Join us for an evening of community, music, and impact as we come together to support Heart-Links’ partners and projects in Peru.

Enjoy live music by Los Freakies, browse our silent auction, and indulge in sweet treats (alfajoras!) and refreshments (wine, beer, non-alchoholic) while connecting with friends old and new.

During the evening, we will also share highlights and reflections from our November 2025 visit with our partner organizations in the Cajamarca, Chiclayo, and Zaña Valley, giving you a closer look at the communities and initiatives your support makes possible.

When: Thursday, March 12, from 5:30 to 7:30 PM EST

Where: Innovation Works, 201 King Street, London, ON

Proceeds from this FREE-ADMISSION event help strengthen education, community health, and economic opportunities for families and vulnerable populations in Peru. Register HERE.

DO YOU WANT TO HELP SHARE THE LOVE?

There are many ways to get involved.

• Join us on March 12. Register HERE.
• Donate a silent auction prize. If you have an item or service you’d like to donate, contact info@heart-links.org or phone 226-884-2845 to arrange delivery or pick-up.
• Own a business? Consider sponsoring our event. Contact info@heart-links.org or phone 226-884-2845 for more information.
• Invite a friend.
• SPREAD THE WORD!

Celebrate, connect, and help create a more just and compassionate world. Your support makes this work possible — thank you for sharing the love.

The Sustainable Development Goals are ambitious targets that countries around the world have pledged to meet by 2030. They envision a secure and peaceful world free of poverty, inequality and hunger, with full and productive employment, access to quality education and universal health coverage, gender equality and the empowerment of all women and girls, and an end to environmental degradation.

All of the projects Heart-Links funds advance one or more of the SDGs.

The five themes of IDW2024 are Gender Equality, Education, Health, Climate Action and Partnership. These are priority areas for Heart-Links, too.

There are plenty of ways to celebrate International Development Week and learn more about global solidarity and cooperation. To get you started, here’s a list of events you might be interested in from organizations across the province.

Or join us this Thursday at Innovation Works for Share the Love. This musical fiesta and fundraiser is a great way to support and learn more about the community-led initiatives Heart-Links funds in Peru. Register for free here!

International Development Week is an annual initiative held during the first full week in February. A uniquely Canadian tradition, IDW was initiated in 1991 by the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) in order to promote global peace. The Government of Canada, Global Affairs Canada (GAC), civil society organizations, schools, businesses, provinces, municipalities, volunteers and millions of interested Canadians participate in IDW each year.

#GoForTheGoals #IDW2024 #SolidarityMatters

= A FABULOUS WAY TO BRIGHTEN YOUR FEBRUARY

= SHARE THE LOVE 2024

Join us this February 8 for Share the Love IN PERSON!

This FREE ADMISSION musical fiesta and fundraiser features Peruvian and Latin American music by Freddy Almarza and Peruvian and Latin American desserts.

Our silent auction brings together fashionwear by Carmina Young! small batch Canadian-made horseradish by Dennis’ Horseradish! tickets to the London Knights! and so much more. We have handcrafted Peruvian treasures, too.

You’ll hear about our recent visit with our partners and the projects Heart-Links funds in Peru. Revenues from this evening will help keep those community-led projects going in 2024.

(Maybe you’re thinking about joining our trip to Peru this summer. Learn more at Share the Love!)

When: Thursday, February 8, from 7:00 to 9:00 PM 

Where: Innovation Works, 201 King Street, London, Ontario (register here for free)

Program:

• 7:00 pm Doors Open, Silent Auction Starts
• 7:10 pm  Welcome Message
• 7:20 pm Music by Freddy Almarza
• 7:40 pm Words and Images about Projects in Peru
• 8:00 pm Music by Freddy Almarza
• 8:20 pm Final Bidding
• 8:30 pm Silent Auction Closes

DO YOU WANT TO HELP SHARE THE LOVE?

• Join us on February 8 (register for free here).
• Make a donation to Heart-Links.
• Follow us on Facebook, Instagram or LinkedIn and share our posts.
• SPREAD THE WORD!

When: Thursday, February 8, from 7:00 to 9:00 PM

Where: Innovation Works, 201 King Street, London, Ontario

Join us to hear stories from our recent visit to Peru—the first in 4 years! Meet up with friends old and new. There’ll be a silent auction and food, too. Freddy has added some Peruvian tunes to his repetoire, so don’t miss out.

Proceeds from this FREE-ADMISSION event will go to supporting community-led projects in northern Peru in the areas of education, leadership, health & wellness, sustainable communities and Indigenous & cultural rights.

DO YOU WANT TO HELP SHARE THE LOVE?

There are many ways to get involved.

• Join us on February 8 and bring your friends (registration link to come).
• Donate a silent auction prize. If you have an item or service you’d like to donate, contact info@heart-links.org before January 25.
• Own a business? Consider sponsoring our event. Contact info@heart-links.org for more information.
• SPREAD THE WORD!

