About Ayni

Ayni survives on donations from people like you. Every little bit makes a difference. Just click the link to donate or alternatively to see just how far your donation can go, and to give a gift of a donation in someone else's name, check out Ayni's gift catalogue here

Ayni is a very small grassroots organization based in Piura, Nothern Peru. Its founder Margie Orsi, a high school teacher from Markham, Ontario, Canada began the organization in 2001. What started out as one individual's small and innocent attempt at impacting positive change on a tiny part of this planet, quickly turned into an organized group effort of dedicated volunteers from around the world.

The word Ayni comes from the language of an old native culture called Aymara based in Peru and Bolivia, and it means 'today for you, tomorrow for me.' Ayni is based on the idea of reiprocity: working together as a group for the group, a sharing of ideas and resources, helping one another and having a sense of responsibility for each other.

Ayni's work takes place in Alto de los Mores, a small isolated rural village of Indigenous Peruvians. Our organization works together with this community to alleviate some of the major barriers of living in extreme poverty. Our role is multifaceted and continues to grow within the community from women's development projects, to small micro-credit schemes, as well as encouraging and supporting education and knowledge of human rights throughout the community. To find out more see projects

Catherine with Grade 2