Since 1990, Needy Cano Dominguez, a close family friend, has dedicated her mornings to providing breakfast for children in need as a continuation of an initiative taken by the government of Peru to let no kid go hungry. The government’s enthusiasm for this plan slowly after some time, but Needy kept on feeding her neighborhood – and soon, her public grew larger.

When my family met Needy and learned about her project, we knew we wanted to get involved. This was the start of Yannapa – meaning “to help or to serve” in Quechua, a native language spoken throughout Peru. We are a non-profit service project that aims to provide a nutritious breakfast for children in need every single day.

We do our work in Chosica, Peru, Needy’s hometown, located 18.5 km east of Lima. Every year, since 2011, our yearly goal has been to increase the number of children we serve and since 2015, we have hosted a special Christmas breakfast to give these children a full Christmas experience. We hope to be able to host more events like this one for them. Last year we were able to provide for 35 children. With your help, we hope to serve many more.