For twenty years, a group of Quechua-speaking women from Ayacucho have spoken out against the abuses that took place in Peru between 1980 and 2000.  Their sons and husbands were taken away and secretly killed.  Most don't know what really happened to their loved ones. They speak out against arbitrary detentions, torture, forced disappearances, and murder. And they put their own lives at great risk. They continue to do so out of an enduring hunger for justice and and undying love for their family.

When Jose Luis, a young dental student and volunteer at Paz y Esperanza in Ayacucho, learned about the precarious situation of these elderly members of the National Association of Relatives of the Kidnapped, Murdered, and Disappeared in Peru (ANFASEP), he wondered how he could show them his support. Seeing their serious dental problems in need of urgent attention, this young man decided to put his training into practice.

With the help of his classmates, Jose Luis raised the money and supplies necessary to provide dentures to the women of ANFASEP. When Peru’s National Human Rights Coordinator learned about the project they were eager to support the project. Then another local non-profit organization donated all the necessary supplies. Before long, two dentistry professors offered their services and Jose Luis had all he needed to begin his work. 

First, the women made a visit to the dentist to have their remaining teeth removed. As their gums healed from this procedure, the team of students worked diligently to manufacture the dentures. Once complete, the team of students presented the new dentures to the women of ANFASEP during a very special ceremony on September 2nd, 2004. This day marked the 21^st anniversary of their struggle to find truth and justice for the disappearance and death of their loved ones.  

When one elderly woman named Teodora received her dentures and showed off her new smile, she fought back tears of joy.   

Today we are so happy!  I’m a mother with so many needs.  I lost my husband during the times of violence, and now I’m still trying to move forward.  This gift has been very good for us since many of us had very bad teeth.  And now, we can smile with confidence!  Thank you for this support- and I hope that this campaign will continue for the others who need it.

Upon receiving their new dentures, the women shared a meal with the students that had worked so hard to make this day possible.  Hearing their laughter and seeing the women proudly showing off their bright smiles, the students knew that their simple act of service had done much to restore the dignity and confidence of these women that had suffered so much.      

From Tears to Smiles: Part II

In 2005, Paz y Esperanza in Ayacucho, Peru began providing dentures to the elderly women members of the Association of Families of the Disappeared and Murdered (AFADAVP). These women also lost their fathers, husbands, brothers, and sons to the terrorism-related violence of the 1980’s and 90’s.  They live in the rural villages surrounding Ayacucho in the district called Quispillacta. They live in remote farming communities and earn a meager living by growing potatoes and raising chickens, goats, sheep, and cows. When their men were taken away, tortured, killed, and buried in hidden graves, this horrific event caused their precarious economic situation to worsen. Few have been able to recover emotionally, psychologically, spiritually, or economically from their tragic loss. 

Please pray that God would provide a way for the members of AFADAVP to find emotional healing and spiritual restoration. Please pray for Jose Luis as he and his fellow students work to provide dentures to these elderly women. Please pray that he and his classmates would be provided all the necessary resources to bring smiles back to the faces of these widows.