Las Pioneras: with pioneering spirit to more independence

Our partner organisation IDEMNNA (Instituto de Desarrollo „Maria Elena Moyano“) works with women and their children in an outer district of Lima. The aim of the project is to improve family life, to support the women in their personal development and their independence and to strengthen the solidarity in the neighbourhood. The women who are supported by IDEMNNA have founded a group and have assumed the name “Las Pioneras”. In this group they can exchange ideas and support each other with regard to educational problems and experiences of violence. They share knowledge in the fields of nutrition and handicraft skills, develop business ideas and receive small loans for the realisation of their projects as start-up aid and to achieve financial independence.

Group photo Pioneras, With pioneering spirit to more independence

Las Pioneras: with pioneering spirit to more independence

Our partner organisation I DEMNNA (Instituto de Desarrollo „Maria Elena Moyano“) works with women and their children in an outer district of Lima. The aim of the project is to improve family life, to support the women in their personal development and their independence and to strengthen the solidarity in the neighbourhood. The women who are supported by IDEMNNA have founded a group and have assumed the name “Las Pioneras”. In this group they can exchange ideas and support each other with regard to educational problems and experiences of violence. They share knowledge in the fields of nutrition and handicraft skills, develop business ideas and receive small loans for the realisation of their projects as start-up aid and to achieve financial independence.

Photo report form the project in Peru

Due to the massive immigration of people from all parts of Peru and other countries (e.g. Venezuela), numerous new neighbourhoods have grown up around Lima in recent decades. IDEMNNA works in two communities in Jicamarca, which are located in the eastern metropolitan area of Lima. Living conditions here are extremely precarious: basic services – water, sewage, electricity, green spaces – are lacking. Violence, alcohol, drugs and the land trade cause massive problems. Most families live in poverty. Many women are single parents and have experienced psychological or physical violence.

Pionera Alicia with her husband in front of their wooden house in Jicamarca

Alicia lives with her husband and two children high up in the hills in Jicamarca in a house made of wood. Her husband works in the waste collection and is very responsible. Alicia emphasizes that they are a good team and that he supports her in her activities. Thanks to Alicia’s additional income from buying and selling household products and a small loan, she has been able to gradually set up her own home for herself and her family.

Most of the women IDEMNNA works with are in the informal sector. Carmen, the coordinator of the organisation, is regularly out and about in the neighbourhood, where she seeks contact with the women and makes them aware of IDEMNNA’s work.

Business ideas are developed and realised together with the project coordinators

The close and personal accompanying of the women is one of the great strengths of IDEMNNA. In this way, those responsible learn about the women’s needs. Business ideas are developed and realised together. The photo shows Julio, the second IDEMNNA staff member, with two women from the project.

IDEMNNA organises exchange meetings with institutions

IDEMNNA is increasingly seeking contact with other institutions in order to expand the range of services offered to the women of Jicamarca. Thanks to this cooperation, the women gain access to psychosocial support, legal counselling and much more.

Meeting of the Pioneras in their centre, election of the Board of Directors pending

Before Alicia (right with the microphone) joined the Pioneras, she was shy and could never have imagined speaking in front of people. Today, she confidently leads the meeting of the Pioneras and the election of the new board.

Democratic election of the Executive Board

The election of the board is an open and democratic process. The women discuss in groups and can present themselves as candidates. The Pioneras carry out this process very participatively and independently, without intervention from IDEMNNA. This shows how much the women identify with the group of the Pioneras.

The newly elected board of the Pioneras proudly presents itself. It consists of six women, three from each of the two communities Belén and Villa El Sol.

The children of the Pioneras have their own group: the Pioneritos

The children of the Pioneras have their own group, which is called the Pioneritos. In this group, they cultivate friendships, do homework, play games, organise themselves and implement ideas according to the principle of «learning by doing».

Two Pioneritos run small copy centre independently

Two Pioneritos run a small copy centre where they have a printer connected to a prepaid tablet. Here, copies and printouts can be made for a fee. The two Pioneritos keep accounts of all sales and purchases.

Individual women from the group of the Pioneras conduct workshops in which the other women can participate. The tailoring workshop is led by Eulalia, who has been running a sewing studio for several years.

