San Juan de Lurigancho · Lima, Peru
A student-founded grassroots initiative delivering food, water, clothing, and medical care alongside families.
Discover VIDAVIDA (Vínculos, Inclusión, Desarrollo y Acción) is a student-founded grassroots initiative supporting 86 families in San Juan de Lurigancho.
Founded in December 2025 by Cayetano Ponce, the founder and director, VIDA responds to needs that families identify through conversations with the community. VIDA has delivered food, water, and more than 100 kg of clothing, and has secured four medical brigades and a $50,000 donation, working in partnership with Tani. It works alongside residents to support health, nutrition, and long-term development, with the understanding that lasting change takes time and shared effort.
02 · San Juan de Lurigancho
In eastern Lima, San Juan de Lurigancho stretches across a densely built valley and surrounding hillsides. It is home to families, local businesses, and neighborhood networks whose experiences vary widely. Some communities face serious gaps in basic services.
Where in Lima?
In 2021, Peru's Ombudsman's Office documented families in the hillside sector of Los Jardines de Santa Rosa struggling to access water for cooking and carrying heavy containers up long stairways. Its 2023 review also describes major sewer failures in 2019 and 2021 that disrupted water and sanitation services in the district.
Defensoría del Pueblo · September 2021 Defensoría del Pueblo · April 2023A 2023 World Food Programme report describes community kitchens, or ollas comunes, in San Juan de Lurigancho. They offer affordable meals, supported by donated and rescued food. Their work shows both the pressure on household food access and the commitment of residents who organize to support one another.
World Food Programme · January 2023VIDA works with families in the Ciudad de Gosen area of San Juan de Lurigancho. Families participating in VIDA have shared needs relating to food, water, cooking gas, winter clothing, and medical care. These conversations guide the founder's work. VIDA aims to contribute alongside residents and partners, respecting the priorities and knowledge already present in the community.
Based on VIDA's project account. The district background above is independent reporting and does not describe outcomes of VIDA's work.
These dated reports provide background on humanitarian needs; they are not a district-wide emergency assessment for 2026. Conditions differ between neighborhoods.
Listening before acting
How it started
In December 2025, Cayetano Ponce, the founder, organized VIDA: he spoke with community leaders, told families he would be coming, and planned the logistics for winter knitting workshops. When he arrived and listened, everything changed. Families needed food, water, clothing, and medical care first, so the founder set the workshops aside and redirected VIDA to those needs, with the guidance of Kathy, a community leader.
Conversations with parents and children shaped the first steps: collecting clothing, helping with food, and looking for practical ways to support access to water. These were small beginnings, grounded in the knowledge of the people who live there. Since May 2026, whenever he is in Lima, the founder visits families twice a week.
A turning point
The founder reached out to people he knew for clothing donations and used personal funds to help with early food distributions when donations fell short.
As visits continued, a donation of 500 soles helped provide a Nicoll tank, which the founder bought so families could store clean water during water cuts. It was a practical response to a need families had shared, made possible by a donor's support.
Food, water, and clothing deliveries continued, reaching 86 families and totaling more than 100 kg of clothing, alongside conversations about what more dependable support could look like.
Soles that unlocked clean-water storage
A plan built to last
A partnership
While looking for stronger planning, the founder visited a center run by Tani to see their work firsthand. He spoke with the person leading the operation, explained VIDA, and asked for guidance, not funding, telling them he would secure the funding himself. This became a partnership focused on local children.
Tani developed a plan with a budget of $5,000. The founder then reached out to donors and contacts on his own to fund it.
Each conversation and introduction helped connect the project with people willing to contribute. The plan became a shared effort, supported by a group of donors.
04 · What we achieved
The founder set out to raise $5,000.
secured as a donation from a group of donors.
The $50,000 is ten times the original $5,000 goal. With ten times the funding, the founder and Tani expanded the blueprint to include medical care and other essential resources for participating families, and are now putting it into action. VIDA has already secured four medical brigades.
This support matters, and there is still work to do. VIDA's role is to listen, connect resources with needs, and continue working alongside families and partners as priorities develop.
This is VIDA. Listening to families, learning together, and taking the next step with care.
Founder
Cayetano Ponce is a student from Lima who founded VIDA in December 2025 and directs it on his own. He started with a willingness to listen: time spent with families helped him understand their concerns and shaped the initiative's first steps. His role is to bring people and resources together. He secured a $50,000 donation from a group of donors and formed a partnership with Tani, recognizing that residents know their own needs best and that every contribution depends on the trust and generosity of others. He credits Kathy, a community leader who was extremely helpful in getting VIDA started.
06 · Join the cause
Whether you want to contribute resources, create a partnership, volunteer, or learn more, your first step is a conversation. Contact the founder to discuss how to take part. Prospective donors and partners may also request details on how funds are being used, including the plan and budget, expenditures to date, and supporting documents. Write to the address below with the subject line "Information request," and the founder will respond with the details.
Contact VIDA cayetano.ponce.pe@gmail.comVIDA is a student-founded initiative. Not a registered nonprofit. Donations are not tax-deductible.
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