Peru

Juniper Tree Children's Home, Pachacamac

The Lima Children’s Home began in December 1992 in the La Molina district to care for orphaned, abused and abandoned children. The Home officially moved to the district of Pachacamac, on the outskirts of Lima in March of 2010.

The new Juniper Tree Children’s Home in Pachacamac currently has about 30 children in five family homes where their physical, emotional, educational and spiritual needs can be met while preparing them to be strong Christians and upstanding citizens in their communities. Eventually six family homes will each house eight children and their house parents. Each home has its own kitchen, dining room, living room, and outside play area. The older boys and their house parents moved from Lima into the first family unit in Pachacamac in March of 2009 and were joined by the other children from the Lima Home a year later. The new space will allow us to begin rescuing additional children and bringing them into the home. The older boys will eventually move to their own property nearby when funds become available.

A number of our graduates, grateful for the opportunities they’ve been given, have a strong desire to work with children at risk in the future.

Manchay Oasis Care Center

The Manchay Oasis Center was started in 2003 to help the many desperately poor mothers who felt forced to abandon their children at the Lima Children’s Home. Manchay is a desert town of over 100,000 people on the outskirts of Lima where many live in one- or two-room shacks with dirt floors but without electricity or running water. The children there are mostly victims of extreme poverty, malnutrition and abuse combined with a lack of positive male role models.

There are almost 90 children registered at the Oasis Center.  Half of these come all day for our preschool program and receive two meals a day, Bible lessons and early childhood education. The others come either before or after school for our Homework Club and receive one meal, Bible lessons, help with homework and counselling. We also provide all the children with basic health care. In 2008 Kids Alive started a daily “Moms Helping Moms” program for 19 mothers, expanding the reach of our previous weekly program to mothers of children in our program. Practical work training, discipleship classes, parenting classes and vocational training (jewelry making, sewing, etc...) help these moms to have hope in Jesus Christ and a means to sustain their families.

Friends of Peru Children's Home

Nestled in the Andes mountains, Andahuaylas is one of the poorest cities in Peru.  Seventy percent of the population have no access to electricity, running water, or proper sanitation services.  Many children cannot attend school and illiteracy rates are high.  There are also high rates of infant and maternal mortality, malnutrition, disease, alcoholism and domestic abuse.  Even children in stable households often must fend for themselves as parents travel great distances to find work.

In 2009 the Friends of Peru Children’s Home officially became part of Kids Alive. This Home was started in an attempt to help children who were poor, abused, and abandoned or who lived too far out in the mountains to travel to school.  The Home now cares for about 20 boys and girls who receive shelter, nutritious food, clothing, education and basic job skill training so they can become self-sufficient.  Most important, they learn about God and how they can become His children in a safe and loving environment. The Home also is able to serve over 30 abandoned and abused women daily by providing medical care, education, counselling and skills training to enable them to support their families.

Manchay Keeping Families Together

Kids Alive homes in Latin America often have poor widows or abandoned mothers ask for help to care for their children.

In Peru, we've responded with the Manchay Keeping Families Together initiative that helps widowed and abandoned moms.  Their children receive healthy meals, medical care, education and Christian training through the Manchay Care Center.  Currently 20 single mothers come to Kids Alive five days a week to receive job skills training and support so they can start small businesses, and also participate in Bible studies and parenting classes.  By participating in the Keeping Families Together initiative, the family enjoys a healthly lunch together with the other families.