From Martin Morales, Founder:

In 2010, before I started Ceviche, I met Amantani’s Founder, Fred Branson, and I was blown away by his extraordinary commitment to helping the children of rural Peru. He was neither born there nor has any family ties like I do to the Andes of Peru district of Ccorca, near Cuzco.

Life in that area is tough. Alcoholism among men is rife and fathers are often absent. Anaemia is very common in children due to malnutrition and young girls are often brutally treated as a result of poverty and alcohol related problems. Before the impact of Amantani, any remote chance of getting an education was hindered by a 4-hour walk each day to school and back, which left the children exhausted and unable to learn.

By starting Amantani, Fred embarked on a social entrepreneur mission setting up boarding houses so girls as young as 8 years old could have a place to sleep, receive an education, be fed and treated with love and kindness. I was excited and impressed by what Fred and his colleagues were doing and the ways they achieved results so I told Fred that I would help him fundraise and would support him in anything he needed. A year later he and his amazing co-Director Chris, made me a Trustee of Amantani. We have three houses at present, and have also embarked upon a schools partnership project helping these improve in these rural communities.

We are a small but beautifully formed charity with great leadership that is humble and accountable. We do everything we can to manage, run and care for children by using fundraising moneys transparently and as effectively as possible. We organise a series of entertaining and fun events like photo exhibitions, fun runs, and mountain walk challenges throughout the year that bring people together.

For more information on events or to find out how you can get involved, please visit http://www.amantani.org.uk/

Thank you for your support.