by Dionel Rodriguez | Jun 10, 2020
For many people living with blindness in Peru, opportunities for both education and stable employment remain severely limited, often due to a combination of social stigma and a lack of accessible training programs suited to their needs. Without targeted vocational options, blind individuals frequently face chronic underemployment despite having significant untapped skill and potential.
Maryknoll supports the House of Bartimaeus in Lima, a distinctive training center that empowers blind and visually impaired individuals through professional education in massage therapy, reflexology, and shiatsu, fields in which heightened tactile sensitivity can become a genuine professional advantage rather than a limitation. Courses are taught by licensed blind instructors, who serve simultaneously as educators and as living examples of what is professionally possible.
This project reflects the Catholic Social Teaching principle of the Dignity of Work, affirming that blindness is not an obstacle to meaningful, skilled employment but, in this field, can become a genuine professional strength. It also embodies Maryknoll’s charism of forming people for self-sufficiency rather than dependency, equipping graduates with a marketable trade and the dignity that comes from providing for themselves through their own expertise.
Gifts to this project support professional training in massage therapy, reflexology, and shiatsu for blind and visually impaired individuals in Lima, creating pathways to meaningful employment and genuine independence.
by Dionel Rodriguez | Jun 10, 2020
For many people living with HIV/AIDS in Peru, isolation can be as difficult to bear as the physical illness itself. Family members and friends sometimes distance themselves out of fear or misunderstanding, leaving patients to navigate serious medical, emotional, and practical challenges largely on their own, often at precisely the moment they most need support and companionship.
Maryknoll accompanies individuals and families affected by HIV/AIDS through a ministry built on presence, advocacy, and practical support. Volunteers and staff make regular visits to homes, hospitals, and shelters, offering not only logistical help but also a consistent human connection to patients who might otherwise feel abandoned by their circumstances.
This project embodies the Catholic Social Teaching principle of Solidarity, a tangible refusal to let illness become a reason for isolation. This ministry also reflects Maryknoll’s founding charism of accompaniment, choosing sustained presence over distant charity and reminding patients, through consistent human contact, that they remain full members of their community rather than people to be quietly set apart.
Gifts to this project support home and hospital visits, access to medication, and emotional accompaniment that remind individuals facing HIV/AIDS in Peru that they are not alone in their illness.
by Dionel Rodriguez | Jun 10, 2020
University years are often a time of searching, questioning, and personal growth. For more than twenty-five years, Maryknoll has accompanied students through a vibrant campus ministry that offers spiritual formation, counseling, leadership development, and opportunities for service. The campus center provides a welcoming environment where students can deepen their faith, build meaningful relationships, and discover their purpose. Your support helps form future leaders committed to faith, compassion, and service.
by Dionel Rodriguez | Jun 1, 2020
Women and children affected by HIV/AIDS in Peru often face a combination of medical, economic, and social challenges that can be overwhelming to navigate alone, particularly when the disease has already claimed a spouse or parent, leaving remaining family members without a primary source of income or stability.
Hogar de Vida offers a comprehensive refuge for women and children in these circumstances, providing temporary shelter, healthcare support, meals, counseling, and occupational therapy, along with assistance navigating Peru’s public health system, a bureaucratic process that can be daunting for families already dealing with the stress of serious illness. The shelter also operates a food pantry and meal program that extends support to vulnerable families throughout the surrounding community, beyond just shelter residents.
Providing comprehensive shelter and care under one roof reflects the Catholic Social Teaching principle of the Life and Dignity of the Human Person, treating medical, emotional, and material needs as inseparable dimensions of a single human story. This ministry also embodies Maryknoll’s charism of holistic accompaniment, walking with women and children through crisis rather than addressing only the illness while leaving the rest of their circumstances unattended.
Gifts to this project provide shelter, healthcare support, meals, and counseling for women and children affected by HIV/AIDS in Peru, offering stability and compassionate care during a time of significant vulnerability.