The women now rent a stand at the local market and sell products they have sewn themselves

For a few months now, three women have been renting a stall together at the local market. Here they sell their self-sewn products (blankets, cushion covers and bags) and offer repair and modification services. Eulalia provides her own sewing machines for this purpose. She has long dreamed of running a shop at the market.

Keimy, Pionera from the very beginning, is working on setting up her own sewing studio in the courtyard of her house

Keimy is a Pionera of the first hour. In the group, she has learned to gradually free herself from her husband’s control. Thanks to her work in the tailoring studio, she has been able to earn a small but independent income. This has also strengthened her self-confidence in the long term. She is now working on setting up her own sewing studio in the courtyard of her house.

The Comedor in Belén is a building owned by the municipality and rented by the Pioneras. Here they run a lunch table where they offer healthy and nutritious meals. The Pioneras have undergone further training in the field of nutrition and are now counteracting malnutrition by means of this offer.

The Pioneras and their children pay a low price for the food, and the offer is also open to outsiders at a slightly higher price. Children with anaemia from particularly poor families receive lunch free of charge. The women keep accurate records of the Comedor’s income and expenses, thus learning a new skill, namely bookkeeping.

Group photo of Pioneras with their children and the two IDEMNNA project coordinators

The Pioneras’ place is a small oasis in the desolate surroundings of Jicamarca. The resilience and motivation of the women, their many ideas with which they want to improve their lives and those of their children, inspire and drive Carmen and Julio to stand up for them and to keep developing new strategies for IDEMNNA.

Indigenous Youth Living in Two Worlds

Our partner organisation FENAMAD supports indigenous students in the Peruvian Amazon who have to move to the city for their studies.

Indigenous Youth Living in Two Worlds

Our partner organisation FENAMAD (Federación Nativa del Río Madre de Dios y Afluentes) supports indigenous students in the Peruvian Amazon who have to move to the city for their studies. The organisation also supports secondary school students. Higher education provides a great opportunity for the young people themselves as well as for the indigenous communities. That is why FENAMAD works at various interfaces and supports the young people and children in accessing education and in acquiring further social and intercultural skills.

Photo report from the project in Peru

More and more indigenous young people are moving to the city to study. However, it is a big challenge for them in many ways. They often have very limited financial resources, which means that they cannot afford stable housing and healthy food. And often there is no adequate care available to them. In addition, they repeatedly encounter discrimination.

JJosé Antonio Dumas and Katya Mallea from FENAMAD coordinate and manage the education project in Puerto Maldonado and Pilcopata. FENAMAD supports the indigenous students in their balancing act between living in their community and studying in the city. For the time of their studies, the students can live in the “Casa Miraflores”, a residence which is provided by FENAMAD and which offers the young people a safe space where they can live and study. In addition, they receive individual support from Katya Mallea (r.), a psychological specialist, who helps them develop their self-confidence and plan their future. Personal tutoring and artistic workshops are also available to them.

Half an hour’s boat ride from Puerto Maldonado is a community garden, which is looked after and maintained by the young people under the supervision of a former student and graduate farmer. The route across the water is normal in the Peruvian Amazon, often even the only possibility to reach certain spots. Depending on the water level and the weather, they visit the garden twice a week in small groups.

After the boat ride, the trail leads through the rainforest for half an hour.

Once in the garden, they immediately get to work. Many young people used to help with gardening in their village communities when they were young and therefore know their way around.. The picture shows them gathering turmeric, which they use in the kitchen. Through gardening the young people learn to take responsibility for their own existence among other things.

They also grow plantains, which are an important ingredient of the Peruvian cuisine, especially in the Amazon lowlands. The yields from the community garden provide a balanced diet for the students. It also provides them with an occupation close to nature and their culture and is an important counterbalance to life in the city.

The education project would not be possible without close cooperation with the village communities. Therefore, FENAMAD regularly visits the communities to identify their problems and needs and to look for solutions together with them. For these visits, the path often leads across water as well.

On our last visit we went with FENAMAD to Puerto Luz, where an extensive meeting with the whole village community took place. We exchanged ideas about the young people’s studies and their lives in the city, far away from their families. Studying in the city is also a political issue for the whole community and a beneficial result for the community is expected. This meeting clearly showed how important FENAMAD’s support services in Puerto Maldonado are for these young indigenous students, a fact which was also confirmed in the various conversations with the parents and the teachers of the secondary school.

