First Ladies See Humanitarian Efforts

During a visit to Salt Lake City, the first ladies of Peru and Paraguay saw firsthand how the Church’s humanitarian and welfare programs work.

Pilar Nores de García, first lady of Peru, and Maria Gloria Penayo de Duarte, first lady of Paraguay, visited Welfare Square and the Humanitarian Center in April to observe and to explain to Church officials their own efforts to help people in their respective countries.

The Peruvian first lady outlined to Church leaders and to faculty and students at Brigham Young University her humanitarian program, Sembrando, which assists the poor in Peru’s higher-elevation areas. While Mrs. García was in Utah, she learned that the Church would provide her country with 1,000 wheelchairs and 50 tons (45 tonnes) of Atmit—a food supplement that combats malnutrition and starvation.

Mrs. Duarte and representatives from Paraguay personally assembled 48 cases of hygiene kits. These kits are sent to disaster areas and contain items such as a toothbrush, toothpaste, soap, and a washcloth. Arrangements were also made for the Church to continue providing assistance and outreach through REPADEH (Paraguayan Network for Human Development), Mrs. Duarte’s foundation in Paraguay. Last year, in cooperation with the Church, this foundation distributed approximately 2,000 wheelchairs.

Maria Gloria Penayo de Duarte, first lady of Paraguay, meets Elder L. Tom Perry of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles.

Pilar Nores de García, first lady of Peru (seated at computer) and her daughter, Josefina García Nores (left of first lady), discover information about their ancestors at the Church’s Family History Library.