Pandemic Relief in Peru
As we approach the one-year anniversary of the first lockdowns to try to slow the spread of Covid-19, many of us have become weary of closures, and masks, and Zoom, and the constant debate over testing and vaccines. Imagine living in a culture, though, where very few jobs translate to working from home. Imagine a place where very few people have money saved for a rainy day, much less for a pandemic year. Imagine trying to seek help for a chronic illness in a country where the scarce options for medical care are completely overrun by a pandemic.
Peru is such a place. Peru instituted another nationwide lockdown on February 1st, another in a long line of lockdowns designed to stem the tide of Covid-19. Peruvian schools have been completely closed to in-person learning since March of 2020, and may not open in 2021, either. Churches are still not meeting in person. Only the essentials of food and medicine can be bought.
Paths of Hope seeks to mentor young people by connecting local church mentors with young adults, but we cannot do this while churches and schools are shuttered. However, the Lord has brought other ministry opportunities to Billy and Kate Greenman, our missionaries in Lima. Covid relief has now become a necessity of ministry, and these are some of the ways your donations have helped:
-- Four young men who had been in children’s homes needed to cover their rent payments while they were temporarily out of work due to the quarantine measures.
-- You helped provide temporary lodging for an ex-Girasol who was released from jail during the lockdown. He desires to chart a new path in his life, but he had no support network at all. We have since incorporated him as one of the first members of our Tigre Program.
-- We have bought prepaid phone credit, clothing, food staples and medicine for three different ex-Girasoles who are currently in jail. Since the quarantine began, Billy has not been able to visit these young men in person, but he remains in touch by phone and has been able to send care packages. Billy is working with them to provide encouragement, emotional and spiritual support, and he is working with them as they begin to plan for their lives after their sentence comes to an end.
-- You helped provide food for several individuals and in other cases your support has gone toward contributing supplies to a community kitchen, where meals are prepared in bulk for the members of a community.
-- Paths of Hope has helped subsidize the higher costs of maintaining a small pig farming business run by an ex-Girasol and keeping it afloat during this pandemic.
-- Your support helped with medical expenses for three of the ex-Girasoles who have been recently diagnosed with serious medical conditions (TB, HIV, etc.). While treatment for these types of chronic conditions generally are offered at virtually no cost in Peru, the healthcare system has been completely overwhelmed due to Covid-19. We have worked with them to navigate the care system and, in some cases, pay for care when there was no other feasible option.
-- The mother of one of the ex-Girasoles was diagnosed with COVID-19 and in need of an ICU bed, but there was no space for her in any of the hospitals in Lima. Her family used all their savings to pay for oxygen for her, but they could not afford her medication. We helped with the costs of her medications. Though she was not expected to live, by God's grace she seems to be improving.
Your continued support for Paths of Hope will help not only during this pandemic, but as we move out of it, to help guide and support young adults to discover and pursue God’s purpose for their lives. The best way you can support the work in Peru is through recurring donations. You can donate monthly or quarterly by giving online or by mailing your support to:
Paths of Hope Ministries
P.O. Box 4242
Greensboro, NC 27404