During the visits to the village communities FENAMAD talks to the young people and their parents. In these conversations, questions and problems, but also expectations and wishes are discussed. In this way mutual trust has developed in the last few years and the project has become well established in the indigenous communities.

Some students come from communities that can be reached in five hours, but in other cases, the journey takes several days. Depending on the water level of the river, it can happen that the students are not able to visit their families for several months. In addition, transport is very expensive.

FENAMAD now also supports secondary school students in Huacaria, a community where Machigenkas, Wachiperis and Quechuas live together. There is no secondary school in Huacaria itself. The nearest one is in Pilcopata – too far away for the young people from Huacaria to attend school regularly and without problems.

That is one of the reasons why many indigenous young people from Huacaria do not get beyond primary education. The municipality, together with FENAMAD, is therefore looking for a way to stop these frequent cases of dropping out.

The solution is a residential house in Pilcopata for the students from Huacaria but also for those from even remoter communities. EcoSolidar has financed the construction of this house, consisting of bedrooms, toilets and showers, a kitchen and a “maloka” (community house) in the middle.The “maloka” was built by the parents and their children in community work. Thus the involved parties intend to counteract the fact that many children drop out of school, either because the ways to school are too long or because the families are too poor. Now the young people can live in Pilcopata during the week, where the secondary school is also located, and return to their communities at the weekend. The community is prepared to organise the supervision and preparation of meals for the young people and FENAMAD is providing a tutor for school supervision.

In Amalia, a very small community, there is a primary school that was built by the community itself. This primary school is currently attended by 12 children. These children should later have the opportunity to attend secondary school. FENAMAD assists the community as an advisory and mediating counterpart.

Amalia can only be reached by boat or by walking through the rainforest for several hours. FENAMAD works with full dedication; in cooperation with the communities and the students, they are able to take a holistic approach.

Bilingual Radio

Bilingual Radio

In Cusco, Peru, indigenous children produce bilingual and intercultural radio programmes at school. They are thus actively involved in the teaching process, which strengthens their self-confidence, consolidates their knowledge of their mother tongue and makes them deal with their cultural origins. The radio programmes are broadcast through regional radio stations and make the voices of the children and the indigenous communities heard in the media. At the same time, they serve as intercultural teaching material since the children listen to and discuss the radio programmes of other schools. The Pukllasunchis radio project makes an important contribution to cultural equality in school education.

Photo report about the project in Peru

At a school in Chillihuani, a class is recording a radio programme. The children often present the stories they are telling as plays with costumes and props. This recording is about a traditional ritual of the indigenous sheep farmers.

The participation in these programmes strengthens the children both as a group and as well as individuals. Besides taking responsibility for the joint radio programme and consolidating their knowledge of their mother tongue, they also have a lot of fun.

The teacher is enthusiastic about the radio project and enjoys supporting her pupils. She has attended a further training course at Pukllasunchis and has got to know new teaching methods: her lessons are now participative, she uses visual learning aids, the classroom is colourful and there is a pleasant learning atmosphere.

Ermelinda goes to this school and she really likes recording the radio programmes. The class develops the programme as a co-production: they decide on the topic, think about the sequence and distribute the roles. Every child has a say and can contribute something.

Henry goes to a rural school in Ccoñamuro. He and his classmates regularly produce radio programmes. Here, Henry is talking about his everyday life and the traditional ceremonies he performs together with his family. The radio programmes are listened to by other classes and the content is discussed.

The school Henry attends is very small and most of the children speak Quechua. Their mothers take turns preparing the lunch, which the children then eat together.

At home, Henry has to look after the guinea pigs.

Like many other people in the community, his family breeds and sells guinea pigs (cuy), which are a popular food in Peru. In addition, most families own a piece of land and some cows.

Constantino at work at the Ausangate radio station. It is located in Quispicanchi in the Cusco region and is one of the places where the radio programmes are broadcast from.

They reach many indigenous families in the country and in the city. The broadcasts have a high value because they bring information about other regions and strengthen the sense of community.

In a training session for teachers at Pukllasunchis, Yovana Huanca Huallparimachi is presenting the many facets of the radio project in the classroom. The teachers learn a lot about bilingual and bicultural education that they can put into practice afterwards. They find it motivating to see considerable changes in the students, who become more self-confident and participate more actively in class after working on the radio project.

At school events the students present their various projects to proud parents and other interested parties.

