Esperança is expanding to Peru and plans to offer five programs including clean water, food security, improved housing, disease prevention and health education and treatment to families who live in extreme poverty. The first project is slated for completion in Spring of 2014.
“For the past year, we’ve been looking at South America and planning our expansion, said Tom Egan, president and CEO of Esperança. “We visited and experienced the coast, jungle and highlands of Peru and saw the indigenous parts of the country. We were also able to identify a nonprofit partner on the ground to work closely with us. The need in Peru is great and we’re excited to bring hope to the people.”
Esperança’s Peruvian partner, CADEP, is located in Cuzco, Peru, a city well-known for its famous attraction, Machu Picchu. CADEP has forty years of experience helping indigenous communities and specifically women and children. They have been working to build ecological homes, protect crops, organize farmers and give youth a voice.
Thousands of tourists pass through Machu Picchu on an annual basis and don’t realize just beyond the city in the Peruvian highlands lay hundreds of small rural villages with families who live in extreme poverty. It can take up to 8-10 hours by car on a winding, treacherous road to reach these local farmers, mothers, teachers, nurses and families.
“Every person expressed concerns for malnourished children, unclean drinking water and the poor housing conditions,” said Egan. “Despite this area being one of the top producers for potatoes, families asked how to plant more fruits and vegetables, so that they would have a well balanced diet. We’re looking forward to helping these villages and working directly with CADEP to maximum our efforts.”
Esperança and CADEP are working to identify and prioritize the greatest need and will announce their first joint project in the coming weeks.
The last time Esperança added a new country was in 2008 when they expanded into Mexico for a project that lasted until 2011. Last year alone, Esperança served over 100,000 people in 4 countries through their programs.
For more information, please contact Jared Leslie, development director at (602) 252-7772 ext. 101 or via email at [email protected].
