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Day 23

A warm meal for a street child in Peru

Go to sleep without being hungry! Go to sleep without being hungry!

A warm meal for a street child in Peru
Day 23
Street children in Peru

"You are not really poor when you have no money, but when you have lost hope for your future." This is now the motto of ten-year-old Carlos. At the age of 7, he left his family for fear of being beaten by his brutal father and spent his days and nights in the city center of Lima. Constantly afraid of being attacked and abused, hungry and freezing, he numbed himself with inhalant glue and alcohol. He begged and stole, washed the windows of stopped cars at crossroads or helped as a porter to earn a little money to eat. At some point, a street worker from Generación met him and invited him to come to the house in San Bartolo, in the south of Lima. At first hesitantly, but then with growing confidence, he accepted the help. He now has new prospects in life.

Street children in Peru
need
Nutrition and education for children and young people living on the streets in Lima, Peru.
activity
The NGO buys food for the street children's meals. They live in the facility, receive care and can go to school. Sports and creative activities are offered.
Measurable performance
Number of street children who were able to receive a warm meal
Result
Measurable decline in drug-addicted children
Systemically relevant impact
Peruvian society is more concerned with the problem of street children and there is greater support for them.
background

In Peru, out of a total population of 30,000,000 people, around two million live in extreme poverty, meaning they earn less than US$1.25 a day (UNICEF, 2011). Children are particularly affected. A third of the population is under 18 years old and one in three children has to work to help their family survive. They are often exploited as cheap labor (UNICEF, 2013). Others estimate that one in two children works (Save the Children, Peru, 2013).
The Shining Path civil war of 1980-2000 left many children orphaned and there was an explosion in the number of abandoned children living on the streets (CVR, 2009).
This has led to many people getting used to this and no longer being aware of their living situation. Because they are a nuisance to the cityscape, they are treated badly and often chased away. The Peruvian state cares little about the fate of street children. The neoliberal economic model of the last few decades has continued to widen the gap between rich and poor. Poverty and violence in many families drives children onto the streets in the hope of a better life.
Here they are constantly being attacked and expelled, do not go to school and try to "get by" somehow. To numb themselves, they often sniff glue, turn to even harder drugs or alcohol. They find themselves in a vicious circle and their lives are practically without prospects.

San Bartolo, Lima, Peru
Day 23 Day 23
The good deed

The Generación project uses an open street work concept to reach out to children and young people living on the street. A hot meal a day is a good way to start. The children receive accommodation, food and care in the shelter in San Bartolo and can attend school, complete school qualifications and learn easy jobs so that they can earn their own living. Sometimes they receive a small loan to set up their own business. Through political work, Generación tries to get the Peruvian state to accept its responsibility towards children and young people. Generación also supports the movement of working children who are fighting for their rights so as not to become victims of exploitation.

AboutPeru
Lima
Lima
Capital city
30814175
30814175
Population
$6,659.81
$6,659.81
Gross domestic product per capita per year
77
77
Human Development Index (Human Development Index)

A quarter of Peru's glaciers have already melted since 1970. Peru is the leading producer of zinc, tin, bismuth, lead and gold in Latin America, and the world leader in silver mining.
About the organization and further information

organization

World House eV

DZI, Venro Code of Conduct, Transparent Civil Society Initiative

Further links