In Chillihuani, these include, for example, designing maps of the surrounding area with the important natural resources, making presentations of the history and culture of the region and, of course, producing the said radio programmes.

Since the beginning of the Corona crisis, schools in Peru have been closed. Especially for indigenous families in the country, it is impossible to ensure digital access to schooling for their children. They lack electronic devices and access to the internet. Pukllasunchis has worked with teachers to develop teaching materials for online distance learning and school lessons for radio. Children with access to mobile phones and the internet have been able to contribute to these lessons. They have sent video and audio recordings of the school topics to Pukllasunchis, which has then made them available to other students via the internet and radio. In this way, the organization has reached many children in rural areas who otherwise would have had no access to education during this time. Additional radio programmes have served to give information about Corona by means of the character of Capitán Jabón (Captain Soap) (https://redsisicha.home.blog).

Las Pioneras for a better life

Thousands of people from all parts of Peru move to the capital city in the hope of a better life. Due to the massive immigration and the uncontrolled settlement construction a second city has emerged around Lima in recent decades. Our partner organisation IDEMNNA (Instituto de Desarrollo “Maria Elena Moyano”) works in the community of Villa El Sol in Jicamarca where living conditions are extremely precarious: There is no basic supply of water and electricity. Violence, alcohol, drugs and the land trade cause massive problems. Most families live in extreme poverty. IDEMNNA works together with the

“LAS PIONERAS” FOR A BETTER LIFE

Our partner organisation IDEMNNA (Instituto de Desarrollo “Maria Elena Moyano”) works in the community of Villa El Sol in Jicamarca where living conditions are extremely precarious: There is no basic supply of water and electricity. Violence, alcohol, drugs and the land trade cause massive problems. Most families live in extreme poverty. IDEMNNA works together with the women and their children in this project. The aim is to improve family life, to support the women in their personal development and independence and to strengthen solidarity in the community.

Photos EcoSolidar

Photoreport about the project in Peru

The environment in Jicamarca is barren and stony, there is hardly any green and the area looks hostile to life. People build their little houses on the hills and most of them secure their livelihood from day to day with casual work. There is no running water; people have to order water and pay on delivery. In the current corona crisis, the inhabitants of this area are facing even more difficult problems. IDEMNNA is therefore supporting them with information about corona and sanitary precautions.

Virginia Rivera Aquino (in the middle) is one of the women in the project. Tabita Lozano (right) and Carmen Velásquez (left) are the founders of IDEMNNA. These two women started the project in Jicamarca, a suburb of Lima, two years ago and invested their own savings. They are employed 50% each and take turns working with the local women. They accompany the women very closely and they put their heart and soul into this work.

At the centre of the work of IDEMNNA is a group of women. They meet regularly and talk about their experience with violence, difficulties in raising their children and other problems of everyday life. Most of them left their homes at a very young age and have experienced many disappointments. They had their children very early, are often single parents and can hardly cope with their situations. The meetings in the group are very important for the women; they exchange knowledge and develop strategies for survival and help each other solve their problems. At the same time the women are supported by IDEMNNA in their financial independence through the development of their own business ideas and with small loans as start-up aid.

The solidarity in the group means that they no longer put up with everything. They learn how they can support themselves and each other with their actions and resources. The group is a source of strength and growing self-confidence for them; so much so that they have given themselves the name “Las Pioneras”.

When Virginia moved to Jicamarca with her four sons two years ago, she had nothing. She took up any job she could get to earn some money. Eventually she started a plastic recycling business: She buys plastic and cleans it at home. She separates it from staples and cardboard and then resells it.

IDEMNNA supports women in the development and implementation of business ideas and gives them a start-up loan. The necessary purchases are made together with the women. Virginia used her loan to buy a larger stock of plastic and expand her business. Today she earns around 300 USD per month and is even thinking of employing another woman.

The women’s businesses usually start with an idea which they discuss with Tabita and Carmen and in the group. They also discuss positive and negative experiences. In the end the women create a business plan. Afterwards they receive a small start-up loan to make the necessary purchases for the implementation of their business ideas.

Virginia is a role model for the others, especially because of her successful business model. The women meet regularly in small groups and exchange views about work and family life. An important subject is the violence many of them have experienced in their lives. In the group they support each other and learn to defend themselves against violence and to live a non-violent life with their children.

