The same friend who introduced me to cycling by Lac d’Orient has also recently introduced me to a wonderful organization, Une main tendue vers le Pérou (A Helping Hand for Peru).
Une main tendue vers le Pérou is a non-profit that supports specific local organizations in the region of Piura, Peru that work with disadvantaged children and adolescents, to help them expand their professional potential, better their economic situations and work on personal development. To learn more about Une main tendue vers le Pérou, visit their website or e-mail them at unemaintendueversleperou@hotmail.fr.
What Can You Do to Help?
Une main tendue vers le Pérou accepts donations and also hosts a number of fundraising efforts. Every cent donated goes to helping children in Peru. No administrative costs are paid from donor funds. Even the bank fees associated with the organization’s account are paid by the founders and organizers who travel to Peru regularly to ensure that funds are directed to the most deserving and vital projects.
If you are not inclined to simply write a check, there is a fun and healthy way to donate! About once a month, the organizers plan a day hike in the Paris area. They send you all the necessary information on how to meet up and which trains you will be taking. And all they ask is €10 per person, all of which goes to Peru.
On Sunday, I joined the group for a 6- or 7-hour hike in the Yvelines. About 12 of us met at Gare Montparnasse and took the regional train about 50 minutes (€13 round-trip) to Mareil-sur-Mauldre. We hiked through wheat fields, forests and villages full of flowers and beautifully-kept stone houses. We each brought some food for a picnic lunch and later in the afternoon stopped by a small brook for “juice and cake” time (a gift of the organizers). I, for one, was quite happy to be following and not organizing for once!
Not only did we enjoy a relaxing, sunny day in the not-so-far-away countryside, we also met an interesting, welcoming and diverse group of people (I counted at least 5 nationalities) who share a love of the outdoors.
E-mail Une main tendue vers le Pérou now at unemaintendueversleperou@hotmail.fr to put your name on the mailing list for the monthly excursions!
