Annual
Giving Campaign
MOSQOY TURNS 18!
LET'S RAISE $18,000!
How you can help this holiday season:
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OPTION 1: Contribute to our Annual Giving Campaign.
Give a one-time gift and have your donation matched for double the impact! Your donation directly benefits the programs Mosqoy operates. (See our letter below.) Make a donation in a friend or family member’s name as a gift that gives this holiday season. Use the Donate button below.
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OPTION 2: Become a Mosqoy Member.
Contribute a small monthly donation of $10, $25, or $50 through our safe, secure, automatic credit card processing.
If you would like to donate by cheque, please write it to "Mosqoy" and mail it to:
Mosqoy
1004 North Park
Victoria, BC
V8T 1C6
Canada
Dear Mosqoy Family,
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We are delighted to announce our 2024 Annual Giving Campaign, Mosqoy's largest fundraising effort each year where your donations will be matched.
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All donations made between now and February 28, 2024 will be doubled, thanks to our Board of Directors and a generous anonymous donor who will match your funds.
Our target goal this year is $18,000... in celebration of turning 18 years old in 2024, and graduating adolescence! We did it! Our baby flew the coop and grew up! Most of our current scholarship students were born the same year as Mosqoy, in 2006. (So weird!) And Elvira, our Casa Mosqoy Resident Advisor who now supervises them, was our very first graduate. Talk about a full-circle moment!
All $18,000 will be 100% matched, making our ultimate goal $36,000 (Canadian dollars). All Canadian donors will receive tax-deductible receipts.
These funds will go directly to Mosqoy to support our youth scholarship program and fair-trade textile program. Your donations are what make our work possible. We are so grateful for your support, especially in these uncertain times.
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This past year has been both challenging and inspiring, as we collectively pushed through economic turmoil, ongoing effects of the pandemic, and extreme political unrest in Peru, to realize the dreams of 49 weavers and 16 students.
Mosqoy students during their traditional dance at the Cerveceria del Valle event.
10 HIGHLIGHTS FROM 2023
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2023 is what we called our "transition year", just in time for our 18th year. After tons of collective effort, Mosqoy is now officially co-led by our Quechua staff in Cusco. Our Board of Directors in Canada is now becoming an advisory board and fundraising board, no longer a "working board," leading its day-to-day operations. This is a dream come true and a huge step towards sustainability. It also aligns with our values to support local and Indigenous-led place-based programming.
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Textile sales increased 30% from our previous year. Led by our intrepid Textile Manager, Cusi, we are selling in 12 strategic locations across Cusco, the Sacred Valley, and Lima (which is 4 more than the previous year). One location acts as a show room, carrying all of our products! We also continue to sell online, and in fairs in both Canada and Peru.
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Each of our partner weavers have earned an average of twice the revenue than in the previous year. The majority of weavers report that they spend their textile revenues on food and education for their children.
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We are actively supporting 49 weavers this year, from 5 Quechua communities, each of whom supports an average of 5 family members. Therefore, our Mosqoy Peruvian Textiles program indirectly impacts 245 people with its textile sales.
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We held two training sessions this past year with the Cancha Cancha Weaving Cooperative on marketing and branding, and supported them to apply for a grant with the Calca Municipality, to revitalize their traditional knowledge regarding alpaca-herding and hand-spinning. This, along with our other community work, is led by our skilled Community Facilitator, Anshela.
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Mosqoy's founder, Ashli, completed her PhD, on safeguarding cultural heritage in an era of rapid economic change. The first community outputs from her doctoral research are now coming to fruition, including a new alpaca-yarn product with Cancha Cancha spinners, and an exciting partnership between Mosqoy & the National Geographic Society to educate travellers about the importance of supporting local artisans and purchasing authentic traditional textiles.
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Mosqoy held two fundraising events this past year - one was an online auction in Canada, in honour of our late friend, Gayle Ramsden, and the other was an in-person gathering in partnership with La Cerveceria del Valle, during Peru’s Fiestas Patrias (National Holiday). During the brewery event, our scholarship students choreographed and performed a traditional dance, typical of the Ollantaytambo region, and gave live weaving demonstrations to visitors.
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The Mosqoy Youth Program was awarded a unique grant for an educational project, EdJam, dedicated to the design and implementation of Mosqoy workshops emphasizing traditional knowledge, the arts, cultural identity, and social justice. Throughout the year, our students explored various themes such as Andean music and dance, photography, natural dyeing, painting, and more, culminating in a field-trip to the Potato Park where students learned about traditional agricultural practices, weaving, cuisine, and traditional medicine. The EdJam project also included the development and launch of an eight-week human rights certificate course, which will continue on for future cohorts.
