“Heart-Links really honours its name, because the relationship is from heart to heart.”
Erla Hoyos, Centro Santa Angela
HEART-LINKS LAZOS DE CORAZÓN is a small London-based nongovernmental organization that works to advance community development in northern Peru. We partner with organizations in Peru to finance and accompany initiatives in education, leadership training, gender equality and health, among others. We also organize an annual trip to northern Peru for Canadians who are interested in learning to walk in solidarity with people from another part of the world.
Read our 2022 Impact Report
Read our 2022 Financial Statement
Vision
Canada-Peru solidarity that builds community, pursues social justice, and contributes to our common welfare.
Misson
To work in solidarity with our partners in northern Peru as they address the root causes of poverty and social injustices in their communities. To raise awareness in Canada about global issues and work at the local, provincial and national levels to help develop good global citizens.
Strategic Plan 2020–2025
Guiding Principles
Heart-Links Lazos de Corazón follows best practices as embodied in the Istanbul Principles of 2010 and contributes to achieving the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals.
Our work will:
- Build solidarity and personal connection with civil society in northern Peru
- Give priority to the most impoverished and vulnerable people
- Embody gender equity, inclusion and environmental sustainability
- Respect and promote human rights, with special attention to the rights of women and girls and Indigenous peoples
- Promote community engagement that leads to empowerment and self-determination
- Demonstrate accountability and transparency
History
Heart-Links’ roots go back to the 1960s, when the Sisters of St. Joseph of the Diocese of London established community kitchens with women in the arid Valley of Zaña in northern Peru. In 1994, after the congregation made the difficult decision to move the sisters back to Canada, Sister Janet Zadorsky founded Heart-Links to continue to build bridges of friendship and support with these communities.
Each summer Sister Janet led a small group of Canadians to Peru, introducing them to the creativity and perseverance of the people they met in overcoming hardship and improving conditions in their communities. From these trips grew a diverse group of committed Heart-Links volunteers. In 2003, Heart-Links became an independent, secular organization and registered charity.
