This is an email received by my friend Maria Eugenia de Aliaga who is helping a wonderful school, Wiñaypag, get rebuilt. We have already sent supplies and are working with Maria to gather more support. Thank you for taking the time to read and watch the video! Again, 100% of your support goes directly to these children!

Good day to all!

Like many of you already know, the Southern Area of Peru has been affected by heavy rains and many brothers have lost everything due to the landslides and floods. Last week, during the night of February 28^th, the village of Taray (Cusco, Sacred Valley of the Incas) was devastated by the overflow of Qoricocha lake, with the Qoricocha Lake, with the sad result of 7 people dead and tens of people missing.

One of the victims of this disaster was the Intercultural School Wiñaypaq, literally swallowed by the fury of the waters. This school had been giving free school education since 5 years ago to 40 children from neighbor communities.  The Education Project Wiñaypaq, founded by Waldi Stölben and Alonso del Río, believes in an education based in Love, reciprocity, mutual breeding and respect and harmony between all our relations and  above all with Mother Earth.

The indigenous communities and the incredible cultural richness that Peru has is  our most valuable heritage. Even though our “modern” world doesn’t understand this, schools like Wiñaypaq, in Cusco,  work in making them stronger, recovering our legacy so like this we can stand on a healthy and strong self steem and build like this a different world.

To support education is to support the future.

All kinds of help are welcome!  Let’s prove together that union and solidarity is a powerful force of reconstruction and creation.

For more information you can also check this video:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z9Djdp6IzSk&feature=related

Thank you so much! Urpillay Sonqollay!

Yesterday we were moved again to remember that the township of Lucre, Peru was devastated in the recent foods some 4 weeks ago. Their houses are full of mud and their belongings are not to be found.

Because Lucre is off the road and out of site of the other camps, it’s bodega is very empty with hardly any supplies of dried goods, clothes and foods.

After receiving some wonderful donations via friends and the internet, I went into town to get some money off of some credit cards.  The bank was very generous and let me pull out more than usual but it was “the no hassle” Capitol One card that gave me the run around for over 2 hours.

Finally we got our money and bought 100 blankets and foam mattresses.  We negotiated for over an hour to get the best prices and the best quality.  I would not let them sleep on 2 1/2 ” foam.  It had to be the 5.5 inch foam as they would probably fit 3 kids on each mattress.

It was nice to be able to pay for it all at once.  Tomorrow they come in a truck to pick up the mattresses and take them back to Lucre where they will distribute them.

I then remembered what the kitchen in Lucre looked like.  No roof and no sides and no tables and chairs. I suggested that we get a roof for the kitchen straight away. We stopped at a ferreteria and bought 16 panels for the roof.

We then went to the big market on the way out of town that had better prices and bought lots of dried goods, veggies and fruits.
There was carnival and I got covered in white foam spray by the locals.
There were parades and dances and everyone wore wonderful costumes.

We finished up shopping and Giovanna and her crew took their truckload back to Lucre and I took a taxi home.  A very full and tiring day but a very happy one.

Over 200 people will soon be able to sleep comfortably.

Our next purchase tomorrow will be more blankets to go on the mattresses to act as sheets…they have no sheets.  We will also buy plastic to go over their tents and under their tents as it is still raining every day and the water is seeping into their tents and soaking them. We will also buy another load of food for Huacarpay and find out how much plastic they will need to cover their tents.  We are making headway with simple comforts.  Want to buy them a lot of vitamin C tomorrow too to hold off colds.

Thank you again for helping these wonderful people.  They are blown away with what we have done in just a few weeks.  Love and Peace, Lisa, Sunday and Pilar

Lisa Law, my mother, has arrived in Peru and is continuing the effort to bring supplies to the communities that are now living in tents on hillsides until they are able to rebuild. I want to thank you all again for donating to this effort; it’s going to be a long haul. I am so happy there are people on the ground and throughout our online community that are willing to keep paying attention to what is going on in Peru. The effort will need to continue for years to come. 20,000+ people lost their homes, and 300 hectares of crops were ruined. With income lost and nowhere to live, it will take years to recover. If you would like to donate, you can now send $ directly via PayPal to lisalaw@cybermesa.com.

Here is Lisa’s first report:

On Sunday, Sunday Peaches, and my granddaughter Mirabai and some friends and I drove to Huacarpay outside of Cusco, Peru with blankets and clothes for the people who have lost their homes in the January floods. They are living in tents supplied by the government that are cold at night and like an oven during the day.  They don’t have enough water and very little fresh food.  Dry goods have been supplied  by people in Cusco but what they really need is about $100,000 to rebuild their homes above the flood plain or they could be living like this for over a year.  They are miserable and don’t see the light at the end of the tunnel.  Monies coming in now are going to food and bedding so any amount sent is wonderful and they appreciate it very much.  The government is not helping them as they thought they would. I would be thrilled if we can get this message out to all our friends as fast as we can as I will be here one month and would like to see things moving in a positive direction for these people so they can have hope.

We brought food to feed some 1,500 people who are living in tents.  They were thrilled with the delivery but I am sad to say it might only last them 2 to 3 days if they mix it with lots of grains.

I wish I had a magic wand so I could rebuild for them in an instant.  What great people these are.

I’m home and miss my family in Cusco already…here are some shots from my last days. Ciao for now!

Off to Andahuaylillas with 2 cars full of girls, kids and blankets!