Peru: Planning Problems
In a sunny courtyard of a large house three very small children are playing on a colourful surface of foam squares that fit together like a giant jigsaw. Christian is pottering around on still-wobbly legs while Milagros and Geraldine lie on their backs and poke each other, giggling. Keeping an eye on all of this whilst feeding five month-old Orlando is Sonia, one of the full-time tias ('aunts') that work at the privately-run children's home Casa Hogar Luz Alba in Arequipa, Peru.
This domestic idyll belies the children's tragic past. Christian's mother was only fourteen when she gave birth, while the other three were simply left abandoned in the hospital. They have been living at Casa Hogar since then and adoption to wealthy Peruvian or foreign families is fairly likely.
"These are the lucky ones," says Sonia with a sad smile. "We're not their real family but at least they have a decent home here and a good chance of a better future." Amongst the not-so-lucky are those who live on the streets - around three million according to UNICEF - and the thousands who live in overcrowded and underfunded state orphanages. Despite economic growth during the last decade, Peru is a country where 45 per cent of the population still live below the poverty line, and where, according to government statistics, unintended pregnancies are increasing despite better access to contraceptives.
A United Nations Population Fund report on Latin America published in 2009 highlighted the challenges often faced by those trying to implement family planning strategies in countries where religious beliefs and traditional family values are deeply entrenched. More than three-quarters of Peruvians would describe themselves as Catholic, and in rural areas a large family is often seen as a sign of fertility and status for both men and women. It would be both easy and plausible to suggest that the influence of the Church and the continuing prevalance of traditional lifestyles are the biggest impediments to promoting contraceptive drugs and devices in Peru; a fairly standard issue in most of Latin America and the Caribbean.
However, a closer look at Peru's history of family planning campaigns reveals a darker reason for many women's reluctance to accept modern contraceptives.
Forced Sterilisations Between 1987 and 1990 during the presidency of Alan Garcia, despite concessions to the Catholic church regarding abortion laws, a relatively successful family planning campaign was launched. There was a slight reduction in the national fertility rate and modern contraceptives became more widely avaliable in isolated rural areas. With the full support of the UN and international aid agencies, Garcia's successor Alberto Fujimori expanded the campaign during the 1990s as part of wider poverty relief measures. The purported aim was to "liberate men and women from the burden of poverty and large famillies.
Poverty In Peru - News
The fastest-growing economy in Latin America brings a dynamism and an optimism to Peru's capital that did not exist in the 1980s and '90s. Still, poverty and the legacy of war linger. Peru's President-elect Ollanta Humala waves last week before
Despite economic growth during the last decade, Peru is a country where 45 per cent of the population still live below the poverty line, and where, according to government statistics, unintended pregnancies are increasing despite better access to
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A carers journey.: .........extreme poverty affects 48 percent of ...
Carers blog:I am a carer to my daughter who has turner syndrome/learning disability. She was not diagnosed until march 2009.She was born in 1987. She is my best friend and I am hers. She has missed growth hormones her life is a little sad.She was originally diagnosed with Global Delay Development however I was told Language receptive disability.I think her story is good to share. I will write what comes to mind as I sit here with my coffee and some days it may not be about my daughter.The blog is not intended to knock anyone down as I have much admiration for hospitals who care for sick children such as Great Ormond Street and without doctors many young children would not survive.I am just sharing her story and mine and hope it might help others. Not many may read it but I wanted to make a record of the journey of our life. Another one of my dreams was to go to Peru. That also disappeared as commitments in Caring made me forget my dreams. It took several Spanish pernfriends before I started reading much about the poverty and children in Peru. I once had a Cusco guide that I wrote to briefly, an Argentian Lawyer and several young students trying to learn English. Why they came into my life I do not know but last night's dream lol was that I must add children of Peru in Holly's blog which I am writing...... They say things happen for a reason so in time we will see the reason.. hopefully. Maybe rich people will visit my blog and Donate Donate Donate. Machu Picchu was one place I wanted to see. Now I feel it is a journey my oldest daughter must take hopefuly by next year. She is single and has always been drawn to that area from a young child. She has an interest in Shamanism, the Amazon, Inca Trails and everything about Peru.. her reasons different than mine....but I have continued to promise her one day I will help her get there and she will go... My old friend Ray cycled there once for charity... UNICEF is on the ground in over 150 countries and territories to help children survive and thrive, from early childhood through adolescence. The world’s largest provider of vaccines for developing countries, UNICEF supports child health and nutrition, good water and sanitation, quality basic education for all boys and girls, and the protection of children from violence, exploitation, and AIDS.
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Poverty in Peru could be reduced by as much as 31 percent by 2011 if the Andean country maintains an annual economic growth rate of 6 percent and develops an