Page 2 - C:\Users\j_dol\OneDrive\Desktop\FOC MAIN 2\Marketing\Newsletter\FlipBook\Winter 2024\

FoC Executive Director

Mike Smith

The Christmas and Thanksgiving holidays are times many of us spend
together with those we love. Whether with our immediate families,
extended families or faith communities this time of the year is filled
with gratitude for what we have, but mostly, joy from the people that
surround us.
Now imagine you must leave your home and those closest to you
because life in your current situation has become unsafe or untenable.
You take as much as you can carry and head to a place you have heard
about where there will be more opportunities and the possibility
of a new start. The journey to your new home is long, arduous and
dangerous.

Upon reflection, this reality is not far from any of us. As many in the
United States who have descendants from Europe, Asia, South America,
or Africa know, somewhere in our lineage someone left home to create a better future for themselves and their children.

Now imagine you end up in Cambio Puente. Alone, hungry and desperate. Living on the side of a giant sand dune in a
makeshift home that barely keeps the wind and dust out. This is the reality of the people we serve every day in Peru.

An undeniable truth about humans is our need for community. Our work in Upper Cambio Puente has had many positive
impacts. Yet, one of the hardest challenges to fully understand until you walk through the neighborhoods and talk to those we
serve is the devastation that isolation can have on one’s psyche.

The importance of food, water, education, shelter are very well understood, but the separation and loneliness of being away
from family and friends is awful. As Friends of Chimbote and ACAF’s new mission statement highlights, we are working so
people cannot just survive but also flourish. A sense of community is a pillar of human flourishing. We strive to help people
recognize their own potential by ensuring they feel part of a community. When people begin to connect with one another they
are able to start to gain a sense of self-determination and agency.

The community we are helping to build is forming right before our eyes. The learning center, community kitchen, kindergarten,
park, daycare, social worker’s office are all physical places that were constructed in the last couple of years and people are
gathering there each day! Community transformation is happening, and it’s being led by those living in it!

Please know that we are making a difference because of the prayers and support we receive from all of you! In this issue you
will meet some of the people being empowered and see the projects you are helping to make happen.

Blessings, Mike & Katie

PAGE 2 friendsofchimbote.org