Our Story
Dear Friends,
What an incredible journey this has been. It all began on the Inca Trail in June 2008 after Angie spent 2 weeks in Ayacucho working at a Wawa Wasi, a grassroots daycare for mothers living in poverty to bring their children while finding work. In the afternoons, Angie would work at an after school program for children with disabilities and gave massage to the children, teaching other volunteers and parents technique that could be used after she left. When she arrived Cusco to begin the Inca trail, she was sick with a bronchial infection and struggled on the trail. Saul happened to be the tour guide on that journey and helped nurse Angie along the way with homeopathic Inca remedies. We exchanged our stories and discovered we both had a heart to give back to the Peruvian people. As a child, Saul had received help himself and has a desire to give back to his own people.
The next year, Angie returned to work at an orphanage for children with disabilities, again administering physiotherapy massage, and trekking with Saul to distribute items to families along the way. After the third trip (and back to the orphanage), a massage client of Angie’s offered to help us set-up our non-profit to support our efforts and so it began.
We’ve had the incredible help and support of Mary Jo Weston and Laura Antonio from Simplicity Law, who helped us get our non-profit status, and Mary Jo continues to coach us along the way. Greg Robinson has patiently helped us build our website as we learn and adapt. We’ve had brave souls pioneer with us on our early treks, and we’ve had the wonderful support of generous donors who have helped to make it possible to bring blankets, food items, clothes, vitamins, and toys to hundreds of people living in poverty in the high Andes. We’d also like to extend a special thanks to REI and the Colorado Mountain Club (CMC) for helping us connect to wonderful volunteers who have joined us on multiple treks.
From the bottom of our hearts, thank you for all of your love and support.
—Saul and Angie
What an incredible journey this has been. It all began on the Inca Trail in June 2008 after Angie spent 2 weeks in Ayacucho working at a Wawa Wasi, a grassroots daycare for mothers living in poverty to bring their children while finding work. In the afternoons, Angie would work at an after school program for children with disabilities and gave massage to the children, teaching other volunteers and parents technique that could be used after she left. When she arrived Cusco to begin the Inca trail, she was sick with a bronchial infection and struggled on the trail. Saul happened to be the tour guide on that journey and helped nurse Angie along the way with homeopathic Inca remedies. We exchanged our stories and discovered we both had a heart to give back to the Peruvian people. As a child, Saul had received help himself and has a desire to give back to his own people.
The next year, Angie returned to work at an orphanage for children with disabilities, again administering physiotherapy massage, and trekking with Saul to distribute items to families along the way. After the third trip (and back to the orphanage), a massage client of Angie’s offered to help us set-up our non-profit to support our efforts and so it began.
We’ve had the incredible help and support of Mary Jo Weston and Laura Antonio from Simplicity Law, who helped us get our non-profit status, and Mary Jo continues to coach us along the way. Greg Robinson has patiently helped us build our website as we learn and adapt. We’ve had brave souls pioneer with us on our early treks, and we’ve had the wonderful support of generous donors who have helped to make it possible to bring blankets, food items, clothes, vitamins, and toys to hundreds of people living in poverty in the high Andes. We’d also like to extend a special thanks to REI and the Colorado Mountain Club (CMC) for helping us connect to wonderful volunteers who have joined us on multiple treks.
From the bottom of our hearts, thank you for all of your love and support.
—Saul and Angie