Testimonials

“One of my greatest highlights was working with the kids at the clinic in the afternoons. They’re such sweet and happy kids and I loved getting to play with them and help them with work. My time spent with the kids was a reminder of how much joy there can be in life even with limited resources.” – Isabella spent 2 months with us in Summer 2024 and hosted sexual & reproductive health courses in local highschools

“As a doula, I have supported many women through labor and birth, but always through a hospital program. Because of this, I’ve never supported women that I’ve known. It was incredible to develop a connection and relationship with Dayra prior to her birth experience. I also loved working with the kids in the clinic; they will always have a special place in my heart, and I hope I can see some of them again one day.” – Savannah spent 2 months as a global health intern with HOP in Summer of 2024.

“I had such an amazing time with HOP! This was my first health-focused volunteer trip and it has definitely made me want to do more like this in the future. I’m so grateful for everything that I learned both related to public health and about Peruvian culture.” – Cecilia participated in our Hands to Care undergraduate program in Summer 2024.

” Working with HOP, I had the opportunity to immerse myself in Peruvian culture and spend intimate time personally engaging with the community of Villa Los Angeles. As someone who is committed to working in underserved black, brown, and Spanish speaking communities around the world, the opportunity to work in this environment confirmed my interest in working with this population. I witnessed firsthand the challenges of working in a low resource setting as well as the resulting health and mental health disparities, which gave me tangible experience in the challenges I hope to confront in my career. Working as a teacher confirmed my interests in wrong with youth as well as positioned me in a role that is adjacent to counseling. As a teacher, you tend to support your students in a variety of manners of informal counseling. This helped me continue to develop counseling skills as well as my abilities to use the Spanish language in an applied environment. My unique service to HOP helped me confirm my interests, gain experience engaging with communities and settings in which I am interested working, and practice skills that I hope to refine in my future as both a counselor and a public health professional. I entered my time at CESAPU as a public health professional in training with goals to apply my skills of health education, intervention adaptation, and implementation in a low resource setting. Now I am leaving my time with HOP and my MPH program with experience and an invaluable skillset that have prepared me approach the field of mental health from health equity focused community level. I plan to combine this with clinical training in mental health counseling so that I can address the multidimensional issue of mental health with an equally interdisciplinary approach.

-Houston Walker, University of North Carolina, Gillings School of Public Health (Summer 2024)

Cesapu is a very special place which offers a safe and nurturing environment to promote and support the health and well being of each and every individual needing assistance. As a volunteer it has been a very humbling experience for me to work alongside such dedicated, passionate and welcoming staff. The community spirit at Cesapu is inspiring. It shouts togetherness, compassion and growth. The people of Villa Los Angeles are respectful with big hearts despite their impoverished conditions. It has been an honour to have met them. I will treasure forever the gift of being part of such a beautiful evolving clinic led by Katie Baric and her wonderful team. – January 2023

“My experience in Peru… really made me realize the power of what we can do for communities living in such devastating areas. While we may not be able to break the cyclical outcomes of multidimensional poverty (at least not in this lifetime), we can really improve communities in ways that I never imagined. I cannot even begin to say enough amazing things about HOP and the mountains you are moving.” – Fall 2022