Virginia lives together with three of her sons. The elder two work in a factory and contribute to the livelihood of the family. The youngest son still goes to school and after school he helps with the separation of the plastic. Virginia has experienced a lot of exploitation in her life and is very proud of owning her own business now and of having become more confident and less dependent on others.

Eulalia lives with her three sons and her husband. Living together is extremely difficult and often unbearable for her. In the women’s group Eulalia finds support and advice on how to deal with her situation. The situation has fortunately started to improve and Eulalia has found some hope.

Eulalia has invested her start-up loan into sewing machines, fabric and thread to expand her sewing business. She repairs clothes for customers. Her goal is to produce her own clothes, first on order and later independently for the market.

Eulalia has a small garden on the outside wall of her house where she grows tomatoes, herbs and lettuce. This is not easy, because water is a rare commodity in Jicamarca which has to be ordered and filled into water tanks for a fee. This quantity of water must suffice for everything, for drinking, cooking, washing and also for the garden.

Tabita and Carmen visit the women regularly at their homes and talk to them about their personal problems. Most of the women are single parents and their everyday life is strongly marked by the difficulties in raising their children single-handedly. Therefore, IDEMNNA also involves the children themselves in the work with the women.

Herlinda grates ice, mixes it with fruit syrup and sells it in the street. With IDEMNNA’s business start-up loan she bought a machine for crushing ice. She also sells honey and Algarrobina (carob), which she gets from her family in northern Peru.

The women meet with the children at Herlinda’s and enjoy the fruit ice she has made. Up to now they have met at different women’s homes. IDEMNNA has recently been able to rent a piece of land, on which a small meeting place is now being built for the women’s group.

Two of Erlinda’s four sons are just entering puberty. She is a single mother and often unable to cope with the problems in the family. In the women’s group she gains strength and courage and is able to share her concerns. At the same time the women also experience happy and funny moments together. They can be sure of the support of the others.

The involvement of the children in the project is of great importance. Tabita and Carmen have many years of experience in working with children in need. They know that the role of the mothers is crucial. Through the mothers the family life and the relationship between parents and their children can be influenced.

Indigenous youth between the Amazon and the city

More and more young people from indigenous village communities in the Peruvian Amazon region are moving to Puerto Maldonado to study. When they arrive in the city, many of them face existential problems.

Our partner organisation FENAMAD (Federación Nativa del Río de Madre de Dios y afluentes) supports the young people in their everyday lives so that they can complete their studies. FENAMAD’s student accommodation, Casa Miraflores, offers students a sheltered space where they can live and learn. A psychologist takes care of the young people individually in order to support them in planning their future and to strengthen their self-confidence.

Fenamed – Jugendliche aus indigenen Dorfgemeinschaften

Indigenous youth between the Amazon and the city

Photos EcoSolidar

Photo report about the project in Peru

Maribel Meshi Shanocua comes from the indigenous community of the Ese Eja. She is 26 years old and has a five-year-old daughter who lives with the grandparents. She wants to give her daughter a better future and therefore studies nursing in Puerto Maldonado. In Casa Miraflores she has found a safe home for the period of her studies.

Indigene Kinder benachteiligt vom BIldungssystem

Maribel is on her way from Casa Miraflores to her school. The educational system in Peru puts indigenous children and young people at a disadvantage right from the start. At the public schools the Spanish language dominates and the quality of the schools depends on the economic situation of the parents, which is particularly weak in the indigenous population. In order to get a good education the young people have to leave their communities.

Maribel is studying nursing in order to find a job in the health sector.

Together with other indigenous young people she lives in Casa Miraflores, a student accommodation. The students do the housework together. In the kitchen they cook together, do the cleaning and talk about their day.

At home in the village: Maribel’s father is a fisherman and sells Brazil nuts he picks in the forest; her mother makes handicrafts and sells them in the city. The two have six more children. They are very happy when Maribel comes to visit them and tells them about her life in the city.

Asubildung Lehrperson für interkulturelle Bildung

Segundo Rogelio Zumaeta Saavedra comes from the indigenous community of the Yine. Because there are hardly any bilingual teachers in his community, he has decided to train as a teacher for intercultural education.

Indigene Dorfgemeinschaft – Kleinbäuerin

Segundo Rogelio with his mother. He is 24 years old and the youngest of 10 children. His mother is a smallholder and his father died when he was still very small.

