When traveling touches your heart.....

Dear fellow travelers:

Today I'd like to tell you two travel stories that ended in something
even more special than unforgettable memories and amazing pictures.


These are the kind of stories that reflect how much getting in touch
with new cultures and realities can put your life in a whole new
perspective.


These are the stories about two foundations dedicated to help
Peruvian's poorest children.


Both were born during some of my trips through Peru. Those travels
begun as any journey does: like a brand new book with blank pages
waiting to be filled with new experiences. But the journey never ended
and instead evolved into beautiful initiatives which proof that any of
us can make a difference if we really want to.


These are the stories of Paz Holandesa and Pasa la Voz.


Paz Holandesa, was founded 19th august 1999 by Mrs. Marjan van Mourik
and Dr. Daniel Paz y Geuze.


In december 1998, Marjan van Mourik was on holiday in Peru and happened

to get in touch with the 'street children's'-project of in Cusco. In
June 1999 she returned to further learn about the needs and
possibilities for starting a project on her own. It appeared that the
Lions lub in Cusco just had kicked of a programme aimed at the lowest
social classes of the people in and around Cusco. For this programme
they were looking for medical teams that could possibly help out. When
back in Rotterdam, Marjan discussed the possibilities to support the
efforts of the Lions Club in Cusco and encountered an unexpected and
spontaneous enthousiasm.


The Academic Hospital in Rotterdam was more than willing to help with
expert knowledge as well as by sending medical teams to fix the job in
Cusco. Dr. Daniel Paz y Geuze is helping his country Peru already for a

long time by executing operations on children from time to time. He
also collects and ships medical tools and goods to help Peruvian
hospitals. However, he was more and more looking for some kind of
continuity and a more sructural and durable way of cooperating with
local Peruvian hospitals in his home town Arequipa as well as in other
locations in Peru. Marjan van Mourik and Dr. Paz understood eachother
and all things fell in place: the foundation Fundacion PAZ-Holandesa
became a reality.The foundation Fundacion PAZ-Holandesa is officially
registered in The Netherlands as well as in Peru. You can fin them
he http://www.pazholandesa.com/ (please click on the link
above-right for the English version)


Pasa la Voz is peruvian slang for "Tell everybody" and is also the name

of our second sponsored foundation, set up and led by a Dutch/Argentine

couple; Liesbeth Kerstens and Martin Maleta.


In the city of Cusco, they cooperate with several other projects
directed at working children. PLV offers a platform for information
exchange between the children and teachers/group leaders of the various

participating organizations. This way PLV creates a cooperation network

for a variety of entities through the production and sales of a
children's street newspaper. The Dutch Foundation "Hoedje van
Papier" (Paper Hat) supports PLV from The Netherlands in the areas of
policy development, fundraising, collection activities and management
support. PLV's own website is under construction; I will inform you
when it goes live!. http://www.stichtinghoedjevanpapier.nl/


We at CAT Travel are very proud to support both Pasa la Voz and Paz
Holandesa as sponsors and active members in some of their projects and
are thankful to have the chance to give something back to Peru's
amazing people.


Donations can be made in any of the above-mentioned websites, In case
you want to know more about Pasa la Voz, please visit my blog:
http://bart-cat-travel.blogspot.com/


Have a great day!


Bart


www.cat-travel.com