Daniel Klopp, a PV class of ’94 graduate, created the Voices 4 Peru organization to provide hope and empowerment to marginalized communities in Peru.
Through this program, Klopp has been able to start a free preschool for kids three to five years old who live in the community.
He also started a free youth group and a club soccer team for the youth in the Peru community. To join the soccer team, boys and girls just have to sign a contract saying that they will not drink or do drugs and agree attend two youth groups a month.
The Voices 4 Peru school is located in a town on the outskirts of Lima, the capital of Peru, in a town called Ventanilla. The school is in a community called Las Lomas. In Las Lomas, there is no running water, but there is electricity. Most families make an average of $300/month, and most families struggle to get by.
This is why Klopp created the school and opened the community building. He did this so the kids can get a chance for a good education and be in a safe environment. Since the area is very poor, there are many unsafe areas full of drugs and mafia. This school is a place for the kids to go and to not worry about doing something they shouldn’t.
His work has freed people from real-life issues such as slavery, poverty, and prostitution. V4P has developed many programs in Peru, from its own private school to free prayer and spiritual counseling.
Klopp has been working towards creating a better life for the people in the Las Lomas community. “It has been noted in Peru that individuals gravitate toward green. Parks, areas with green patches are where the Peruvian people tend to spend their free time. It is Voices 4 Peru attempts in the near future to create a green landscape around the community to lift the emotional & mental health of the community residents,” said Klopp.
Stephanie Risius, a Spanish teacher at PV, first met Klopp in 2011 after he was awarded the Distinguished Alumni Award. During his visit, Klopp stopped by Risius’ classroom to meet her. Klopp first suggested that she bring kids to Peru on a trip, but at that time, things were not stable in Peru.
In 2015, Risius contacted Klopp before a trip she was taking with students from PV to visit Lima, Machu Picchu, and other popular tourist sights in Peru. Before the trip, Risius planned on getting together with Klopp and asked if they could bring down donations for the school. 37 suitcases later, this moment sparked an idea that would result in eight more trips to Peru.
Risius and the student from the first trip were eager to learn more about Klopp and his school after visiting with him. “We were not able to visit his school or Las Lomas at that time, but the students on that trip were so inspired and moved how they had helped his community that they asked if they could come down and volunteer. He gladly accepted but, the students couldn’t go by themselves and needed a chaperone,” said Risius.
Above is the school and community building in Peru that was started by Daniel Klopp.
This year, Risius took a group of students to volunteer in Peru over spring break. She already has two more trips planned for this summer to go down and volunteer.
Junior Addie Even has gone down to Peru and volunteered at the school now two times and will be going back again this summer. Even will tell anyone just how amazing the experience is to volunteer in Peru, “It is just an eye-opening experience to see how other people live in other countries, and to see just how much we take for granted.” Â
The school is always in need of donations such as clothes, toys, and hygiene products. Donations can be given to Risius at the high school, and everything donated will be packed into a suitcase to be taken down to Peru on one of the next volunteer trips.
As Klopp once said, “Be one to live a life worth leaving a legacy, and you shall change the world.”