The difference between life in the city and life in the village is very big. In the conversations with indigenous young people it becomes clear how difficult it is for them to leave their families and the communities and how much they miss their lives at home. Segundo Rogelio helps prepare “Masato”, the traditional maize drink, during a visit at home.

Many parents send their children to a university in Puerto Maldonado if at all possible. Often, however, they can hardly afford the costs for accommodation and food in the city. Segundo Rogelio works in a restaurant in the city to earn money for his studies.

Here Segundo Rogelio is seeking network connection for his phone. His village community is located far away from the city in the Amazon region.

The way home from the city is long and has to be covered by boat. Katya Mallea (front right), who takes care of the young people in Puerto Maldonado, sometimes accompanies them on their visits to their home villages.

Peru – Indigene Jugendliche Ausbildung in der Stadt

The balancing act the young people have to perform when they study in the city is great. It is not easy for them to find a new home in the city. At the same time they know that it is existential for their families and the whole community that they succeed in their endeavour. So there is a lot of pressure on the young people.

Katya Mallea from FENAMAD is a psychologist at Casa Miraflores who looks after the young people. She supports them in school-related questions and in finding their way around the city without losing their cultural identity.

Gruppenworkshops zur Förderung der Sozialkompetenz

As a psychologist, Katya Mallea looks after the young people individually in order to strengthen their self-confidence and organizes group workshops to promote social competence and personality development. The focus is also on living together as a community. This care work is existential.

Casa Miraflores – Wohnheim für Jugendliche

Casa Miraflores was renovated in 2017 with the support of EcoSolidar. The kitchen and the bedrooms were renovated and a fence was built around the property, as the house is located in a rather dangerous area of Puerto Maldonado. The young people move around carefully and are glad that the house was provided with new doors and locks for security reasons.

Miraflores – Wohnheim für Studenten Peru

The students do the household chores together. They cook, clean and maintain the garden around the house, where they plant vegetables and flowers.

Indigenous People raise their Voices

For centuries the indigenous people and their culture have been discriminated against in Peru. This suppression has lasted until today, above all in the educational system and in the media. This is where the radio project of Pukllasunchis comes in. Together with schools and women’s groups it produces bilingual radio programmes in Quechua and Spanish. By using the radio programmes in class children are taught in an interactive and creative way and induced to deal with the indigenous world view.

Indigenous People raise their Voices

Photos Christian Jaeggi

Photo report about the project in Peru

School in Tiracancha, Peru: José interviews Dania. Dania explains in Quechua the meaning of water in her everyday life, in her village and in the indigenous vision of the cosmos. The interview is later broadcasted on the radio.

Her classmates complement Dania’s story. They wear costumes to slip completely into their roles as frogs. The children choose the contents of their broadcasts themselves and implement their ideas in a very creative way.

Dania lives in Tiracancha, a little village in the Peruvian Andes. Mountains, rivers, corn and all of nature have a very important meaning here.

At home, Dania speaks Quechua with her parents and siblings.

At school, Dania and her classmates listen to bilingual programmes of other classes and regions. After the radio transmissions they discuss different aspects, themes and customs. The broadcasts are an important basis for the teachers to offer intercultural lessons.

Classes in Dania’s school were mainly held in Spanish up to now despite the fact that Dania and her classmates speak Quechua with each other and at home. Thanks to the radio project the teachers use both Quechua and Spanish in most of their lessons and integrate indigenous knowledge into their teaching.

Students and teachers present their broadcasts to the parents. The students regularly make interviews with members of the community while producing their radio broadcasts. Therefore the school is better taken note of by the parents and the community and plays a more important role. As a consequence the children’s school attendance has increased.

Victoria Hualla und Segundina Arroní are live on air today. Victoria Hualla has been educated as a radio speaker by Pukllasunchis. For her broadcasts Victoria Hualla involves the inhabitants of Santa Rosa. The broadcasts are in Quechua.

Victoria Hualla is part of a women’s group in Santa Rosa. In her broadcasts she gives an important voice to the women of Santa Rosa. This year the group has chosen to focus on the protection of the ecosystem of the Andes in their radio transmissions.

Victoria Hualla lives with her husband Alipio and their two children close to Santa Rosa. As a radio speaker Victoria is often out and about. Alipio is very proud of her job and her engagement in the women’s group.

