CASA CHAPI: THE STORY BEHIND THE NAME

By Dr. Wilfred Uscamayta Condori and Mike Safley

A long time ago (1709 to be exact) in a town not far from the Peruvian colonial city of Arequipa a committee of the men decided to move a statue of the Virgin Mary to Arequipa proper. The committee supervised the loading the image of Mary onto a cart pulled by donkeys. But after moving the statue only a few feet it became so heavy that the donkeys, strain as the might, were brought to a standstill.

Suddenly the men in charge of the caravan heard a voice emanating from the statue crying, Chaypi! Chaypi!, others heard, Chajachay! Chajachay! and still others heard, Chaj! Llallapi! According to Quechua speakers these words are from the Aymara language and means right here. Startled, the committee quickly decided that the Virgin Mary wanted to remain where she was and so she stayed, and became known as Chapi, Quechua for is here.

The Co-founders of Quechua Benefit, Dr. Mario Pedroza and Mike Safley, had been coming to Peru for almost 10 years when they decided to expand the charities mission beyond the role of providing dental assistance, disaster relief, and financial support for various orphanages. In 2004 they began an effort to double the capacity of the Musqa Runa orphanage in Macusani. Soon the plans were drawn, estimates prepared, and the funds were raised. But it was not to be. The association that owned the building reneged on a pledge to transfer ownership of the facility to the Sisters of the Cross who had been operating the orphanage for more than twenty years.

The charity moved on to a property in Santa Rosa and made an agreement to acquire the land. At the last moment, the seller tripled the price, apparently believing that a wealthy non-profit from abroad would meet the demand. The search turned to Coporaque in the Colca Valley where the Mayor volunteered to donate 2 1/2 acres plus some nearby grazing land that would support livestock to help sustain the project. The directors traveled to Peru to close the purchase, but again at the last minute, the mayor decided to withdraw the grazing land from the offer and reduce the orphanage site to less than an acre. His motives were never clear. In Chivay, the capital city of the Colca region, a local nurse volunteered to donate another piece of land but again reneged at the last moment. Then an opportunity presented itself to purchase a lovely property at the site of Chapi, a local Chapel built 100 years ago to honor the Virgin Mary. The deal failed when the owners relatives argued about the sale.

Finally an old Quechua couple, Juan and Oriola Condori de Uscamayta, who owned the local motorcycle dealership in Chivay, offered to sell 80,000 square feet of land lying next to the Chapi Chapel for $15,000. On October 2, 2008 Quechua Benefit closed the deal and acquired the land. It seems the mother of Jesus wanted the children without parents gathered close to her and said right here.