Corazon de los Apus was founded in August 2011 in the district of San Jeronimo Cusco in Perú.
The project was created by two friends who brought nothing more than motivation, energy and willpower to give the children and their families more opportunities than they had previously been given.
CORAZON DE LOS APUS is a mix of Spanish and Quechua. The Spanish word CORAZON means HEART, APU is a Quechua word (lInca language) and means MOUNTAIN and/or GOD. The Incas worshipped the mountains, which were their gods and protectors of the people.
In the beginning, childcare was only provided on weekends with around 15 children. Today, the project opens its doors 4 days a week for up to 70 children. We are very happy and proud that the project has grown so well.
This positive development was only possible because of the support of our many volunteers, ambassadors and donors. We would like to thank all our supporters from the bottom of our hearts for their involvement.
We hope to grow even more in the future. Our goal is to involve more communities around Cusco to be able to support more children and families.
We dedicate this project to Coco’s (one of the founders) late mother who passed away in 2013. She helped set the example in his family and within the community of San Jeronimo for more than 20 years. With her giving and caring nature that never requested or needed anything in return for her good deeds, she left the best mark a person could in our community and has helped form the basis in which we will dedicate ourselves to “Corazón de los Apus” with relentless energy, love, passion in our hearts.
Corazón de los Apus was established with the goal to change the behavior, to increase the knowledge and to alter the lives of the people in the district of San Jerónimo. We believe that in order to change the mentality of any group of people, you have to start at the base – with the children.
At Corazón de los Apus we want to bring awareness to the children, that they can break through social boundaries and live a better life. Most importantly, we hope to help them gain personal values like love and respect for themselves and others, to be able to lead happy and healthy lives with more opportunities for a brighter future. This includes our focus on the importance of school, knowledge and education.
If we can alter the life of just one single child for the better by providing them with more opportunities, our time and energy has been well spent. That being said, we work tirelessly to make a change, beginning with the district of San Jeronimo.
Foster an appreciation of learning and increase children’s knowledge.
Provide a safe and loving environment
Stimulate their emotional, educational and physical growth
Preserve their cultural identity