Thursday, June 17, 2010

Women’s Advocacy, Guinea Pigs and Sending Kids to School in Peru

In May, I visited our four new partners in Peru: AYNI, APROVAT, APROCASSI and COOPACFSI.

AYNI leads the Gender Violence Eradication and Advocacy project in Quillabamba. It has developed a network of micro-advocacy centers in coffee communities where women can receive advice and attention when they are victims of violence.

“We have developed a protocol of intervention where police, government, nonprofit organizations and other institutions know how to deal effectively with cases of gender violence,” said Alberto Alanoca, AYNI’s director.

Hilda Bellota, a 60-year old woman who leads the micro-advocacy center at Mandor community, just a few miles from Quillabamba, shared with us: “We painted and fixed a house that one woman in the community lent us to set up the center. Many women have come, and the husbands are now understanding that this is a real and serious issue in the communities. Young women are also becoming aware of this problem, and we teach them how to deal with them and to let them know that our center and other institutions are supporting them.”

I headed north to Tamborapa Pueblo, in the Jaen province. It was a real surprise to see a radical change in the community since 2009. When I arrived to Tamborapa, APROVAT director Helgar Zelada took me to a grocery store that women in the community set up in January. The store was beautifully decorated and full of products, but the most striking difference is that the shop is the only one in the community that sells fresh vegetables and fruits. Other area shops only sell canned products, fizzy drinks and not-so-nutritious goods.

APROVAT has also trained the women to run the shop on their own, which is reinforcing their self-esteem and working abilities.

“At the beginning I was afraid of doing an invoice for the clients. I wasn’t sure of my skills,” said Delia Noemi Adrianzen Iparraquirna. “I also got scared once when I touched the computer and the monitor shut down. But Aprovat’s staff has spent a lot of time teaching us how to manage our shop and do our bookkeeping with the computer. Now I can do the invoices without problems and I am able to use the computer to do my calculations. I am learning many things with the shop.”

APROVAT’s staff plans to open new shops in other communities to provide access to fresh food in the region and sell locally produced vegetables.

The final leg of the trip took me to San Ignacio province and APROCASSI and COOPACFSI. APROCASSI has just started a project called Micro-Credit for Education. These initiatives allow parents to ask for small loans to pay for school costs such as tuition, uniforms and basic materials for their children. The families repay the loans with low interest that APROCASSI uses to support more parents.

“Before the project started I used to sell my coffee in advance for a very little price,” one of the mothers who takes part in the project told me. “That was the only option because I had to pay for school fees and materials. With the loan, I don’t have to give away my coffee and I can cover the school costs for my kids. When I repay the little interest, I know it’s going to help someone like me.”

COOPACFSI’s staff took me to visit their guinea-pig farm and training center. COOPACFSI uses this small farm to train families on small-animal production. Due to the high cost or lack of high-quality food in coffee communities, the project is a very good alternative for families to improve their diet and generate extra income from selling small animals. After the visit to the training center, I went to a community with very little road infrastructure, where a family is already producing guinea pigs. The people in the community told me that during the rainy season, access to the town is very difficult, and the animals help them consume fresh and nutritious meat. We ate guinea pigs in different styles. The meat tastes really good and is an important source of protein for the families.

The trip was short but very fruitful. It demonstrated once again that families know what their problems are. They only need support to turn those ideas into tangible projects with positive effects on their communities.