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Lake Titicaca is the largest lake in South America by volume and surface area, straddling the border between Peru and Bolivia high in the Andes Mountains. Sitting at over 3,800 meters (12,500 feet) above sea level, it is often considered the highest navigable lake in the world. The lake is steeped in Andean mythology and is believed by the Inca to be the birthplace of their civilization. Its deep blue waters are dotted with islands, including the famous Uros floating islands made of totora reeds, and Taquile and Amantaní islands, where indigenous communities maintain traditional ways of life, offering visitors a glimpse into pre-Columbian culture.
Family Project Peru 2026
Overview
Maranatha offers at least two family projects each year that provide service opportunities for every member of your family, both young and old. In 2026, spend part of your summer break in Peru!
Maranatha has selected Juliaca as the place for the June 18-28, 2026 Family Project. Peru has a great variety of ecological systems, from the Pacific Ocean coastline to the Andes Mountains. Peru also has desert and jungle regions, with the world’s largest river—the Amazon, which starts in Peru and flows through Brazil before emptying into the Atlantic Ocean.
The Adventist Church has a university in Juliaca, Peru, called Universidad Peruana Union (UPeU). The largest university in the area (25,000 students) closed, and enrollment at UPeU has jumped from 4,000 to 7,000, with about 25% being Adventists. This surge has also increased enrollment at Colegio Adventista del Titicaca (CAT), the university’s academy, primary school, and preschool on one side of the campus. Enrollment in preschool through academy stands at 1,200, with a waiting list that continues to grow. Like UPeU, about 25% of the students at CAT are Adventists. We will add four more classrooms for the academy (“colegio” in Spanish). Maranatha constructed a large EEC (Education and Evangelism Center) on campus in the early 2000s. It now houses just the first and second grades.
ScopeSchool Construction
Volunteers will lay block walls for the four new classrooms for the secondary school portion of CAT. The classrooms will be in a single long building with block walls separating one classroom from the next. While the university is built into the slope of a mountain, the academy is on a flat area. Maranatha’s shop is just a short distance from our construction site on the UPeU campus. We will eat our lunches at the university’s cafeteria, which is very close to the construction site.
Children’s Ministry
Children’s Ministries will be divided between mornings at the Adventist school (CAT) and afternoons at various nearby small churches the university has helped to plant. The school involvement will be in English classes and play times/recess, grades preschool through academy. Preschool includes children ages 3, 4, and 5. The primary school has six grades, and the secondary school has five grades.
Medical and Dental Clinics
The four congregations we will meet with on our first Sabbath in Juliaca all requested a medical-dental clinic as part of their outreach to their communities. We plan to hold these clinics at the existing small churches for two days at two of the four churches, and for one day each at the other two.
Day Camp For Our Volunteers Ages 12 and Younger
Maranatha’s Family Projects are designed to be family-friendly and accommodate volunteers of any age. One unique feature of a Family Project is a “Day Camp” for children ages 12 and under. Children under five must have a parent with them at all times. Parents with kids ages 5-12 have three options and can change their minds day to day.
- Have your child join the Day Camp and stay to help with the activities of the day.
- Drop your child off at the Day Camp for the day while you join other areas of the project.
- Keep your child with you on your work crew throughout the day.
Leaders
Steve Case,
Project Coordinator
Steve Case,Project Coordinator
