2020 was a year for the history books. None of us have gone untouched by its impact. Unexpected times brought many hardships. For the Pucusana Project, our year looked nothing like what we planned, but we have seen the greatness of the Lord nonetheless.
Never in a thousand years did I think the entire world would face a pandemic that would destroy economies and kill millions. But the Lord knew. I never would have thought The Pucusana Projects sole focus for 2020 would be to feed the starving thousands in Pucusana. But the Lord knew. Never did I know that the whispers of the Lord to start this nonprofit back in 2018 were for "such a time as this". But the Lord knew. I have seen the Lord take every donation and multiply it to feed the thousands. I have seen the Lord use our nonprofit to reach into the lives, hearts and stomachs of all those living in the barrios of Pucusana. I have seen the Lord's faithfulness in every donation given, every food bag delivered and every volunteer who participated. Never could I have imagined the impact this nonprofit would have on the entire town of Pucusana. But the Lord knew. Even with the pandemic, The Pucusana Project experienced incredible financial generosity and received more in donations that any other year thus far. Because of this, we were able to supply the local hospital and clinics with PPE, give school materials like notebooks, graphing paper, crayons, pencils and story books to many children in the barrios, work alongside the local government to deliver food, medicine and informational pamphlets on Covid, supply food to 10 Soup Kitchens located throughout Pucusana for the last quarter of the year and continually feed hundreds of starving families every month for the last 10 months. Our volunteers also worked with our partner ministry, The Brethren Church, to occasionally provide more PPE, food boxes and even Christmas gifts for hundreds of children this past December.
With restricted funds raised in 2019, we were surprisingly still able to move forward with some of our normal projects, like taking steps to secure the property we plan to build our new school on. We built a stone wall in the front, did property upkeep and started some renovations on our 3-story office building. By continuing with these side projects, we employed a dozen people right when quarantine ended, providing a much-needed income to their families. Looking onward, using the $5,000 raised through our Giving Tuesday fundraiser and with what money is leftover in our account, we hope to continue food relief into early Spring 2021. The people of Pucusana are hopeful that 2021 will be better. With the fishing industry going back to work (which makes up most of their economy) and the tourism industry being allowed to operate within Covid guidelines/restrictions, we are hopeful that the starvation crisis will level out for Pucusana in 2021.
In closing, I want to challenge you to look back at 2020 and see Gods faithfulness. In here, I have listed many ways God was faithful to our nonprofit and to the people of Pucusana, even in the midst of such devastation and death. I challenge you to see the big picture of what God has done through this pandemic. For me, I can look back and see not only Gods faithfulness but also His answer to my biggest prayer of 2019, when I asked the Lord to make a move in Pucusana and start Christian revival. After 2020, I truly believe those seeds have been planted.
Almost everyone in Pucusana has heard of our nonprofit and knows that we are a Christian organization that keeps their word – which is a first for the people of Pucusana. Not even the local Catholic church has this kind trustworthy reputation for actually helping the poor. Our logo has been seen on government documents, food packages, PPE, t-shirts and pamphlets. With every food delivery, we gained a better and better reputation. And by continuing to show up and help the people every month, more and more individuals were willing to embrace our handouts with Bible verses on them. More and more conversations took place with our volunteers where we encourage the people of Gods faithfulness and that they were not forgotten. Thousands of people heard about the real relationship and love God offers them because of the pandemic, which would have never happened otherwise. The Pucusana Project is now known throughout Pucusana for being reliable, which will make all of our future efforts have greater impact, like starting the first Christian church. I see Gods faithfulness for immediate needs this year, but I also see His hand in the bigger picture and believe He has stirred a Christian awakening in the hearts of many, in Pucusana and the world.
To God be all the glory. And speaking on behalf of our Board of Directors, our volunteers and the thousands we fed this past year, I say, thank you from the bottom of our hearts. Thank you for every donation, every prayer and every encouragement. Thank you for letting the Lord use you to make kingdom impact in Pucusana Peru. Without your faithfulness, we could not have done the Lords work this year. Thank you so much. I deeply hope all of you will continue to support us in 2021 and consider becoming a monthly donor.
Sincerely,
~ Allison Wallace ~
President of The Pucusana Project
Pictured: just a few dozen of the thank you cards we received in December 2020 from the hundreds of families we helped feed throughout the year.
For more information on everything that took place in 2020, please check out our Facebook page and read our News/Blog page on the website. And please do not hesitate to contact us to see how you can get involved.