About the Foundation
Comunidad is a non-profit (501(c)(3) organization formed in 2002 by ArtAndes and friends. We work with indigenous people in the Peruvian highlands, whose lives and communities were decimated by the Shining Path terrorist group in the 1980s and 90s. The Truth and Reconciliation Commission of 2003 put the number at 70,000 innocent people dead or “disappeared” at the hands of either the Shining Path or the army that was supposed to protect them.
One such community is the village of Paccha, in the mountains near Ayacucho, where Comunidad is currently focusing their efforts. With much of the adult male population brutally murdered in 1989, the area has been slow to recover, with only widows and orphans, and a government eager to forget this painful chapter in its country’s history. But Paccha is also the home town of Wilbur Quispe, master weaver for ArtAndes, who has not forgotten. Please read “A Durable Weave”, to learn more about Wilbur and to gain a better understanding of why Comunidad was created.
In Paccha, Comunidad has started a secondary school, six kindergarten schools, a library project with 2,000 books and a scholarship and nutrition program. The mission is to give the people the opportunities and tools they need to get themselves and their community back on their feet. Through careful allocation of our resources, which come solely in the form of private donations, we are creating a self-sustaining bridge for the people back to the life they once had or forward to one they have dreamt about.
Check out the other current projects we’re working on and if you are so moved to contribute to our efforts, please take this opportunity to make a tax-deductible donation to Comunidad. A little goes a long way in Peru and every donation truly makes a difference.
Gift Cards for all occasions - a unique and heartfelt gift
Consider a Comunidad gift card to give to the person who has everything, for the philanthropic minded, to remember or honor someone special, or just because. The gift card comes on 9x4 high quality color cardstock with a matching envelope for you to mail to your lucky recipient. Gift cards will be mailed to you for your giving pleasure, in the denomination you specify; $25 minimum please. Click here for a preview. Contact us and let us know how many we can send to you.
View a trailer for the documentary film "A Common Thread"
Filmaker Michael Jozwik visited Paccha with Comunidad board members in July 2008. Click here to view the trailer for his soon to be released documentary film "A Common Thread".
Listen to Wilbur Quispe's story on National Public Radio (NPR)
Click here to listen to the fascinating and moving life story of Wilbur Quispe, which aired on NPR.