About
SOLAC is a Peruvian grassroots community development organization, which focuses on education, health, environmental issues, women’s empowerment, microfinance, and equal rights.
SOLAC currently operates with an all-volunteer staff, thus ensuring that all of our resources go directly into supporting our initiatives. As the organization has matured, it has relied heavily on international volunteer support, and has benefited greatly from an ever-growing social network.
Our project model involves complete community immersion, especially in the early stages of a project diagnostic. This often takes months, but is essential to ensuring full communication, trust, and mutual understanding. Our goal is for the communities to have a powerful voice in all stages of the projects, such that whatever is accomplished belongs to them.
All of our projects additionally attempt to connect people from different backgrounds, who might otherwise never meet. Initially this involved bringing wealthy, urban Limeños into impoverished, marginalized communities as volunteers. Since 2005, we have utilized international volunteer support in all of our projects. We have found that the experience is invaluable for both the volunteers and members of the community alike. All volunteers are encouraged to pursue interests of their own during their time in Peru. Past volunteers have produced powerful photographs, documentaries, and essays.
We are currently a growing organization, and we hope that you will continue to visit our webpage and support our efforts. We always welcome dialogue, so please contact us with any comments or concerns.