<div><strong>A note from Dermod:</strong>
</div>
<div><br />
</div>
<div>Recently, my granddaughter Acacia set-up a GoFundMe fundraiser on my behalf to surprised me. When she told me, she asked for some background information and additional contacts.
</div>
<div><br />
</div>
<div>Six years ago, shortly after returning to Peru, I managed to fall off an elevated patio, landing head first into a stone drainage canal. I was primarily bedridden for the next three years. Still wobbly, I convinced myself I had recovered enough to complete a livable portion of the partially constructed house on my fifteen-acre cacao farm. I had a trench dug around my foundation to seal it, but I stumbled into it and broke my hip. This led to a surgery that, without intervention, would have left me unable to walk again.
</div>
<div><br />
</div>
<div>For six months, while awaiting corrective surgery in another part of the country, I rented a bungalow in the city and hired a staff for 24-hour care. I was confined to a hospital bed I purchased, relying entirely on their help to manage my pain and daily needs. After the second surgery, I gradually progressed to a wheelchair, then crutches, now to a cane as needed and miraculously, I have managed to live independently for the last six months.
</div>
<div><br />
</div>
<div>In a time of despair and fear, my oldest and dearest friend in Peru,Manuel, appeared and offered his support by coming to work and live with me while I still could not move from my bed. He took a two-year leave and a substantial wage cut from his work with the government as a Technical Consultant for cacao growers in remote rural areas to care for me and the farm. He rehabilitated my neglected farm and cared for me, handling everything from meal preparation to emptying bedpans. He and his family’s support were invaluable and now he is back helping others. I now have a family living in an adjacent house tending the farm and keeping an eye on me.
</div>
<div><br />
</div>
<div>Up until now, I managed to cover my extensive medical expenses and turn the farm from a money pit into a profitable venture. However, Now I find myself just shy of achieving financial stability, which I am on course to reach with my upcoming cacao harvests in the next six months.
</div>
<div><br />
</div>
<div>Until then, I lack the finances to sustain myself and to pay for essential daily labor and operations. I am focused on developing water security—both drinking and irrigation—by utilizing spring water and rain capture before the upcoming dry season in July. Your support will also help me secure permanent residency status in Peru.
</div>
<div><br />
</div>
<div>My life remains as wacky and joyful as ever, this time by disrupting the status quo by diversifying a mono-cultural farm. I’ve reducing the amount of the primary crop but increasing its productivity. with a donation, how ever small, you can assist me in achieving my goal.
</div>
<div><br />
</div>
<div>I remain inspired by poetry and prose, captivated by paintings and sculpture, entranced by music and dance. Yet, I am not a man of the pen, brush, or chisel, nor have I mastered string, skin or reed. My once-lively waltz has now become a low-tempo two-step. Still, I am well-practiced in binding the pages, stretching the canvas, partnering with light, breath and rain. I play in my corner, with seeds and muck.
</div>
<div><br />
</div>
<div>With each tree cut and each flower planted, all the cast and crew – feathered or furred, slippery, slimy or scaled; monster or microbe– we all find our homes from the branches to the clay. In ecstasy, we devour ourselves in blossom and rot, knowing that our contribution, no matter how small or ephemeral, gives the right to say: What a party!
</div>
<div><br />
</div>
<div>As a seasoned futz-around I grow cacao, bananas, mangoes and more—Happy, happy, joy, joy. Horseradish, it makes me gag, that's for Celia's field.
</div>
<div><br />
</div>
<div>Perhaps from my beans, in a distant land, a beloved savoring a gift of chocolate, a soft smile emerges.
</div>
<div><br />
</div>
<div>That makes me smile.
</div>
<div><br />
</div>
<div>I’m contacting you with the help of others. I left social media and canceled my previous email account after being hacked, which caused me to lose most of my contacts. I would love to be recontacted and I will keep you all updated.
</div>
<div><br />
</div>
<div>Contact: Phone/WhatsApp +51-986-856-228- Email: [email redacted] 
</div>
<div><br />
</div>
<div>With Graditude 
</div>
<div><br />
</div>
<div>Dermod 
</div>
<div>____________________________________________________________
</div>
<div><br />
</div>
<div>If you know Dermod Downs, you love him—and he’s probably driven you a little crazy too. He’s spent years building his dream: a cacao farm in Peru. But he’s hit a roadblock.
</div>
<div><br />
</div>
<div>My grandfather needs funds to finalize his Permanent Residency in Peru and complete the irrigation system for his cacao farm. His home—a true Mad Max-style masterpiece—still needs work, and he could use a hand getting everything across the finish line.
</div>
<div><br />
</div>
<div>Let’s help him finish what he started. Any contribution brings him one step closer to securing his future and keeping the cacao flowing.
</div>
<div><br />
</div>
<div>PHOTOS BELOW:
</div>
<div>1. Manuel picking me up after a month in a hotel while I was in the hospital for corrective surgery. We flew home the next day with a layover in Lima.
</div>
<div>2. Fredy in the cacao orchard
</div>
<div>3. An open cacao pod.
</div>
<div>4. From here the beans will go through a fermentation and dry process taking about ten days before selling.
</div>
<div>5. The view across valley from my house.
</div>

