Launching Refuge of Hope e-newsletter

Greetings to friends, volunteers, and supporters of El Refugio de Esperanza (The Refuge of Hope) in Pucallpa, Peru, a school and shelter serving the disabled since 1987. We welcome you to the first E-newsletter of The Refuge of Hope!

You may be wondering who is behind this newsletter effort. My name is DeeDee Estevez and like many of you, I fell in love with The Refuge of Hope after my first visit to Peru in 2008. Since returning to the United States, I've focused my efforts on building a mechanism by which to unite the many friends that the Refuge has made over their 20 years of service to the disabled in Peru. Thus, I've launched this quarterly e-newsletter to keep you updated on the various projecheadshotts, programs, and areas of need. Please forward this newsletter to friends you know who might also like to keep in touch. I'm now the United States contact person for the Refuge and the director of the non-profit foundation we've established to support the Refuge from the U.S. (see article below). Please feel free to contact me if you have general questions/suggestions or if you'd like to get involved (I welcome your help!) at estevez@TheRefugeofHope.org. The Refuge of Hope is now a 501(c)3 !!!

501(c)3? What does that mean? What this means is that your contributions to The Refuge of Hope are tax-deductible (effective of April 2009). Please consider making The Refuge of Hope your charity for 2010. Our United States operations are run entirely by volunteers, so 100% of your donation will go directly the projects on site in Peru to support the education and care for children with disabilities at The Refuge of Hope. There are no "middle-men" and no administrative costs! Donations received before January 1, 2010 will be tax-deductible for the 2009 year. Donate online with a credit card www.TheRefugeofHope.org or by sending a check written to "The Refuge of Hope, Inc." to the address at the top of this page.

What's Been Happening at the Refuge? The Refuge of Hope was founded in 1987 by Pastor Victor Izquierdo, his wife Ana Medoza Lopez, and 6 other founders (all polio survivors) who recognized a need to serve disabled children and youth in their country. It is amazing that with minimal resources, the Refuge has grown from a group of 8 friends wanting to help the disabled to what it is now. The Refuge of Hope is working hard to provide education, vocational training, rehabilitation, and care to the disabled in Pucallpa, Peru. Look at how we've grown!: reforestation

• We are a staff of approximately 100 Peruvian teachers therapists, and volunteers.
• Our elementary school serves 500 children, 60% of whom have a physical and/or mental disability.
• Our vocational training program serves 40 young adults with physical disabilities who study carpentry, metalwork, computers, cosmetics or sewing.
• Our boarding program houses approximately 40 students who come from distant villages or have been orphaned.
• We provide rehabilitation services including physical therapy, speech therapy, custom prosthetics/orthotics, counselling and social services to our students and the community.
• We have a church that offers Christian services of worship and teaching on Sundays and Wednesdays for our community.

One of our most exciting projects is one that is bringing us closer to our goal of financial sustainability. As some of you may know, Pura Vida Coffee and Bridge Builders Assistance Fund worked with the Directors of the Refuge of Hope, Ana and Victor, in acquiring land in order to plant trees and sell them back to the government. This project is a win-win. For only $1, you can buy a tree for The Refuge which will help the disabled, help the environment, and it's tax-deductible!

There are many specific needs at The Refuge of Hope to which you can give directly, by specifying on your check or online donation form, where you would like the money to go:

Salaries: more than 50% of our staff work without a salary. You can sponsor the salary of a teacher, social worker or administrative staff member.

School supplies: many students graduate from vocational training but lack supplies to start working. You can donate money that will go directly to buy a "start up kit" with all the supplies needed to enable a student graduating from vocational training to start working in their specific trade.

Maintenance: We often lack funds to pay electric bills for the school or to maintain our water well. You can directly sponsor a month or a year of our electric bill to keep our school running.

Transportation: We have just launched a fundraiser to raise money for a truck which we need to transport students and equipment to and from our tree farm, where we are growing trees for amazon Reforestation.

Trees: For only $1 you can buy 1 tree which our students will plant, tend, and sell to the Peruvian government for Amazon Reforestation. The proceeds will help us gain financial sustainability, and the trees will help reforest the Peruvian Amazon.

I look forward to growing in community with you. Thank you for supporting the disabled in Peru.

With the love of God,

DeeDee Estevez, Ph.D.

The Refuge of Hope, Inc.