We are calling on our community of supporters to help make this community celebration a huge success.

Do you want to meet other Heart-Links volunteers, build community and help raise money for our projects in Peru? Does any of the following describe you?:

• I’m a people connector
• I’m creative
• I’m a social media whiz
• I know and support local businesses
• I’m a planner (logisitics is my friend)
• I love being part of a team
• I’ve planned events before
• I don’t have experience but I want to help

If you answer YES to any of the above, we invite you to fill out our online Volunteer Application. Please indicate that Special Event Planning is your area of interest. Most planning meetings will be held by Zoom.

Questions about this opportunity? Call 226-884-2845 or email info@heart-links.org for more information.

The House of Peruvian Literature (Casa de Literatura Peruana) has awarded its 2021 prize—given each year to outstanding writers and researchers of Peruvian letters—to Alfredo Mires, director of the Rural Libraries Network of Cajamarca. The network is one of Heart-Links’ oldest partner. Previous prize recipients include Mario Vargas Llosa, Carlos Germán Belli, and Carmen Ollé.

“Throughout its 50 years, the Network of Rural Libraries of Cajamarca has given new impetus to the creation and circulation of books, also contributing to the recovery and revaluation of community memory and oral traditions through the Enciclopedia Campesina,” the awards jury wrote. “This project questions and reinvents the dynamics of compiling community knowledge, proposing new ways of valuing the poetic word and publications made by and for the community.”

The Enciclopedia Campesina is a collection of 20 volumes that gathers stories and knowledge from across the mountainous region surrounding the town of Cajamarca. Heart-Links financed its first printing 20 years ago and is now supporting publication of a new edition that includes stories and knowledge from other communities that have joined the network.

The network now boasts more than 200 titles that are distributed among 500 remote communities and 50 schools in Cajamarca, Lambayeque, La Libertad and Amazonas. Volunteer librarians keep the books in their homes, making them available to the neighbours. They also lead reading circles. Volunteer coordinators deliver the books to the librarians.

“Each coordinator is in charge of 10 to 15 libraries, and it is an intense job,” Alfredo Mires told El País, which published an article about the decision to honour him. “Because they are not just book distributors: they have to leave the work of the chacra (land) and sometimes walk for many hours or days and stay in the community—to meet with the children, see what population there is of children with disabilities, teach them how to make a reading circle.”

Javier Huamán, one of the networks’ longest-serving coordinators, must travel three hours by bus from Cajamarca to Bambamarca and then continue on foot another four hours to reach his home in Luychocolpa. “Before the pandemic, I would go out for three days to coordinate in my area: to bring them new books and pick up the others, the books rotate like people, like food,” he told El País.

The award ceremony is to be streamed live (in Spanish) on Friday, February 11, at 7 p.m. EST. If you’d like to join, tune in to the Casa de Literatura Peruana’s Facebook page or YouTube channel.

Want to learn more about the Rural Libraries Network?

Join us on February 10, at 7 p.m. EST for Share the Love @ Home, where Lola Paredes, part of the Rural Libraries’ leadership team, will speak live from Peru about their work. Free registration here: https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_GhQVJaILQWCUvnaj-PDKNQ

But the plan was not just to rebuild. Centro Esperanza and the families of San Isidro wanted to rebuild in a way that would make their community more resilient, protect the environment, ensure women participated equally as community leaders and improve living standards.

Through a project funded by Heart-Links donors, the community succeeded in rehabilitating its well, ensuring access to drinking water and enabling irrigation. They also secured equipment for producing animal feed
from agricultural waste in preparation for the guinea pig cooperative they hoped to start.

Even after the first wave of COVID-19 hit, they were able to plant basic food crops and share them with neighbours in need. However, with markets closed and all movement prohibited, with no such thing as unemployment insurance and only meagre governments supports that took months to arrive, the situation grew desperate.

Aware of these conditions, Heart-Links told Centro Esperanza to feel free to divert project funds to meet these new and changing needs. We asked them to make whatever modifications were necessary to best help people in need. A generous donation by the Urusline Sisters of Chatham meant we could also send additional emergency aid to San Isidro.

Today, the pandemic is far from over. In fact, Peru is just entering its second wave now. But the people of San Isidro have not given up on their dream to build a resilient, sustainable, healthy community.

They have modified their animal husbandry initiative, deciding to raise chickens instead. In 2021, the families aim to develop an organic chicken hatchery that will produce eggs and meat for themselves and the market. In solidarity with impoverished families who do not belong to their association, each family will donate 5 chicks to families in need.

Participation by women in leadership positions will continue to be a focus. And Centro Esperanza will provide workshops in community organization, gender rights, marketing, cost analysis, strategic alliances, and business planning.

Solidarity helped get this community through the first wave of COVID-19, and solidarity—shown by Canadians and by our Peruvian partners but also by the families of San Isidro who share with each other and with their neighbours—will help them get through the next wave.