Mark Smith

James Lyford

Julie Nelson

Kim Anderson

Maria Bravo

Joan Ringel

Margaret Pizzuti

Heidi Jung

Oak Slater

Gail Boyd

Annette Kowal

Anonymous

Kendra Crain

Randy Bimestefer

Help Dermod Downs Complete His Farm & Permanent Residency

platform

Platform is iOS

Android

Adyen Google Pay Development Audience

$opt_dummy_attribute

English only

Deprecate Stripe Legacy

dyn_template_ids

Adyen V6 Bene Transfer & MyMoney Campaign Organizers - test01

Bene transfer V6 and AdyenV6MyMoney Campaign Organizers - production

OneTrust next-app audience

fundCountryCode

NextDoor Share Option Users

Fundraisers with Reactions feature capability

fundCurrencyCode

US + Non-charity COs Only

locale

fund country is US and user language is English

personId

comms-internal-person-ids

Enhanced Story Experience Users

Suggested Goal Experience Users

user language is English and fund country: US, AU, DK, FI, IE, NO, SE, CA, GB; 

Poster share - new funds eligible (newest 9/18)

Streaming widgets beta user

paymentProcessor

3DS payment method

user language is English and fundCountry: US, AU, DK, FI, IE, NO, SE, CA, GB; 

currencyCode

Money Box Donation List Prompt Experiment Audience

GoFundMe Employees

ipAddress

Mark Rieth IP Address

Version 9.2.0 and above

Fund is in English speaking country

desktop

Android v12.11.0 and above

Platform is Android

paymentMethodType

checkoutType

Payment method type group to be vaulted on success

admin pr kit prod

EUR Donation Upsell

Share Text generation Skip Fundraiser

(prod) new funds eligible for amp12 (UGC gallery)

fintrac_cad_idv_form_v2 audience

paymentProcessorAccountId

fallback mode accounts

proCampaignId

p2p legacy startfundraising page

AMP24 New Funds Only PROD (DO NOT MODIFY)

countryCode

charityId

UKCharities

Federated Search Internal Testing

route.pathname community

US Donation Upsell audience 

Auto Thanks Feature Audience

Supporter Comments Eligible Funds

International Only

fundId

braze fundraiser group 

Payment Identity Transfers ATO Risk Check (Targeted) - Production

Fundraiser Saved Payment Method Rate Limit Bypass (Production)

leaderboard-partner-id-audience-givepanel

Version 9.2.1 and above

AUD Donation Upsell audience

fundraiserCountryCode is US/EN

Active Fundraiser - Smart Default Cadence

DAF Internal

Vault on success card payment method

Platform is iOS v11.0.0 and above

Desktop users

Person ids

United States (US) users

allow yuno fundraisers for test

Mexico country code

Posters INTL

NPO Profile Opted-In

iOS at or above 12.4.0

non-US recurring donors

Canada Campaign Owner Group

Fundraiser Without Meta Link

Scheduler payment tester gorup

charityCommunityId

Charities allow to be claimed unclaimed (PRD)

Canada (CA) users

UC Tipping v20250115 International

pymk_production_xplr_fe_team

Android at or above 12.2.0

Profile photo entry point audience

smart goals (fundraiser/manage) on test01

Activity Tracking v1 Beta Testing

start gfm intl allowed locales

Platform is iOS v11.2.0 and above

NPO upsell education category

unclaimed charities

prod_ach_audience

AI Chatbot Audience

amp13 only new funds (prod) (anyword auto)

UC Flow Enabled (Prod)

Payment Identity Beneficiary Verification - Production

shared notification bell audience

Custom users

ach frontend audience

Android v11.0.0 and above

Users Receiving Payments Paused Notifications

smart goals test01

Manage Coach - US English Organizers Only + new funds only

Team EGG - IP Address list

NPO recommendations prod

Fundraiser Without Instagram Deep Link

Native 11.4.0 and above

UC Tipping v20250107

Users Receiving Braze KYC Validation Failed

Native 11.3.0 and above

ai_title_page

anyword

openai

control

manual_entry

userEmail

template_id

userId

fundUrl

isCharityCo

email

appVersion

shouldBucketIntoExperiment

partnerId

donationCadence

isActiveFundraiser

isPartner

isMobile

npoProfileOptIn

fundIsLinkedWithMeta

hasSessionDonation

categoryGroup

isCampaignOwner

fundHasInstagramDeepLink

Native 11.4.0 and higher

New funds eligible - Video Sharing (PROD)

GB Donation Upsell audience 

Auto Thanks V3 Rollout Audience

Thank you V3 testing whitelist

isRecurringFriendly

Is Recurring Friendly

Excluded funds - Video Sharing

NPO upsell animals category

NPO upsell disaster relief category

Logged In Users

CH Donation Upsell audience

Android v10.6.0 and above

NPO upsell essential needs category

NPO upsell medical category

userCurrencyCode

Localized Currency

NPO upsell cancer category

v11.5.0 and above

testAudience

pathname

Survicate

appVersion is at or above 12.8.0

Non-charity fund

isChallengeFundraiser

challenge-fundraisers

Payment Identity Launch Verification - Production

New funds eligible - Posters v2

CAD Donation Upsell Audience

Braze Email Tester

NPO Profile Opted-Out

iOS App Version

hasKnownDonors

PYMK has donors

iOS v12.3.0 and above

Help Dermod Downs Complete His Farm & Permanent Residency

Still $8,065 to go. Help us build momentum.