Bob and Judyth Ullman live about two feet above Saratoga Passage in Langley, their neat cottage-style home alive with colors, the sort one might find in a travel poster of South America.

Simon and Candelaria Yanarico and their children live in a small, mud-spattered hut with an earthen floor in the high Altiplano region of Peru with no electricity, a place that will never appear on a travel poster. And though they also live near a body of water, Lake Titicaca, any similarity with the Ullmans ends there.

Though the Yanaricos are content, after a fashion, they know nothing will ever change in their world. They face a bleak future with equanimity but understand there is little hope for their four bright kids without the kindness of strangers.

The Ullmans have kindness to spare.

Judyth Ullman had been to South America in 1970 while pursuing a degree in Spanish literature. She was so moved by the poverty she found that she began a career as a social worker and, later, a naturopathic doctor.

“We returned this year and I fell in love with the continent all over again,” Ullman said.

It was pure serendipity that brought both families together last summer on Amantani Island, where the Yanaricos live.

After exploring the capital city of Lima, the couple traveled to Puno and spent a few nights in a hostel. There, they heard about the extraordinary friendliness to be found in a small village across the lake, the world’s highest navigable body of water.

Following a four-hour boat ride, the Ullmans and 13 others arrived at Amantani, a circular island located about four hours from Puno, considered rustic and unspoiled.

Barren and rocky, a handful of villages cling to the island’s two peaks, Pachata (Father Earth) and Pachamama (Mother Earth). About 800 families scratch out a meager existence from the land but have come to increasingly depend on tourists.

The village is called Comunidad Occosuyo.

“We gathered in the village square to be assigned to our family,” Judyth Ullman said.

“When we met Simon Yanarico we were immediately struck by his demeanor and how dignified he was,” she recalled.

Visitors pay $15 for the ride and one night in a village.

“Most of the money goes to the tour operator,” Bob Ullman noted. “We were told by Simon later that the income ‘allows us to just get by.'”

Guide books and Web sites tend to patronize indigenous Peruvians by reminding visitors to “…bring some gifts for your family on Amantani. The tour companies pay the families very little. Don’t be over generous either since they’ll expect it from all tourists.”

The Ullman’s were welcomed into their Peruvian family’s humble but full home.

Simon and his wife Candelaria have four children: Nely, 23, Lucrecia, 17, Esther, 9 and Jhon, 6.

Lunch was simple, mainly variations on dishes made from the mainstay diet of potatoes spiced with herbs. Communication was eased through Judyth Ullman’s Spanish ability.

“We were sitting at lunch and asking how life was,” she said. “Simon’s only real complaint was his sure knowledge that life would never change, that his children would never have opportunities for an education.”

Peru has a good school system, but only if one lives on the mainland. Yanarico explained his children were doomed to a primary education only.

The Ullmans wanted to know more. “What would you need to change that?” The couple asked.

Yanarico replied that a small house in Puno where his older college-age children could live and study was needed. The couple later learned that dream would cost $5,000.

Thinking about it, the Ullmans were worried that any action on their part would change the balance of the family’s lives, maybe for the worse. But the Yanarico offspring clearly were anxious to grow beyond their island boundaries — they just needed a chance.

“Our idea was simply to find a way to help one family at a time,” Bob Ullman said.

“For us, this is the start of a journey. We don’t know where it will lead, but we were very touched by their plight,” he said.

Back home, they began organizing a benefit, now scheduled for 6 p.m. on Saturday, Dec. 10 at Langley Methodist Church.

By accident — serendipity? — they met a Peruvian woman working at Trader Jo’s who offered to prepare an authentic three-course meal.

For a donation of $10 to $15, attendees will be treated to a silent auction featuring Peru’s signature colorful woven hats, scarves and purses. Andean music, a Machu Picchu slide show and a specialty drink made from blue corn will round out the festivities.

A few weeks after they returned, the Ullmans received a handwritten letter in Spanish from Simon Yanarico (see box below). In it, the family patriarch sends “warm greetings and ask for your support.”

For these two families bonding across the chasm of distance, language and culture, this could be a very happy holiday indeed.

For details, call the Ullmans at 221-7715. An RSVP will help the couple plan food requirements.

TEXT BOX: The letter from Simon Yanarico reads, “Esteemed friends, in this small letter I send you cordial greetings with much affection and respect to you who live in that beautiful land. We of our family, Simon, my wife Candelaria, and my children, Nely, Lucrecia, Esther, and Jhon, ask for your help to change our lives so that our children can study at the university. For this we need a small house in Puno, which would cost us much money. Forgive me a thousand times, ladies and gentlemen, for needing to ask for your help. Once more we send you warm greetings and ask for your support.”