Asociación Civil Esperanza (ACIES) works in two locations in the province of Cajamarca: the rural village of Pomabamba and a marginal urban neighbourhood called Quiritimayo.
In Pomabamba, Heart-Links’ donors fund a project with 13 Indigenous women from the community who meet together weekly to share experiences, learn from each other and offer mutual support. They are also developing and applying their skills as knitters to produce crafts to supplement their incomes.
The women recently signed a contract to sell the nativity figures they knit in Germany.
ACIES works with children in both Pomabamba and Quiritimayo, providing afterschool activities that support learning which incorporates Indigenous and community knowledge and values. Using recycled materials, the children made books on different themes to learn about themselves and the world around them: myself, my family, my community, my animals, health and nutrition, and my school.
In this video, some of the children show their books:
