Piura, Peru COVID-19 Relief Fund

Giovanna Lacey and her husband Donny Lacey, through the pandemic, have collected donations for suffering families in Piura, Peru. These donations have helped bring about effective solutions to some of the issues that have arisen as a result of the lockdowns and the incredible restrictions on work and education. From the very beginning of the COVID pandemic, Giovanna and her husband Donny, have answered a desire to serve God through ministering to this vulnerable community. Below are a few updates on how the help of donors has blessed these families. 

Capable Kids Graduation
Family development and good parenting skills are valuable in cultivating a happy and peaceful home. Through her ministry connections, Lacey was able to start an online course intended to help the mothers of children restricted from attending school. She had experience in teaching a course called How to Raise Capable Kids and so she began to teach the mothers in the community. Through Zoom, Lacey taught from San Antonio, Texas to mothers in Piura, Peru. The classes were designed to motivate and educate mothers on how to use effective parenting skills for lasting results.

In December of 2020, Giovanna and Pastor Donny were able to visit Piura, Peru to host a graduation ceremony for the mothers of the program. In total there were 13 mothers who had a newfound sense of accomplishment in their capability to parent their children well. 

 Chalk Talk
At the same time that Giovanna was teaching the mothers, her husband, Pastor Donny was teaching the children through a style called Chalk Talk, the course was called “Dibujando with Brother Donny” (drawing in English). These lessons were also given through Zoom and focused on bible stories while teaching the children how to draw. At the end of the series, they had a celebration and a ceremony for the children.

 Funds from donors were used for course materials and to provide for the needs of these families as many were limited in their opportunities to work and attend school. Donations also helped to provide food and gifts during the Christmas Season for 60 families. The Laceys believed that “God provided through charitable people.”

Pastors on Wheels
A mototaxi is a small vehicle with three wheels that uses a small, loud motorcycle motor. It is a cheap form of public transportation; a ride costs 2 to 3 soles (less than $1), and mototaxis are very common throughout Peru. Below, Giovanna shares how she and her husband started a ministry called Pastors on Wheels.

 The Lord had fantastic way to show us how we can help people provide for their families. One of the pastors we know and work with is a dear friend of ours in the city of Piura, Peru. He was struggling to provide for his family and his form of making income was a broken piece of junk sitting unusable in his yard. You see, his day job is that of a mototaxi driver but, due to the government's updated regulations and guidelines placed upon taxi companies, his current moto taxi did not meet the requirements for use. One issue was that it was too old, the other was that it was in very bad shape and need major repairs. This halted his ability to work and without work, he could not afford to update his mototaxi. It was a classic catch 22.

 The Mototaxi is a tremendous economic help for people in Peru, and many people take mototaxis as their main source of transportation. My husband and I had some savings and felt that the Lord wanted us to help our friend. In our efforts to help cover the cost of the mototaxi updates, we began to research the prices of mototaxis and realized that with 1,000 U.S. dollars, a Peruvian Pastor could have a rebuilt mototaxi. I told my husband that if we can get enough people to give, we can afford one mototaxi and help a Pastor; he would then be able to work and provide for his family.

 It was then that we realized that this could easily turn into a ministry for struggling pastors desperate to provide for their families. We decided to call the ministry, Pastors on Wheels. If we were able to rebuild my friend moto-taxi, we can do the same for others. All we need is a little charitable help from good people. One mototaxi at the time, maybe 10 in the future, but our idea, Pastors on Wheels, may one day be an excellent help for servants of God in the hot city of Piura, Peru.

 More Information
We hope that you will consider donating to this meaningful and life-changing cause. If you would like to know more you can contact Giovanna Lacey at [email redacted].