In July 2006, my husband and I traveled with six other hikers to Peru.

The main focus of our trip was to participate in two different treks. First would be a five-day trek in the Cordillera Blanca region of the Peruvian Andes. The second would be a four-day trek from Cuzco to Machu Picchu on the famed Inca Trail.

During our trek in the Blanca, we met and got to know a 16-year-old Peruvian boy named Jose Alejo Mendez. He was invited to come along and help on our trek by our leader, Anne Thompson, a trek leader from Peruvian Andes Adventures Company.

Jose struck us as an extraordinary young man. At the end of the trek, we all wanted to adopt him and bring him home with us.

He was there to help each of us with anything we needed. He helped the cook fix our meals, he led the two horses (for emergency evacuations), and he was just an outstanding helper along the trail. He is kind, thoughtful and intelligent beyond his years.

Jose comes from an extremely poor family of 11 children who live in the town of Huaraz, Peru.

The past two to three years, Jose has been living with (and taking care of 24/7) a gentleman who is blind. This arrangement was made so that Jose could attend high school in Huaraz. The town where his family used to live had no high school.

In December 2007, at age 18, Jose graduated from high school with ambition to continue his education. However, there is no money in his family for him to do this.

We heard of his plight and decided to try to raise at least $1,000 so he could attend the police college he wanted.

With generous donations from former trekkers, the Federal Way Lions Club and its individual members, folks from the Federal Way community and two people in Huaraz, we were able to raise $1,900 for Jose’s continuing education. The U.S. dollar goes a long way in Peru.

This July, my daughter, Jill, and I made another trip to Peru to participate in a nine-day trek of the Cordillera Huayhuash region of the Peruvian Andes.

Before the trek, our leader, Anne, called Jose and his mother to come to the guesthouse where we were staying so we could present him with the money. He didn’t know anything about it before he and his mother got there.

When it was explained to him, he and his mother were almost speechless. All they could say was “Gracias, gracias, gracias!” — plus giving us lots of hugs. Our trek leader said when Jose left that evening, “he had a smile as big as a house.”

Footnote: The money raised for Jose will be in the hands of two trusted administrators and the disbursement of the funds will be decided upon by these administrators plus our trek leader, Anne.

Footnote: In June, Jose’s father passed away, leaving his mother, younger sister and other small children without money. Now we feel that this chance for Jose’s education is even more necessary.

Our trek leader, Anne, will keep us informed as to Jose’s educational progress.

Thanks to the generosity of many people in our community, a very kind, intelligent and deserving young man has an opportunity to fulfill his dream of attending college.

Federal Way resident Nancy Rathe: bnrathe@comcast.net.