2024 End of Year Giving!
Please join the generosity movement and donate to SoPA.
SoPA visited Cieneguilla in May, Pampas Grande-Ancash in July, and the Castrovirreyna region of Peru in October. In total, we attended over 5,300 patients, resulting in over 7,000 services performed, making 2024 one of our most effective years to date!
In total, approximately $37,000 (USD) was spent. However, we have raised less than $34,000 this year, and have had to operate at a deficit.
Please contribute today to help us to close this gap! Even a small donation of $5 or $10 will make a difference to the people we serve. Your generosity will allow us to remain committed to return to the Andes region of Peru to continue reaching the most in-need children and adults in the coming year.
LEARN MORE ABOUT SoPA’s WORK
Our Missions enable us to see over 4,000 people and provide over 5,500 services spanning different medical specialties. Please take a moment and watch the video, generously filmed and created for us by Davids.Visuals in 2019.
IMPROVING QUALITY OF LIFE FOR WOMEN
Dr. Patricia Chincha is an obstetrician who has traveled with the SoPA Mission for the last 10 years. Every year, she brings with her a team of eight to ten obstetricians/gynecologists who are sent to different towns during the mission. She performs about 250 Pap smears each year and returns about a month later to each of these towns to deliver the results of the tests in addition to providing medicine to the patients. During our 2019 campaign, Dr. Chincha and her team attended to over 501 patients in 6 different towns.
The women in these towns have given birth on their own, having never seen a doctor, let alone a gynecologist or obstetrician. Dr. Chincha used to have to literally pull young women off the lines to see other doctors, so that she could see them for an examination. Most are very hesitant to see an obstetrician, but she doesn’t back down and talks to them and convinces them that this is in their best interest. One patient in particular had just delivered a child a few days before , and had developed an abscess and was unknowingly hemorrhaging. If not for Dr. Chincha who discovered this, the young girl would have died.
SoPA thanks you Dr. Chinca!
RETURNING TO PERU
2019 was Dr. Casanova’s first year with SoPA. Dr. Casanova was born and studied medicine in Peru. He later traveled to the United States to further his education in gynecology and is now based in New York City. Being a male gynecologist served its challenges as the mission commenced in Castrovirreyna. Although the women from the area were hesitant at first, his kind demeanor and attentive nature quickly settled the women into sharing their worries and concerns. When finally graced with a break in between patients, Dr. Casanova made sure to call his wife and daughter and wish them a good night. It was easy to see that Dr. Casanova’s love for his family translated into his work, as he empowered women to take care of themselves and speak on things that felt almost taboo in the reserved little town.
As the mission came to an end, it seemed only good news had come from Dr. Casanova’s patient room, he had smoothly prescribed medications to resolve common issues, reassured multiple women that they had the ability to conceive and even provided useful tips for them to try, he was even able to surprise a young woman with sonograms of her developing child, an unexpected blessing.
SoPA thanks you Dr. Casanova!
A PODIATRIST WHO HAS BEEN WITH US FOR MANY YEARS
Quote from Dr. Richard Belli:
“Traveling to Peru with Soul of the Peruvian Andes these past two years has proven to be one of the most rewarding and challenging projects of my 40 year medical career. It has been very satisfying to treat the people of Peru. Everyone on our team has been extremely helpful in carrying out our mission. The patients we treat have been most appreciative of all that we do to help them.
I believe the children are the most needy as they begin their lives under such stressful living conditions. I for one feel blessed to have helped treat many children in Peru. One young girl was diagnosed with a bad hip that SoPA was able to surgically correct with the help of Dr. Basaldua. Without SOPA's help that young girl, I can say with great certainty, might never have been able to walk her whole life. That's a very powerful gift SOPA provided and I'm sure there are and will be other cases in the future.
If you can help in any way, I urge you to do so. Maybe you can come along and offer some assistance in some manner. Perhaps you can donate a few dollars to SOPA to help in their humanitarian efforts.”
SoPA thanks you Dr. Belli!
MAMA, I CAN SEE…
Dr. Roberto Monge is an ophthalmologist who has traveled with us on our mission for the last (10) ten years. He comes with a team of 2-3 assistants. He travels in his own car because he brings about 4-5 very delicate machinery, equipment he personally transports from his office in Lima. He is always the first to open his clinic and the last to leave. People line up outside the clinic for him for days and he tries his best to accommodate every single person. Every year, he donates over 300 pairs of eyeglasses and returns after the mission with additional eyeglasses and delivers them person to person.
A few years ago, there was a 13-year-old girl who was very shy and awkward. Her mother forced her to see Dr. Monge who conducted the vision exam and discovered she had a huge eyesight deficit. He was able to diagnose the problem and gave her a pair of glasses. She put them on and with a smile on her face, she exclaimed “Mama puedo ver”, which means “Mother I can see”. There was not a dry eye in that room.
SoPA thanks you Dr. Monge!
HERE SINCE THE BEGINNING
Dr. Basaldua is a medical doctor from the military hospital in Lima, Peru. He has been with SoPA since the beginning of the organization. He has brought so many of his young doctors with him on these missions to provide their services in all of the different towns. Dr. Basaldua has conducted many surgeries, removing tumors and correcting hernias. He’s had to conduct some of these surgeries inside of makeshift tents that were barely standing. These people have come to know and trust him over the years and value his guidance. Dr. Basaldua is determined to see everyone he can, especially the children. Over the years we have had many cases that have needed follow up surgeries and treatment in Lima which were under his care. After the mission, he travels back on his own to check up on his patients throughout the year.
SoPA thanks you Dr. Basaldua!