This month the Rotary Club of Chincha is scheduled to unveil a new addition to a shelter that houses vulnerable girls ages 5 to 17 in the Ica region. The girls, some of whom have been abandoned by their families or are victims of abuse, “need a lot of psychological help,” says Mónica Avilés Calderón, a past club president.
The club completed the first building, with a capacity of 30 residents, in 2000. Soon the number of girls living in the shelter more than doubled. Starting in 2018, the club expanded capacity with additional buildings, costing about $35,000 each. The three new structures were funded primarily by donations from the Rotary Club of Flawil, Switzerland, and District 2000 (Liechtenstein and Switzerland). The Chincha club raised the remaining funds.