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In July, thanks to the EdJam grant, Mosqoy's Youth Program Manager, Stephanie, and Resident Advisor, Elvira, travelled to Bogota, Colombia, to present Mosqoy's work as part of a network of Latin American partners who are engaging in similar work. It was a wonderful opportunity to explore the importance of decolonizing education.
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We have 16 scholarship students from 13 remote campesino communities living in Casa Mosqoy right now, all enrolled in post-secondary institutions (either university or technical institutes). 13 of these students will enter their final year of classes next year!
Mosqoy student learning backstrap weaving at the Potato Park, in the Sacred Valley.
What a year!
​We're inspired to see what 2024 will hold. While we've come a long way in 2023, we have a big push this coming year. Thank you for being part of this collective journey with us. We couldn't do it without you.
4 Priorities for 2024
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Fund tuition for our current and future students. Currently we have the funds to pay for housing and workshop costs for students, but have had to pause tuition scholarships during this crisis time until we raise more funds, which has jeopardized scholarships for some of our lowest-income students.
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Fund an Administrative Officer to support our Mosqoy staff in Cusco. This is a significant vacancy in Casa Mosqoy, and we are eager to fill this role once we have the funds to support our hard-working program staff.
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Support our Quechua staff with necessary training sessions and tools. We need to ensure that our staff have all of the tools they need to be capable co-leaders as they take on stewardship of the organization's day-to-day operations. In recent strategic-planning sessions, our Peruvian leadership team have requested specific capacity-building support to help with this transition.
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Improve our communications and donor engagement. As we are a small team that is heavily volunteer-run, we have been focusing primarily on our community programming and engagement. However, we recognize that when our capacity is low, this means our donor stewardship and public communications have faltered, especially in recent years. While we will continue to prioritize our community work, we recognize that we need to improve our donor engagement and public communications. This - and you! - are a huge priority for 2024.
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These are just a few of the highlights, challenges, and objectives we have, as we look forward to 2024.
We invite you to come with us on this journey.
Thank you, in advance, for your generosity.
Every dollar counts and means so much to us. Any gift – big or small – will be used wisely. And if you can't give this year, please consider sharing with your friends, family, and networks.
thank you.
merci.
gracias.
sullpayki.
With gratitude,
From all of us at Mosqoy
in Peru, Canada, and around the world
Mosqoy Scholarship Students:
Agustin Ccarhuani Mamani, from Cancha Cancha, studying Official Tour Guiding
German Alejandro Ccarhuani Mamani, from Cancha Cancha, studying Official Tour Guiding
Ana Lisbeth Huahuasoncco Quispe, from Parcco, studying International Business Administration
Anali Elimelit Gayoso Soncco, from Parobamba, studying International Business Administration
Elim Lima Conza, from Llanchu, studying Education
Fredy Senovio Ccarhuani Mamani, from Cancha Cancha, studying Culinary Arts
Nohemi Tintaya Maza, from Mendosayoc, studying Official Tour Guiding
Anita Gamarra Loayza, from Soqma, studying Environmental Engineering
Hilda Yesica Mamani Chura, from Accha Alta, studying Accounting
Jhoel Yucra Huari, from Quesca, studying Accounting
Justiniano Ccarhuani Mamani, from Cancha Cancha, studying Official Tour Guiding
Karina Melo Usca, from Huilloc, studying Tourism Administration
Luz Gabriela Valencia Cjuiro, from Chinchero, studying Accounting
Ramiro Olivera Ferra, from Tanccac, studying Official Tour Guiding
Sarai Andrea Uñapillco Franco, from Huaypo Grande, studying Environmental Engineering
Yhamely Maqque Palomino, from Amaru, studying Official Tour Guiding
Staff:
Cusi Saco Chung, Mosqoy Peruvian Textiles Manager
Stephanie Septembre, Mosqoy Youth Program Manager
Elvira Huaman Guerra, Casa Mosqoy Resident Advisor
Anshela Paravecino Kehuarucho, Mosqoy Community Facilitator
Volunteers:
Patty Hollister, Victoria Textile Retail Liaison
Carmen Trigoso, Lima Textile Retail Liaison
Francesca Field, Social Media Manager
Chloe Schatz, Victoria Textiles Volunteer
Diana Zapata del Mar, Lima Textile Retail Liaison
Board of Directors:
Tomás Abdala
Ashli Akins
Brent Akins
Nekita Garcia
Lucía Salem
Lisa Slager
Kristina Zoller
Thank you for your support – past, present, and future.
(Photos by Stephanie Septembre)