Would you like to learn more about the work Heart-Links supports in San Isidro? Join us at Share the Love @ Home and meet Felicita Ramírez, a member of Centro Esperanza’s leadership team, who will tell us more about her organization and the people they work with.

REGISTER HERE

• No poverty
• Zero Hunger
• Good Health and Well-being
• Quality Education
• Gender Equality
• Sustainable Cities and Communities
• Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions

To celebrate, Heart-Links is taking part in a host of #IDW2021 activities, and starting today, you can, too! Here’s what’s on our calendar:

SUNDAY

Bidding is open now at our Share the Love @ Home online silent auction. Win spectacular prizes and support Heart-Links projects in Peru. It’s a win-win. Auction closes end of day Friday.
START BIDDING HERE

If you speak Spanish, tune in at 4 p.m. today to Radio Western’s La Voz Hispana (94.9FM) to hear Heart-Links chat with guest host José Merino about why international cooperation is important.

MONDAY

The Ontario Council of International Cooperation’s multimedia storytelling initiative Tapestry 2030 launches in the wee hours Monday morning. First up in this series focused on the future of international cooperation and global solidarity is Bhutan Canada Foundation and a conversation about Building Sustainable Tourism in Bhutan. Subscribe to the series here or here or anywhere else you listen to podcasts so you can also catch Heart-Links’ episode when it airs later this week.

If you want to learn more about the series and the multimedia artists and organizations involved, join us and other OCIC members at 12 noon for a lunchtime launch event.
LEARN MORE AND REGISTER HERE

THURSDAY

Listen to Tapestry 2030 to hear Heart-Links chat with Erla Hoyos, of Centro Santa Angela, about Leadership in Action in Peru. The episode airs at midnight here and here and anywhere else you listen to podcasts. (Don’t forget to subscribe so you can hear two episodes a week all the way to International Women’s Day.)

FRIDAY

It’s finally here! Share the Love @ Home starts on zoom webinar at 7 p.m. sharp.
REGISTER FREE HERE

For the first time ever, our partners in Peru will join us for our annual free-admission fiesta: Delicia Romero and Cecilia Odar, of Madre Oliva Association will speak to us from Zaña; Isabel Gutiérrez, of ACIES, will join from Cajamarca, and Fely Ramírez from Centro Esperanza in Chiclayo will take part, too. All four women will speak about the difficult year just past and the needs their organizations hope to address in 2021 as Peru faces the second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Live from Zaña, Yim Rodríguez will enchant with Afro-Peruvian music from the region. Both musician and visual artist, Yim is best known in London for painting the mural that graces King’s University library.

This is also the last day for bidding in our online silent auction. Get those bids in—or make a donation. We can get involved and help make this a more just world. Our silent auction closes when the clock strikes 12.

HAPPY INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT WEEK,
FROM HEART-LINKS TO YOU!

At the end of a very hard 2020, our partner ACIES spread their message of hope and solidarity not only within the Indigenous communities where they work but all the way to Canada.

They sent us holiday greetings from Pomabamba and ushered in the new year with greetings from Quiritimayo. We would like to share those greetings with you.

ACIES offers Indigenous children and adults programs that help improve their quality of life and their levels of education through personal and community development. ACIES runs the Alternative Campesino School in the rural community of Pomobamba and an afterschool program of alternative education in the urban neighbourhood of Quiritimayo. Members of ACIES are volunteers—students and professionals—from a range of disciplines.

Would you like to learn more about ACIES and the work Heart-Links supports in Cajamarca? Join us at Share the Love @ Home and meet ACIES director Isabel Gutiérrez, who will tell us more about her organization and the people they work with.

REGISTER HERE

Share the Love @ Home will take place online on Friday, February 12 from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m.
REGISTER HERE

This is a FREE-ADMISSION event.

Join us for a visual and musical introduction to the communities Heart-Links works with in northern Peru. Hear straight from our partner organizations Madre Oliva Association, ACIES and Centro Esperanza about the locally driven development projects Heart-Links supports in their communities (simultaneous interpretation will be provided). Learn how you can help, too. To round out the evening, the multitalented Yim Rodríguez will enchant with Afro-Peruvian music performed live from Zaña.

To help us raise the funds needed to keep the projects in Peru going, don’t forget to visit our online silent auction. From Februrary 7 to 12 you can bid on a host of exciting prizes, ranging from gift certificates for Venezuelan eatery Arepa Ink, to an oil change and detailing by Finch Automotive to select fashions by local designer Carmina de Young. 

Heart-Links is very grateful to the many local businesses that have shown their commitment to community by donating auction prizes.

Access the silent auction from our event page starting February 7.

Travel to Peru may not be possible for the rest of 2021. But Share the Love @ Home is the next best thing to being there.

Don’t miss out!

Share the Love @ Home is just one of the initiatives Heart-Links has planned for International Development Week (Feb. 7–13). Stay tuned for more exciting ways you can celebrate global solidarity with us.