Friends of Chimbote

10/29/2026

🏘️ Every Community Has a Story

Cambio Puente is a community where families face daily challenges, from sandy, unpaved roads to homes built with estera (woven reed mats) and other fragile materials.

Through the partnership of Friends of Chimbote and ACAF, we walk alongside families as they work toward safer homes, stronger communities, and a brighter future. ❤️

To learn more about the work we do and the communities we work in, please visit:
https://www.friendsofchimbote.org/

10/27/2026

🎨📚 Learning Through Creativity

During last week’s visit to Chimbote, Friends of Chimbote board members and staff saw children at the Cambio Puente Learning Center expressing their creativity through art. From the youngest artists to those a little older, these projects help children explore their talents, build confidence, and learn through play.

With the support of FoC and ACAF, children are discovering their potential and growing together! ✨

10/25/2026

❤️ Listen. Learn. Believe. Serve. ❤️

What an impactful week in Chimbote! Our Friends of Chimbote Board members and visitors spent a busy week immersed in the communities we serve, experiencing firsthand the many ways ACAF and FoC walk alongside our brothers and sisters in Peru.

From delivering clean water and distributing bread to working in the carpentry shop and bakery, helping build two new homes, serving in the soup kitchen, and walking alongside social workers as they visited families, every experience offered a deeper understanding of the work happening on the ground. We also connected with children and older adults, attended NextLider and JISCE events, celebrated the inauguration and blessing of a new sports field, visited two new communities that will receive clean water through VidACAF, and joined in the blessing of a new cross in Los Lomas.

✨ But this week was about more than projects and activities. It was about relationships, listening to people's stories, learning from their experiences, witnessing resilience, and recognizing the dignity and potential within every person. For our visitors, these experiences brought a deeper understanding of the challenges, hopes, and progress within these communities. For the individuals and families we walked alongside, the week was another opportunity to strengthen relationships, share experiences, and celebrate what can be accomplished together.

As everyone begins the journey home to the United States, they carry with them memories, meaningful connections, and a renewed appreciation for the dedicated ACAF team and the communities they serve every day.

Because lasting impact happens when we listen with open hearts, learn from one another, believe in the potential of every person, and serve together in faith and solidarity. ❤️

To learn more about what we do, please visit our website:
https://www.friendsofchimbote.org/

10/21/2026

💙 Our Friends of Chimbote board members, staff, mission visitors, and ACAF team are having an incredible immersion week in Chimbote, living out our shared mission to Listen. Learn. Believe. Serve. Together, we are deepening relationships, learning from one another, and witnessing the incredible work happening throughout each community.

We are grateful for the opportunity to walk alongside our brothers and sisters in Peru, sharing faith, building connections, and continuing our mission together! 🙏

10/16/2026

💙 VIDAS PLENAS: Fulfilling Lives

Every older adult deserves to feel valued, heard, and connected to their community. Through ACAF’s Vidas Plenas program in Cambio Puente, our boots-on-the-ground team creates meaningful opportunities for older adults to connect, participate in activities, and strengthen their emotional well-being.

As one of ACAF’s several mental health programs, Vidas Plenas helps address loneliness while creating spaces for friendship, purpose, and belonging. It reminds each person that they are seen, valued, and never forgotten.

Together, we are helping our brothers and sisters in Peru live with the dignity, purpose, and compassion they deserve.

To learn more about what we do and how you can help, please visit:
https://www.friendsofchimbote.org/

10/13/2026

💙 A BACKPACK FULL OF HOPE!

Behind every act of kindness in Chimbote is our incredible ACAF team - our boots on the ground, showing up each day to serve our brothers and sisters in Peru.

A backpack filled with school supplies may seem like a simple gift, but to this young boy, it means so much more. It represents opportunity, encouragement, and the chance to step into the classroom ready to learn. And that smile? It says it all! 😊

Through the dedication of our ACAF team and the generosity of our supporters, we are reminded that even the smallest gestures can make a lasting difference in a child's life.

Together, we are building brighter futures, one child, one backpack, and one smile at a time. ❤️

If you would like to learn more about what we do, please visit:
https://www.friendsofchimbote.org/

10/11/2026

🔨 BUILDING SUSTAINABILITY, ONE HOME AT A TIME

The Bob Cikanek Carpentry Shop in Chimbote plays an important role in creating lasting, sustainable change. By building prefabricated panels for new homes and crafting furniture for families, the shop provides essential materials both for families and for mission visitors who come to Chimbote to help build the homes. Through local employment, hands-on training, and the development of valuable skills, the shop supports long-term economic sustainability while helping create safe, stable homes for families.

But its impact goes beyond construction. Through local employment, hands-on training, and the development of valuable skills, the carpentry shop strengthens the local workforce and supports long-term economic sustainability.

❤️ By investing in local skills, employment, and resources, we are helping build a future where communities can continue to grow, thrive, and sustain their own development.

10/08/2026

❤️ A beautiful reminder of the bonds that unite us across borders. Bishop Bances’ visit celebrated more than 40 years of shared faith, friendship, and walking alongside our brothers and sisters in Chimbote. We are grateful for this enduring partnership and all those who continue to make this mission possible!

Click below to read the full story.

The Diocese of Fargo welcomed Bishop Ernesto Bances of Chimbote, Peru last month. For over four decades, parishes in the Diocese of Fargo have supported the needs of the Diocese of Chimbote in Peru through an organization called Friends of Chimbote. That support has included monetary donations, donations of food and materials, mission trips to Chimbote to build much needed infrastructure and, of course, prayer. Read the full story here:
https://www.fargodiocese.org/news/faith-friendship-and-solidarity

10/06/2026

MORE THAN A GAME ⚽💙

On the field, our youth are learning more than how to play soccer. They are building teamwork, discipline, confidence, and friendships while discovering the joy of being part of something bigger than themselves.

Every practice, every game, and every goal is an opportunity to grow - both on and off the field. We believe in their potential and the bright futures they are building

10/04/2026

MORE THAN A VISIT. A CONNECTION THAT LASTS 🤝❤️

In Chimbote, serving often begins with a simple gesture - a hand held, a conversation shared, a moment of prayer. Through these moments, visitors, ACAF staff, and families come together not as strangers, but as people walking alongside one another.

The connections created through service can reach far beyond a single day or visit. They remind us that we are all part of one community, united by faith, compassion, and a desire to serve one another. 🙏