Each year the University of Notre Dame Folk Choir hosts a concert to benefit an international mission of the Congregation of Holy Corss. The 24th annual concert, held on Friday, November 17, 2017 raised funds for Yancana Huasy, located in Canto Grande, Lima, Peru. This mission is unique in its preferential care for impoverished children with severe challenges and its commitment to hope, dignity and life. During the concert a free-will offering was taken to benefit Yancana Huasy’s 36 years of work to improve the quality of life for these children and their families through medical care, education and vocational training, and community building.
While rain poured, thunder boomed, and lightning illuminated the stained glass windows from outside on the evening of November 17th, the Folk Choir warmly welcomed a large audience into the Basilica of the Sacred Heart for the 24th annual Concert for the Missions.
During this concert, the choir shared about the Holy Cross mission of Yancana Huasy, which serves children with severe challenges and their families in Canto Grande, Peru.
The choir sung beautifully, and the music and speaker selection promoted Peruvian traditions and offered the audience an opportunity to "encounter the underrepresented members of our body", said Dr. J.J. Wright, D.M.A., Folk Choir Director.
Through this concert, Folk Choir member Maria said, the Folk Choir "makes this humble offering to you, to provide a space for you to feel the beauty and richness of this South American culture, to offer a lens into their experience and encourage you to look at it more deeply - to enter into prayer with the cultural sights and sounds of this mission."
Yancana Huasy hosts a variety of social events, like the Special Olympics, to promote integration into the community, encourage relationships, and provide good ol' plain fun.
Yancana Huasy is the only program in Peru that serves families and individuals at all levels of poverty. There is a sliding payment scale in use so families are able to receive the care and therapies their child needs at a rate they can afford.
Yanacana Huasy’s leaders, Executive Director, José Antonio Quispe and Learning & Academic Director, Ana Maldonado (pictured here), are committed to providing compassionate care, breaking down barriers of stigma, and promoting the inherent dignity of each human person.
Besides providing physical care, the mission focuses on equipping individuals with education, a vocational trade, and life skills through training and classes. Such skills enable older children and young adults to integrate into all aspects of community life.
Through Yancana Huasy, mothers as well as their child grow in Hope and Love. The Center is committed to betterment of everyone's life, especially the most marginalized.
Through the Folk Choir's ministry, new awareness and support was brought to children and families of Yancana Huasy, who would otherwise be isolated, forgotten, and undervalued.
Credits:
Matt Cashore // University of Notre Dame Yancana Huasy