We are the “Ausangate Valley Initiative Association” (AVI). We are based in Salt Lake City, Utah in the United States and are licensed as a not-for-profit charity organization. We operate in the Southern Andes of Peru, approximately three hours south of Cusco. We serve indigenous communities living in the mid altitude regions of the southern Andes, approximately 14,000 feet above sea level.

We are supporting these impoverished communities because glacial water sources are rapidly melting, along with the cessation of seasonal rains which formerly provided water for their high-altitude pastures and fields. We are currently installing a new water system as well as providing blood tests for primary school-age children in the region, to establish a baseline for hemoglobin levels which will help us determine degrees of anemia. We have already supplied these children with school supplies last summer which allowed them to continue on to the next grade level. Addressing issues associated with overwhelming poverty, clean water and poor health will help these otherwise happy children and their community live healthier and more productive lives.