the pandemic is impacting her life. Neyda has always been upbeat and positive, but the sadness was evident. Covid-19 had been hitting Peru hard, and things have come to all but a screeching halt. Neyda humbly explained that the biggest weight on her shoulders is the 3,500 soles home loan she is struggling to pay, and that the burden of it keeps her awake at night. (3,500 soles is approximately U.S. $970.)
Neyda has a small corner store in the front of her house, but with tourism shut down and the economy in dire straits, her store is barely making ends meets. VISIONS needing to cancel all programs further impacted her.
I then called our carpenter maestro, Ismael. Ismael has four school-age children who had been attempting to take online classes, but with no wifi and only cheap phones for technology, they’ve dropped out for the time being, along with thousands of other Peruvian students. The stress and sadness was also apparent in Ismael’s voice.
Things are hard here in the U.S., yet the strain in many developing nations is tremendously amplified. For people who have usually been so upbeat and joyful, the concerns are very real—and even more than their anxieties over their own situations was the concern for others in the community who have even less.
I’ve never organized a fundraiser, but after speaking with Neyda and Ismael, I felt compelled to help the Visions Foundation raise funds, and I hope you will help! VISIONS students and leaders have worked alongside these friends in Peru for two decades, and we are part of their Ayllu— even across the globe.
I’m asking you to please donate to help the people who shared their lives with us in Peru. All funds raised will go straight to our fine VISIONS Peru partners— Neyda, Ismael, Janet and Willy, Theresa, and Nico. Please give what you can, and thank you so much for your support.
Un fuerte abrazo,
Dave Ronn
Visions Peru 2016, 2018, 2019