UNM Students Raising Funds to Build Health Clinic in Peruvian Amazon

Fundraiser during Halloween

It’s hard to really know how much you take for granted until you see true poverty with your own eyes and experience it with all your senses.  People told me over and over again how much of a life changing experience going to Nicaragua was going to be.  I believed them.  But now, as I sit in my air-conditioned home with my laptop up and running, I find that my life is changed in more ways than I can comprehend yet.  -Nicole

Last summer, seven members from  the student chapter of Nourish International at the University of New Mexico traveled to the community of La Solidaridad in Nicaragua to participate in the Plan Techo, a project to repair roofs for many of the residents in the community.  Read more in a series of blog posts from Nicaragua

This summer the UNM Nourish chapter is raising money to help construct a health clinic and provide health education in the rural Peruvian Amazon. They invite you to partner with them by participating in the Giving Challenge, a fundraising effort that runs from February 8 through Feb 29 via Razoo.com. Click on this link to go directly to the site set up for the UNM Chapter of Nourish International.

The Giving Challenge asks people around the world to donate to the proposed summer projects for each Nourish International chapter. This challenge allows Nourish chapters across the country to compete for prizes based on several factors, such as the most funds raised or the highest number of individual donors.

"We are competing for $5,000 in additional project money so participation in the challenge is a chance for donors to see their donation multiplied," said chapter president Felicia Alexander. She noted that prize money is awarded for chapter with highest amount raised and chapter with most individual donors--1st through 3rd place for both.

The UNM chapter is currently in first place for number of donors on this site, but has fallen to 3rd in overall amount donated.  "Last year, we won the challenge!" said Felicia, urging the UNM community to come forward with donations.

The students also raise awareness about their organization and the countries where they serve, as they did last Halloween at the Student Union Building. 

"Our student organization invites students to be a part of the solution to global poverty. By running fundraisers throughout the year, we earn money to conduct community development projects. Over the summer, our members travel abroad to partner with local communities in implementing these solutions," said the students.  "Last year, as a first-year chapter, we raised over $11,000 and sent seven members to Nicaragua to implement our first project.

For more information about the Peru project or Nourish International send a note to nourish@unm.edu