The Peruvian Embassy and its 13 consulates in the United States managed to raise US$207,351 in favor of recent "Coastal El Niño" phenomenon victims.
More than 2,000 people contributed via bank and online donations to the campaign started on March 21, after receiving instructions from the Foreign Affairs Ministry to call for international solidarity aimed at benefiting Peru's flood and landslide victims.
The collected amount has been fully and directly transferred to State-run National Institute of Civil Defense (Indeci).
"It has been a very successful campaign that has shown the commitment of all our consulates and our Embassy to sensitize the American public opinion to the dramatic consequences of the Coastal El Niño in the most vulnerable populations of our country," said Peruvian Ambassador to Washington D.C. Carlos Pareja.
The Embassy in the United States opened a bank account and established an online donation mechanism —on its website— to facilitate the contributions by individuals and institutions interested in donating economic resources to the campaign of solidarity.
On the other hand, the consulates spread the different ways to contribute to the campaign, supported by an intense digital strategy channeled through the Embassy's platforms: Facebook, Twitter, email marketing campaign, as well as numerous videos and animations.
Likewise, the Ambassador and consuls were interviewed by media outlets to provide information about the campaign.
"The result is that we have received contributions from all States, and the sums have ranged from US$10 to US$5,000," said Mr. Pareja.
"Undoubtedly, we have achieved substantial participation of our community and of many Americans interested in helping the victims, through a secure, transparent mechanism," he added.
In effect, each donor received a certificate of their donation through a letter signed by the diplomat. The collected amounts were daily published on the website and the various digital tools of the Embassy. Thus, donors were fully aware of the campaign's evolution and the exact destination of their contributions.
Indeci is the Peruvian state body responsible for coordinating, facilitating and supervising the formulation and implementation of the National Disaster Risk Management Plan, during the preparation, response and rehabilitation processes.