Emiliano Ramos is telling a story from the Andes in the recording studio of Pukllasunchis. He is 76 years old.

Ysabel Palomino Gutiérrez, radio speaker and co-worker at Pukllasunchis advises Mr. Ramos how his story could sound better. Raul records the story and generally puts the final touches on the sound recordings of the children and the women’s groups.

The next radio programme is completed. Ysabel is handing over the recordings to the broadcast station Santa Monica in Cusco.

Local and regional radios broadcast the programmes of Pukllasunchis. Pukllasunchis has an agreement with different broadcast stations in the cities and in the country.

Alejandro Flores Guerra is the director of the broadcast station Nueva Vida de Tiracancha.

Pukllasunchis produces the programmes “Sisichakunaq Pukllaynin”, “The Antplay” for kids and Quiñi Quiñicha, “Hot and cold” for adults.

The programs of Pukllasunchis are very popular in the cities as well as in the country. At Ms. Marcelina Paukar Puna’s market stall in the centre of Cusco the programmes are broadcasted every day. The clients are enthusiastic about the programmes of Pukllasunchis.

The broadcasts also facilitate the work on the fields. Mr. Ipolito Huanaco can now listen to his favourite broadcasts in his mother tongue. In addition he appreciates the information about agriculture in the programmes of Pukllasunchis. He gets to know how farmers in other regions of the country cultivate their land.

The broadcasts of Pukllasunchis are also regularly listened to at work on the salt terraces. The radio still plays an important role in Peru. Especially in such remote areas it is the means of communication people use to keep informed.

Working children in Peru

Working children in Peru

In Peru one in four children under the age of 14 has to work in order to finance living and schooling. This work is often done under degrading conditions. Instead of closing their eyes to this reality, the Peruvian organisation IFEJANT supports working children in their self-organisation and in claiming their rights. The focus is on the decriminalisation of working children/child labor, the promotion of school education and the preservation and restoration of the dignity of children who have to work. IFEJANT supports up to 120 children in Lima, Sullana und Piura every year. José, Natalia and Christhian are three of them. We have accompanied them in their daily life together with the photographer Christian Jaeggi.

Photos Christian Jaeggi

Photo report about the project in Peru

WORKING CHILDREN IN PERU
Every day after school José sells ice cream on the market. Without this additional income his family wouldn’t be able to make ends meet and his regular school attendance would be at risk.

José isn’t the only one; (one child out of three) one child in four has to work in order to survive. Instead of closing their eyes to this reality, IFEJANT fights for better working conditions for these children.

In the case of José, clear working times and clear periods of leisure time were negotiated with the parents. José doesn’t have to work late at night anymore.

THE PROGRAMME OF IFEJANT
Twice a week Natalia and Christhian participate in the programme of IFEJANT after school. In the bakery they acquire practical knowledge and learn more about their rights. Thus they become capable of defending themselves against exploitation and can preserve their dignity in their working environment.

In the courses of IFEJANT the children learn more about their rights. They are empowered to resist exploitation and claim dignified working conditions.

The muffins are ready to be sold at the school kiosk and in the community. The earnings are given to the children and their families once a year. For many families this is an important additional income to finance school books, school uniforms and transport.

CHRISTHIAN LIVES IN PRECARIOUS CONDITIONS
Christhian is on his way to school. In Villa Maria del Triunfo (Lima) most roofs are made from asbestos, the paths are poorly maintained and most households lack electricity.

Christhian has to fetch water for his family every day. There are no water pipes.

Christhian’s father is a taxi driver. Christhian stays home by himself very often.

REGULAR SCHOOL ATTENDANCE AS A CONDITION FOR PARTICIPATING IN THE PROGRAMME
Twelve-year-old Natalia attends 6th grade. Regular school attendance is a requirement for being allowed to take part in the courses of IFEJANT and is the key to a successful future.

Natalia walks one hour every day to attend school and the courses of IFEJANT. In the evening the unlit path scares her.

Natalia’s home is located at a great distance from Villa Maria del Triunfo. There is no light or electricity here.

PROMOTING SELF-DETERMINATION AND CHILDREN’S RIGHTS
José knows how to hold his own ground in the adult world. A main aim of the IFEJANT project work is to empower children to achieve more self-determination and active participation.

Beside school and work, every child has the right to have some leisure time. IFEJANT negotiates these time slots with the children and the parents.