Last night Buckner Peru celebrated its 10th anniversary with a gran fete at one of Lima's hottest special event venues overlooking the Pacific coast. 

It was a cause for celebration. Since its inception, said Buckner Peru Executive Director Claudia Leon de Vergara, Buckner Peru has "grown from a small NGO providing mission trips and humanitarian aid to a full-service 35-member staff that piloted national foster care, planted two Buckner Family Hope Centers serving more than 200 families per year, and established transitional homes that have seen 27 girls graduate and become professionals. We have all answered a call."

Among the guests at the celebration — hosted by television journalist Maria Teresa Braschi — were a former Peruvian vice president, several high-ranking government foster and child care officials, the counselor to the Peruvian ambassador from Japan and Buckner President Albert Reyes, who spoke passionately about how the work started by R.C. Buckner in 1879 has grown to include other countries like Peru. 

To see his remarks, click here for the English version and here for the Spanish version.