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Educating the next generation in Peru – Tearfund

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Credit: Geoff Crawford/Tearfund

Sara Guy
Media officer, Tearfund

In a series of five features to mark Mother’s Day on March 18, Sara Guy from Tearfund presents a feature of case studies of mothers from around the world.

The second is on Peru.

With its rich Inca history, snow-capped mountains and lush rainforest, Peru is a popular tourist destination. The country also has rich mineral deposits, including silver and gold, and has experienced recent economic growth.

However, wealth and power are too often concentrated within a small elite, leaving those in urban shanty towns, rural highlands and jungle areas with little of either.

Nelida Aguilar is 45 years old and lives in Cajamarca, Peru, with her elderly mother and her eight-year-old daughter, Alicia.

Located in Northern Peru, the Cajamarca region spans both the Andes and the Amazon rainforest.

The region’s capital, Cajamarca, is famous as the place where the Inca Empire came to an end. Whilst much mining takes place in the area, most people living in the countryside are farmers.  

Like many in her community, Nelida spends her days working the fields, tending her vegetable patch and looking after livestock. She learnt to do all this when she was just eight years old.

Her father had left the family six years earlier and her mother had no choice but to pull Nelida out of school to help look after the sheep.

Nelida left the village where she grew up to work as a maid in the city for nearly ten years. Then her mother fell ill and her brother wasn’t able, or willing, to look after her, so Nelida returned to the village.

Today, she is a single mum (Alicia’s father didn’t stay with her once Nelida became pregnant) struggling to do the best for her family.

Their life isn’t one of life-and-death poverty, but rather of relentless, tiring grind. A changing climate means that rains are unpredictable, making farming more challenging. Combined with soil degradation and a range of pests that can destroy whole harvests, life in Cajamarca could never be described as ‘easy’.

Although she only went to school for two years, Nelida has since learnt how to read and write through a literacy programme run by local charity Warmis.

Started by members of a local church, Warmis worked initially with women and children, teaching literacy and handicraft skills. Realising how important farming is to the local community, Warmis also trains and equips farmers to better deal with the challenges they face. 

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