APPEAL - Video Camera

Do you have an old, used, or even new video camera that you no longer need? Would you be willing to donate it to Living Heart to enable us to support a wonderful initiative that one of our communities have come up with by themselves?

Children performing their traditional dances in front of their school friends

The community would like to produce a DVD of video clips showing their traditional customs and cultural ways specific to their village.  They also have a plan to sell weavings and other items as well as start a museum to preserve their cultural heritage and allow tourists to visit and learn all about it.  Tourists will also have the opportunity to buy the weavings and DVD with benefits being giving directly to the school.

Living Heart are delighted to support this initiative by appealing to anyone who has a disused video camera that they no longer need.  It will be loaned to the community for them to begin filming their traditions and customs in order to produce the DVD.  If you are able to help, please email us at info@livingheartperu.org

More stories on this initiative will be posted as it progresses!

First Hot Breakfast and Lunch

The newly built kitchen in one of our communities was finally completed last week, with running water, fully functional chimney and working surfaces, all installed and working properly.

So we have gone from this 1.5m x1.5m tin "shack" of an old kitchen to a beautiful 6m x 4m stone building, kitted with fire and chimney, wash basin with running water, work surfaces and window hatch through which to pass the meals when ready.

The ladies preparing the first meal photographed next to the new chimney and fire.  Chimney's are not commonplace in this community and many people suffer from inhaling the smoke from fires inside their homes.  Part of our evaluation and requisite for supporting a community is to ensure that the kitchen is smoke-free in order to conserve the health of the cook and helpers.

Yesterday, Tuesday 28th September, 60 children received their first hot breakfast and hot lunch.  Representatives of Living Heart were present to see the results and give some guidance where necessary.

Here we see the children lining up to receive their food.  

Tucking in to a hot lunch of vegetables, potato and salad.

It was a truly magical day; the children ate absolutely everything and not a single crumb was left on any of the 60 plates!






To feed a hot lunch and breakfast to the 60 children in this community costs $492 per month.  This includes locally sourced natural foods to complete 20 nutritionally balanced recipes.  If you would like to donate to this food programme, please visit our website for further information on how to do so. www.livingheartperu.org

New Kitchen

Tiny tin shed used for cooking previously.

It has taken us a couple of months to almost finish the new kitchen in one of our communities.

The foundations are ready for the new building.

Delays and efforts have been hampered by poor weather, lack of transport and community members being away from home helping on the various tourist trails around the Sacred Valley.

Our local nurse, Rita, and Maureen outside the new building!

We are now really close to finishing this project and starting the food programme. The children are all excited to know that a hot breakfast and lunch will soon be given to them everyday.

New Long-Term Volunteer

A huge welcome to Maureen Santucci who joins Living Heart as a long-term volunteer in the capacity of administration, marketing and day-to-day operational activities. We wish her all the very best during her stay in the Valley helping us out!