A Global Village of Volunteers and Donors

Our volunteers and donors are a global “village” spanning three continents and all ages. Every HWF supporter helps the success of our projects to increase food security, build schools, improve nutrition and health, and provide medical services for native Q’ero communities in the Andes Mountains.

Jonas Hibicke

Q’ero schoolkids in the Andes

Meet Jonas Hibicke, one of our youngest donors who was living in Atlanta, Georgia, when he saw our online video, “Q’ero Life in the Andes.” When the film ended, the child quietly walked to his room, collected his entire savings of $60 and somberly stated, “I want this to help the children in Peru.” We are so touched by this child’s heartfelt generosity.

Maureen O’Connell

Debbie Skinner

Tiny Q’ero village in the Andes

Meet a volunteer at the other end of the generation spectrum, Maureen O’Connell, who repurposed a luxurious bathrobe into a gorgeous blanket and hat for a newborn with the help of her neighbor, Debbie Skinner. We delivered Maureen’s gift to Francisco, the baby’s grandfather, in their tiny hamlet of Cochalekepampa at 13,000 feet in elevation.

On the European continent, Nina Berens found us through her studies of Q’ero spirituality. She offered her advanced computer skills and her own business staff at LinkBrightMedia to redesign our online store that sells Q’ero handicrafts, TribalStore.org. Nina and her team are posting new products and stories of the people every week. See what’s new in our store.

Nina Berens with Q’ero Paqos in the Netherlands

Alex Bacy-Spry on a backpack in Arizona

Looking across the Arizona desert, Alexis Baca-Spry exclaims, “I love doing this!” She helps us with her correspondence between her work as a therapist in a community mental health center and her passion for camping, hiking, and backpacking almost every weekend of the year.

In the Rocky Mountains, adolescent boys from Daniels Academy have filled their luggage with thousands of pounds of donated medical supplies, school materials and clothing on their annual service trips in Peru. Over the years, these hand-working teens have painted classrooms, repaired roofs, made adobe mud bricks, and constructed playground equipment for the children.

Daniels Academy youth and staff with villagers

Yelena Sokolovskaya with Q’ero textile

Yelena Sokolovskaya brought her artist’s talents from the Ukraine. “I am really attracted to Peru,” she says. “Photographing the textiles for the online store makes me feel close to Peru and the mountain people.” You can see Yelena’s images at TribalStore.org.