Located along South America’s central-western coast, Peru includes arid Pacific coastlands, spectacular mountain ranges and vast Amazon rainforest. This land has been home to indigenous peoples for thousands of years, including the Inca Empire, which constructed Peru’s most iconic landmark, Machu Picchu.
Sponsors positively impact the lives of the children they sponsor through the knowledge that someone cares about their well-being. This gives children in need hope, which is powerful.
Peru’s rich culture, breathtaking beauty and wealth of natural resources, however, belie the abject poverty in which many of its residents live. Many rural areas are still recovering from the Sendero Luminoso terrorist attacks of the 1990s, which claimed countless lives and caused thousands of families who had relied upon agriculture for generations to seek shelter in large cities. Unfortunately, these migrants to urban areas encountered an even deeper level of poverty there. While Peru as a whole suffers from high unemployment, hyperinflation and all the difficulties that poverty entails such as disease, malnutrition and crime, these maladies are most pronounced in its overcrowded urban areas.
Facts about Peru
– The capital is Lima
– Peru is the third-largest country in South America
– Population: 30,444,999
– Major languages: Spanish, Quechua, Aymara, Ashaninka
– Roasted guinea pig, called Cuy, is the national dish of Peru
– Three-quarters of the world’s alpaca population lives in Peru
– There are over 3000 types of potatoes grown in the country
– Machu Picchu is one of the seven wonders of the world
– The largest flying bird on Earth is in Peru, The Giant Andean Condor
Facts about poverty in Peru
– The poverty rate in Peru is 25.8%
– 6.9 million Peruvians live in poverty
– Per capita income in Peru is $3,500 a year
– About 60 percent of Peruvians earn less than $190 a month
– Because of the rampant poverty, Lima has a large number of illegal shantytowns, where residents live without running water or electricity
– About 34% of children in Peru work to help their families
– Because many families live in rural regions, the Peruvian government finds it difficult to provide healthcare for children
Where we work
In Peru, we affiliate with three projects in and around Lima, the Chacarilla School in the impoverished Chacarilla neighborhood to the south of the city, the Puente Piedra Girls Home in the Puente Piedra districted to the north of Lima, and the Villa School, which is also located in the Puente Piedra area.
How you can help in Peru
You can help a child living in poverty in Peru in a few different ways. One way is through our child sponsorship program. Sponsorship provides an underprivileged child with basic and education-related necessities such as food, clothing, healthcare, school supplies and school tuition payments.
This vital support allows impoverished, vulnerable children to develop to their full potential — physically, emotionally and socially. Sponsors positively impact the lives of the children they sponsor through the knowledge that someone cares about their well-being. This gives children in need hope, which is powerful.
Sponsorship provides an underprivileged child with basic and education-related necessities such as food, clothing, healthcare, school supplies and school tuition payments.
Thanks to donations to our Hope In Action Fund and our International Feeding Program, we have been able to further support our projects in Peru beyond sponsorship.
Our policy has always been to consider the needs of each sponsored child on an individual basis. We work closely with our volunteer coordinators at our project sites in Peru, who are familiar with each individual circumstance and the needs of every child in their care. Sponsorship donations are sent to our projects — orphanages, homes, community centers and schools — at the beginning of each month in the form of subsidy stipends. Our on-site volunteer coordinators use those funds to purchase items for children in our program, to ensure that they have what they need to do their very best and succeed in school.
You can also help children in Peru by donating to one of our special funds. Our special funds offer a variety of giving options for sponsors who wish to further their support, as well as for donors who wish to make a difference without making a commitment. Thanks to donations to our Hope In Action Fund and our International Feeding Program, we have been able to further support our projects in Peru beyond sponsorship.
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