Twenty-five years ago, Miguel Rodriguez began an orphanage by taking in 4 children from the streets of Lima. Four turned into ten and soon became many more. As of 2010, he now houses over 860 children in a community called Hogar de La Sagrada Familia settled amongst the shantytowns outside of Lima, the capital of Peru. In his orphanage, Miguel takes in children who show up on his doorstep, and he now loves, feeds, and cares for his many hundreds of children.

"Joy is the best word I can use to describe the experience of seeing the children discover a new artistic medium and flourish creatively."

ALEGRIA was founded by Shay Grabowski, an artist and designer in New York City. She became passionate about the Andes after traveling in Ecuador in 2004, and first met the orphanage community of La Sagrada Familia in Peru a few years later. When she first taught art with these children in the orphanage in Callao, she was profoundly impacted by their artistic talent and their enduring spirits, despite how much trauma they have experienced in their short lives. ALEGRIA was birthed out of her experience of creating art with these talented children.

ALEGRIA is a dialogue between the New York City creative community and the Lima creative community, invested in empowering children living in orphanages through creativity and creative resources. We are committed to leveraging our resources to meet their ongoing creative needs, acting as a catalyst for long-term, creative endeavors.

CREATIVITY ALLOWS CHILDREN TO RE-IMAGINE WHAT'S POSSIBLE.