An Open Letter from Sonia

This letter is to all of you who have visited ‘Hearts Café’ since we opened for business in March 2007.

Your generous gifts of money, toys, educational material, clothes and medicines have benefited the Andean women and children here hugely.

This new Hearts Cafe website has being updated by volunteers and explains what we have achieved with your donations so far.

To see how our projects within the Sacred Valley have grown since March 2007, see the project page on this website. For more detailed information on each of the individual projects, please go to ‘Living Hearts’ website at www.livingheartperu.org

At the end of the café’s financial year in March, I will know exactly what capital sum the cafe itself has achieved and will be able to pass onto the Living Heart’s projects.

Recently the Meyer Family Foundation generously helped me to form a Peruvian NGO (Non Governmental Organisation), which we have named Living Heart (in Spanish, Corazone Viviendo). The grant of $8,000 will help support our work with the vulnerable people within this community for six months.

By forming an NGO, Living Heart is now able to receive financial support from generous donors. All of our projects are in the areas of Health, Conservation and Education, and Living Heart will not have to pay tax on these gifts. The Meyers Foundation have also organised for me a really good Lawyer and Accountant. An extra piece of good news is that the accountant is so pleased with what we have achieved, and want to achieve for the children of this very poor area that he has offered to work for the cafe and the NGO for free...another demonstration of the kindness of people.

Living Heart now has a US Dollar Bank Account in Cusco, and as many of you asked to be informed when this is arranged this is the information:

Banco de Credito
Avenida el Sol
Cusco Peru
Account name: Living Heart
Account Number:285-1608784-1-39
Swift Code:BCPLPEPL
ABA:067015355

Finally, the staff at Hearts café are all local people who were out of work before they came here. They have learnt how to cook international food and are thrilled to be part of an organisation

that is helping those less fortunate, this in itself is a boost to their confidence and self esteem and they become increasingly interested in the individual projects.

Thank you all very much for your generous donations, these have supported our work here greatly. Thanks again, you know who you are !!

With very best wishes,

Sonia