The pandemic has left communities in Peru struggling. Schools were closed for two years, family incomes plummeted, domestic violence increased, and diseases like dengue compounded the effects of COVID19. Now these communities are facing another crisis: food and fertilizer prices have skyrocketed.
In the Zaña Valley, our partner Latidos is working hard to help families get through this prolonged crisis. Latidos’ team of volunteers are:
- arranging monthly vaccination clinics, COVID19 monitoring, and primary health care in eight villages that have no health clinic
- providing schoolchildren, including children with learning disabilities, with afterschool educational support
- empowering rural women and teaching them how to grow and prepare nutritious food for their homes and the market
Through workshops on nutrition, vaccination campaigns, food aid for individuals with disabilities, health fairs, and workshops for rural women on how to grow healthy, organic food, Latidos will contribute to better health and food security in the valley.
On the educational front, Latidos will work with children in their community library, offer added reinforcement for children with learning disabilities, hold educational day camps in more rural areas, run fun online reading and writing contests (with prizes) that involve the whole family, work with teachers to improve their literacy teaching skills and hold books fairs.